U.S. Rep. for District 11

Phil Gingrey (Incumbent) - Republican

gingrey.ga@mail.house.gov

Congressman Gingrey is a graduate of the Georgia Institute of Technology and the Medical College of Georgia in Augusta. Before being elected to congress, Gingrey worked as an obstetrician and gynecologist in Marietta. He was elected to the Georgia Senate in 1998 and relected in 2000. In 2002, he was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives and still holds that position. Gingrey lives in Marietta with his wife, Billie. He has four children and eight grandchildren.

According to his official Congressional Web site, Gingrey “is working to improve education, protect our nation, fight for the life of the unborn, and improve health care for all Americans. He is committed to lowering taxes for hardworking Georgians and protecting the traditional values so important to Northwest Georgia.”

State Senate for District 31

Tracy Gene Bennett - Democrat

Tracy Gene Bennett, 47, attended Gainesville College, Lanier Tech and New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary before taking up work as a mortgage lender. He lives in Cartersville, Ga., with his wife, Jane.

Bennett is a proponent of the Fair Tax Act and, according to his Web site, is running for jobs and a stronger economy, working families, main street and small business, teachers, seniors and public safety and common sense government. “I am running for public service because I believe that government should run on a budget, maintain its self within the budget, keep a balanced budget, and if possible, to operate under budget. I am fiscally conservative. I do not believe in pork projects, or stuffing bills with other funds that do not pertain to the bill. It’s time you and I have leaders in office that will do all they can to cut the fat out. As your senator, you will have no votes for pork barrel spending,” he said.

Pete Bridges - Republican

The former mayor of Tallapoosa has withdrawn from his position to focus on a bid for the Georgia State Senate. According to Bridges, the campaign has become a family affair.

“My wife, Barbara, and I work as a team. We have worked [campaigns] together for several years now. My son, his wife and my grandchildren are all working on this and the Georgia Association of Educators has endorsed me,” he said. “I’m for the people, and the people’s voice is going to be my voice. There are many reasons that I’m running for Senate. I’m hard working, accountable, dependable, a U.S. Army veteran, and a people’s person. I’m a meat and potatoes Republican who is against national health care and abortion and for gun rights and family values. I will cherish free enterprise, and above all we must be scrupulous of keeping our word and respecting the rights of others. I will make myself available in District 31, and the seat will not be a part-time position for me,” he said.

Bill Heath (Incumbent) - Republican

“Since being elected to serve us in the State Senate, Bill Heath has been the rock solid conservative conscience of the legislature,” according to a statement from his office. “Heath today serves as a Floor Leader for Governor Sonny Perdue and as Chair of the Retirement Committee in the Senate. An avid farmer and sportsman, Heath has been a vocal leader in efforts to protect the right to hunt and in legislation affecting Georgia’s farmers. Senator Heath and his wife, Susan, have two grown children, a son and a daughter. The son has been called to preach and the daughter called to teach. The Heaths attend the First Baptist Church of Bremen.”

“My platform remains the same as it was when the voters first trusted me with this position. I have proudly led efforts to slash wasteful spending from the budget and make government live within its means. I have consistently opposed tax increases and voted for tax cuts. I also proudly supported legislation requiring every state agency to justify every tax dollar it spends to prove its programs are effective. I am a small business man and family man from Haralson County who is fighting to bring common sense, conservative business principles to our state government. I will always be a conservative leader who is pro-life, pro-gun, pro-tort reform, pro-10th Amendment, and I will always vote to protect and respect our Constitution,” he said.

State Rep. for District 17

Howard R. Maxwell - Republican

Howard R. Maxwell, 61, received a B.B.A. from Georgia State University and has since worked as an insurance agent in Dallas, Ga. He served in the U.S. Army and is a veteran of Vietnam. He was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives in 2002 and still holds his position. He also served on the Paulding County School Board from 1989 until his bid for the State House. Maxwell lives in Dallas, Ga., with his wife, Linda. He has two children.

“I’ve been on the General Assembly for eight years. I don’t like taxes, and I certainly don’t want to see them raised. We’ve done a good job in the past year by reducing a budget of $22.1 billion to $17.8 billion without raising taxes. It’s been an honor and a privilege to represent Paulding and Haralson Counties. I appreciate the voters allowing me to represent them and the trust and confidence they’ve showed in me. I try to make the best decisions for the people in my district,” he said.

State Rep. for District 18

Kevin Cooke – Republican

Kevin Cooke grew up in Carrollton and graduated from Carrollton High School. After high school, he enrolled at the University of West Georgia, where he studied for two years and then transferred to the University of Georgia to finish his degree, which he received in Sports Studies with an emphasis in Business. After a brief career in Law Enforcement, Kevin had the opportunity to minister and sing throughout the Southeast with the Diplomats Quartet. Kevin has been working as a Real Estate Appraiser for Duffey Appraisals for the past five years. Kevin and his wife, Crystal, live in Carrollton and are members of Midway Church in Villa Rica.

“For our economy to grow and prosper, we must get government out of the way so that it is least burdensome on the small business owners and the residents of Georgia as possible. Our tax system is too complicated and often business owners have to make decisions based not on the revenue that could be gained, but rather the tax implications of a particular decision,” he said. “If we will simplify our tax system, that will then allow for more job creation and industry to flow into our state. Education, public safety and infrastructure should not be sacrificed during times of economic downturns so that our state government can fund programs that are unconstitutional and unnecessary.

I will strive to serve the people of Haralson County with humility, common sense and integrity.”

Gerald Pilgrim-Republican

Gerald Pilgrim has married been married to Andri Akins Pilgrim for the past 18 years. They have two children and are active members of Carrollton First United Methodist Church, where Pilgrim has served as Trustee Chairman and currently serves on the Administrative Board. Pilgrim is an insurance agent with Carroll Realty & Insurance and is co-owner of CMB Towing. In 1999, Gerald was elected Mayor of the City of Carrollton, the youngest in Georgia at the time. He insured all promised projects were completed and that the taxpayers were given a full accounting of the work. Gerald also pushed for budgets that were fiscally responsible and was able to lower property taxes in the City all four years in office.

“As Mayor of Carrollton, I worked to improve city services, attract new jobs and expand the University of West Georgia while cutting property taxes. As our next State Representative, I will put my experience to work improving state government. As a parent, I understand that parents and teachers should be in charge of educating our children, not politicians and bureaucrats. I will work to ensure that the voices of parents and teachers are heard. I will work with West Georgia Technical College and the University of West Georgia to improve the options available to our students. In order to streamline state government, I support “Zero-Based Budgeting” which requires state agencies to justify every penny they receive every year, rather than routinely increasing budgets. Also, I will work for legislation to regularly review the more than 130 state agencies and eliminate those that are no longer needed,” he said.

County Commissioner Dist. 2

John Dobbs - Republican

“I’ve been living in Haralson County for 43 years. I’ve been a member of the Operating Engineers Local 926 for 41 years. I’ve owned my own business for 10 years. I have a wife and six kids, and when I’m not working, I like spending time with them,” he said, “I just want to help the younger generation to have a better future.”

Kevin Hammond - Republican

“I am originally from Illinois, I lived there the first 25 years of my life, then I joined the army and moved to Georgia and I’ve been here ever since. I’ve been here almost 30 years now. I was in the army for 27 years. My wife Myril and I have three children and two grandchildren. I’m a quarter master for the VFW in Buchanan, a baseball coach for the recreation department and I was cub master for the Cub Scouts in Buchanan and youth director at Holly Springs Baptist Church for ten years. I was an EMT firefighter with Paulding County for ten years,” he said.

“I want to get the county some water, to get the roads repaired, I want a better fire department and lower insurance rates. We have a lack of fire hydrants and a lack of manned fire stations. Once you have more of these, your rates drop and once your insurance rates drop your car insurance rates drop too. Right now we only have mutual aid with Carroll County. Haralson County is supposed to have mutual aid with Paulding county and Polk county. I’m tired of stuff falling through the cracks.”

County Commissioner Dist. 4

Sammy Robinson (Incumbent) - Democrat

Sammy Robinson graduated from West Haralson High School in 1966 and subsequently served in the U. S. Army for three years, one of which he spent in Vietnam. He was a member of the first graduating class of Carroll Tech. He is self-employed. Robinson has been married for 43 years and has three children and three grandchildren. He also serves as President of the Haralson County Veterans Association.

“It has been my honor and privilege to serve as County Commissioner for District 4 for the past six years,” he said. “I want to thank everyone for their support now and in the future. I do not have an opponent for the upcoming election but please cast your vote. I will continue to represent the people of Haralson County to the best of my ability.”

County Board of Ed. Dist. 2

Joe Griffith

“I’m a lifelong resident of Haralson County, and I’m a product of the Haralson County School System. I’m a farmer and business owner. I’m just trying to make the system the best system we can have by helping our teachers to be able to teach to the best of their ability and to make it the best possible environment for our students to learn in,” he said.

County Board of Ed. Dist. 3

Jeremy D. Daniel – Republican

Jeremy Daniel lives in Tallapoosa with his wife, Jodie, and three kids. He is a graduate of Haralson County High School and has worked for the Haralson County Fire Department for the past 10 years.

“It’s time for a change, and someone needs to step up and take care of the kids we have out here today. I plan on taking it one step at a time. I want to make sure that all the kids have the proper educational materials,” he said.

William “Bill” M. Johnston - Republican

Though William Johnston could not be reached for comment in this issue, he previously told the Gateway-Beacon that he is running because he has children in school, and he’s been closely involved in the school system for quite a while. “I’ve just got a passion to try and see us continue on the good path we’re going on now,” he said.

County Board of Ed. Dist. 5

Robert “David” Hurst - Republican

Hurst and his wife, Teena, have two daughters and live in Haralson County. Hurst, a graduate of Bremen High School in 1985, has resided in the county for 30 years. Hurst is the owner of a promotional products firm, “QuikConcepts Promotions.”

Hurst lists his platform as a support of the culture of a five-star school system, achieving the highest academic reputation of any county school system in northwest Georgia, developing pride that fuels excellence for a positive school system reputation, encouraging an inviting atmosphere for parental involvement with students and staff, implementing professional standards for all school staff on all campuses, and restoring trust in the school board of academic achievement and community support.