Ellis Black: Put HD 174 in the "W" Column for 2012

Love him or hate him, State Rep. Ellis Black (R-Valdosta) is right for new HD 174 which now consist of Clinch, Ware, Camden, Charlton & southern Lowndes County.

Black who first was elected as a democrat switched parties after the 2010 elections. Now I always say that if you run under one party for re-election, then you should serve out that term under that one party until next re-election & that's when you switch parties...that's the more noble thing to do.

Now back to Rep.Black. He's was the type of democrat the party has been losing over the last 12 years. Conservative-minded, Rural Based, White Male. Now I don't blame him for switching since the voice of conservative democrats in the state house has been marginalized by the increasingly grip of liberal Georgia Democrats who now control the party from the top down.

Black, is more of a independent more so than a republican or democrat. He fits the district perfectly, although much of it now is vastly different.

I remember this quote in which he said: This is where I belong. When I was first elected, we had conservative Democrats in the leadership of the Democratic Party; today, there are none. I have a ten-year record of voting the thinking of my constituents, and I believe I can best serve my constituents as a Republican.

You want to go somewhere where you feel comfortable & your views are accepted, not frowned upon & so the republican party is where he felt more at home....now that doesn't mean that he's a person who will just vote republican every time, (like I said before, he's more of a independent than a party person) like State Rep. Alan Powell of Hart County.

Democrats need more Ellis Blacks in its ranks if it ever want to compete for majority status in the legislature. Keep losing more Ellis Black Types & its going to be a long, hard slog (which it already is) for the once mighty Georgia Democratic Party. Black who is a farmer sits on the Agriculture, Ways & Means & Appropriations Committees & is a member of the Southeast Ag Coalition


Black has a Democratic Challenger in Teresa Lawrence of Lake Park. I have no doubt that she's a nice lady, but voters down in 174 need to send Ellis Black back to the State House on November.

9 Rural Democrats & 1 Independent support HR 1086

State Representatives Ellis Black (D-Valdosta), Amy A. Carter (D-Valdosta), Rick Crawford (D-Cedertown), Ron Dodson (D-Clayton County), Gerald Greene (D-Cuthbert), Bob Hanner (D-Parrot), Sistie Hudson (D-Sparta), Alan Powell (D-Hartwell), Jay Shaw (D-Lakeland), & Rusty Kidd (I-Milledgeville) voted in favor of House Resolution 1086, which is a proposed constitutional amendment that, so as to provide that no law or rule or regulation shall compel any person, employer, or health care provider to participate in any health care system and to authorize persons and employers to pay directly for lawful health care services without penalties or fines; to provide for the submission of this amendment for ratification or rejection; and for other purposes.

All are conservative democrats from Rural Georgia, except Ron Dodson, who faces a primary challenge from Shawn James, a conservative democrat for HD 75. Kidd id a independent from Baldwin County. Groups such as Georgia Conservarives in Action are pushing for the proposed constitutional amendment.

Officials defend plant inspectors

Georgia's top agriculture officials on Tuesday defended the state's inspection process at a legislative hearing called to address the salmonella outbreak traced to a Georgia peanut processing plant.

The process came under fire after a state inspector found only minor problems when she probed the Blakely plant in October for less than two hours. Less than three months later, federal agents found roaches, mold, a leaking roof and other problems.

Terry Coleman, Georgia's deputy agriculture commissioner, told House lawmakers that no amount of regulation will deter people who are intent on violating state laws.

"If a person intends to break the rules, unless you have somebody standing
over that person from the time they get to work from the time they leave, there
is no way to prevent that," Mr. Coleman said. "And in this particular case we
believe that somebody in the plant intended to break the rules or break the
laws. All the inspections we could muster couldn't prevent that."

Still, lawmakers responded to the outbreak by passing legislation that would make Georgia the first state to require that food makers swiftly alert state inspectors if their internal tests show their products are tainted. That proposal is awaiting Gov. Sonny Perdue's signature.

Agriculture Commissioner Tommy Irvin said such legislation would have "been impossible to pass" before the outbreak.

The remarks came at a meeting of the House Consumer Protection Investigation and Oversight Subcommittee, whose members seemed to agree with Mr. Coleman's assessment.

"We had a bad apple there," said state Rep. Ellis Black, D-Valdosta. "And no amount of inspections is going to prevent a disaster."

State Rep. Ellis Black opposes county commission bill, but State Reps. Amy Carter & Jay Shaw supports it.

A bill introduced in the Georgia House of Representatives Tuesday whose purpose is to enable the Lowndes County Board of Commissioners to expand its representation by adding two new super-districts is being opposed by State Representative Ellis Black, district 174, but has the support of State Representatives Amy Carter, district 175, and Jay Shaw, district 176.

Carter said “My understanding with the Board of Commissioners was that if they succeeded in getting the maps drawn and unanimously approved, I would support it, which I did.”

The population of Lowndes County has increased significantly without any corresponding increase in representation. With only three elected commissioners, each has around 32,000 citizens to answer to. The city of Valdosta has seven elected councilmen for a population of less than 50,000.

The expansion process is rather complex. The maps must pass muster with the Justice Department, be approved in the Georgia House and Senate, then go before the voters in the form of a referendum. If the bill succeeds and has voter approval, two more commissioners will be elected to the Lowndes County Board of Commissioners to represent the super-districts, which split the county east/west.

Commission Chairman Ashley Paulk said the issue was one of the most talked about during his election campaign, and citizens are pushing for it. With so much interest and so many missed attempts in previous years, Paulk and the commissioners believe it’s time for the legislative delegation and the public to combine to help the county commission keep up with the growing needs of Lowndes County by supporting the expansion.