Archive for the ‘Carol Porter’ Category

Former Alaskan governor Sarah Palin is looking to better her record in Georgia.

Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin/AP

Late Monday, Palin included Ray McKinney, the Republican running against U.S. Rep. John Barrow, D-Savannah, in a list of endorsements posted on her Facebook page:

We can count on Ray McKinney to be a strong, independent voice for Georgia’s 12th Congressional District. As Ray says, “If you like the way things are going now, vote for the other guy.”

Palin also gave mention to Barrow’s absence at a Sunday debate televised by Georgia Public Broadcasting.

Her choice of McKinney might be evidence that the 2012 presidential presumptive is seeking endorsement targets that would allow her to claim a good deal of the credit on Nov. 2 – something she enjoyed when Republican Karen Handel became the frontrunner coming out of the GOP primary for governor in July. Handel, of course, lost the August runoff.

The GOP has actively pursued the 12th District seat since …

Continue reading Your morning jolt: Sarah Palin dips into a Georgia congressional race »

For every dollar that Democrat Carol Porter has available for her race for lieutenant governor over the next few weeks, Republican incumbent Casey Cagle has three.

Porter last week declared $405,196 on hand for the final weeks of the Nov. 2 campaign, with a total $533,548 raised. Cagle had $1.2 million in cash on hand, out of a total $1.7 million raised.

But even lopsided contests can be interesting. And Carol Porter’s spokesman, House Minority Leader and husband DuBose Porter, points out that she raised more than any Democrat other than Roy Barnes, the nominee for governor.

Libertarian Dan Barber reported $1,046 in cash on hand last week.

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Cagle starts his TV campaign today with a warm-and-fuzzy ad that may be more of a reaction to the 30-second spots being aired by Democrat Roy Barnes in the governor’s contest, assailing Republicans for wholesale cuts to schools.

Cagle declares himself the champion of education in Georgia:

The script:

Cagle: “This is our future, …

Continue reading Your morning jolt: Casey Cagle’s first TV ad, and Ray Boyd endorses Carol Porter »

Eight years ago, the alliance that lined up against Gov. Roy Barnes included opponents of the Northern Arc, a proposed roadway that stretched across the top of exurban Atlanta.

People won’t vote for you because of a road. But they sure will vote against you. It was an exercise in the power of NIMBY that Barnes apparently hasn’t forgotten.

This from Larry Peterson with the Savannah Morning News:

Republican governor hopeful Nathan Deal likes at least part of a proposal for an interstate linking Savannah and Knoxville via Augusta.

But Deal’s Democratic opponent, Roy Barnes, is wary about the potential thoroughfare, under study by the Federal Highway Administration.

Barnes says he’s concerned about environmental and quality of life impacts – which are among the issues the study will address.

Deal, a former north Georgia congressman, is especially upbeat about portions of the route that would tie Savannah to Augusta.

“With the deepening of the port of Savannah,” he said, “we must …

Continue reading Your morning jolt: For Roy Barnes, I-3 may be a case of deja vu in concrete »

Republican candidate for governor Karen Handel makes use of Sarah Palin’s endorsement in her first TV ad in the Republican runoff for government – which also condemns rival Nathan Deal as “a corrupt relic of Washington D.C.”

“One carries a purse, the other carries baggage,” the 30-second ad begins.

The TV spot follows on the heels of an AJC report of federal grand jury interest in a meeting called by Deal in the hope of preserving his business with the state.

Handel spokesman Dan McLagan says the ad is targeted at metro Atlanta, and describes the airtime buy as “big.”

The script:

Male voiceover: One carries a purse. The other carries baggage.

One whom Sarah Palin says has cut government, and is the true conservative.

Or the other, who added trillions to our national debt.

One a conservative reformer. One a corrupt relic of Washington D.C.

Karen Handel is Georgia’s strong conservative. Impeccable integrity. Our thrilling, vibrant future. Karen Handel. Bring it on.

The ad by …

Continue reading Your morning jolt: On TV, Karen Handel hits Nathan Deal as ‘a corrupt relic of Washington’ »

On Thursday, the Georgia chapter of the Sierra Club issued a list of primary endorsements that included Carol Porter in the Democratic race for lieutenant governor, plus eight Democratic and two GOP state lawmakers.

But the conservation group made no endorsement in the contest for governor – deadlocked between two Democrats, former Gov. Roy Barnes and House Minority Leader DuBose Porter of Dublin.

How do we know? Here are excerpts from a letter penned by Mark Woodall, vice chairman of the group’s executive committee, summing up the dilemma:

It’s unfortunate that the two best environmental office holders we have seen over the last 20 years in Georgia are both running in the Democratic primary for Governor. Here is some history on the record of Roy Barnes and DuBose Porter.

Roy Barnes as Governor gave us some good appointments to the DNR Board, although he didn’t fire EPD Director Harold Reheis.

As Governor, Roy was against the mining of the Okefenokee by DuPont which led …

Continue reading Your morning jolt: Behind the Sierra Club deadlock over Roy Barnes and DuBose Porter »

More than two-thirds of 576 mayors and members of city councils across Georgia expect former Gov. Roy Barnes to be the Democratic nominee for governor.

A plurality of the same men and women – 34 percent — think state Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine will emerge as the Republican nominee.

Thirty-eight percent of the city officials think Barnes will pull off an upset in November. Twenty percent said they don’t have a clue, and 10 percent picked John Oxendine.

The survey – not a poll – is the biennial work product of the Georgia Municipal Association. The question asked of GMA’s members in each case was not: “Who would you like to see as the nominee?”

The question was: “Who do you think will win?”

See the complete results here. About 25 percent of GMA members participated.

“We enjoy doing this survey each year before our annual convention [in Savannah next week],” said GMA Executive Director Jim Higdon. “It’s just fun to see what city officials are thinking in regards …

Continue reading City officials in Georgia predict Roy Barnes will be Democratic nominee »

After signing a water conservation bill on Tuesday, Gov. Sonny Perdue explained why he might veto SB 360, a bill that would ban adult drivers from texting while at the wheel.

Gov. Sonny Perdue signs a water conservation bill at Buford Dam Park on Tuesday. Vino Wong, vwong@ajc.com

This from 11Alive:

“I’ve got some concerns over the enforceability of that,” Perdue said at a news conference….

The governor has until June 8th to sign all bills into law. The bill in question is S.B. 360, also known as Caleb’s Law. It bans texting while driving for anyone 18 and older; the problematic area is the part that makes it illegal to “read any text based communication.”

Here is Perdue’s example to describe why enforcing that part could be an issue:

“If I get my e-mails and I pick up a smart-phone and read my e-mails, I’m violating the law. But if I print out my e-mails and I have a sheet of paper driving [and look at it], then I haven’t violated the law.

Candidates fell over Alabama last …

Continue reading Your morning jolt: Sonny Perdue’s doubts about a ban on texting while driving »

Georgia’s WIN List, a political action committee aimed at supporting Democratic women, published its list of endorsed candidates for 2010.

A state version of Emily’s List, one of the Georgia PAC’s criteria is support for “reproductive freedom.” In other words, abortion rights.

We’ll list the recipients below, but most important is who the WIN List did not endorse: Carol Porter of Dublin, who as a candidate for lieutenant governor will be be the highest-ranking woman on the Democratic ballot in the July 20 primary.

Porter, wife of the Democratic candidate for governor, did not apply for consideration by the group, said Amy Morton of Macon, chairman of the group. (Morton says she is personally supporting Porter.

Morton says she is personally supporting Porter, who is attempting to chart an unusual middle ground on the abortion issue, refusing to describe herself as either “pro-life” or “pro-choice.” Her husband, House Democratic Leader DuBose Porter, describes himself as …

Continue reading Your morning jolt: Democrat Carol Porter goes unendorsed by abortion-rights group »

Sadie Fields called on Saturday to announce that, after 13 years of working for the cause, she would be taking “a leave of absence” from the leadership of the Georgia Christian Alliance.

The most influential and polarizing woman in state politics has taken herself out of the picture. At least temporarily.

“A time for change comes to us all,” she said in an e-mail sent to supporters that same day.

The timing of Fields’ decision was somehow appropriate. Her call came just before the beginning of a major Gwinnett County debate of Republican candidates for governor — organized by tea party activists, the newest insurgents to roil the GOP.

Just as Fields and her friends had done in the 1990s.

Only a few hours earlier, DuBose Porter, the Democratic candidate for governor, had rung up —the cell phone was busy that day — to talk about his declaration that he should be considered “pro-life” when it came to abortion.

Porter was bona-fide proof of the mark that Fields …

Continue reading Sadie Fields and Georgia Christian Alliance take a hiatus »

As the weekend broke, Democratic candidate for governor DuBose Porter let it be known that he should be considered “pro-life” when it comes to the issue of abortion.

It was not unexpected news, and arose from a discussion of biotech research at the University of Georgia.

Carol Porter, a Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor. Bob Andres, bandres@ajc.com

But the House minority leader from Dublin is only one half of a political couple on the July 20 primary ballot. There remained the question of how the husband’s point of view would reflect on Carol Porter, a Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor.

On Monday morning, we asked the Carol Porter campaign whether she supported a woman’s right to an abortion.

On Tuesday, a long explanation, penned by the candidate herself, arrived via e-mail. The brief essay said many things, and even came with a footnote. But it did not answer the question.

And in a phone conversation, Carol Porter declared that hers was not just a …

Continue reading Asked if she’s ‘pro-life’ or ‘pro-choice,’ Carol Porter picks none-of-the-above »