Senate District 23: What Gives Democratic Party of "Georgia"?

Its been over a month since J.B Powell (D-Blythe)decided to forgo re-election to his state senate seat to run for State Agriculture Commissioner.

The guy who was going to replace him for Senate Seat 23 was L. Baxter Garvin (D) of Richmond Co, but there was one problem: HE DIDN'T LIVE IN THE DISTRICT, & as a result he decided against running for the senate seat.

All hope appeared to be lost for the democrats when it appeared at first that Jesse Stone (R) was going to just waltz his way to a senate seat without having to campaign for it.

Then entered Chuck Pardue (D-Blythe), an attorney who began to actively seek the signatures needed to run as an independent candidate for Georgia Senate District 23.

He needs approximately 3.958 or 5% of signatures on a petition to get himself on the Nov. 2 ballot as an independent candidate.

But he hasn't gotten the necessary signatures needed to get on the ballot to keep that seat from going into republicans hands.

So its time to ask the following questions:

(1) Is the Democratic Party of Georgia assisting Mr. Pardue gather the necessary signatures to get on the ballot?

(2) Are there any field canvassers up in SD 23, assisting Mr. Pardue in gathering the signatures needed?

(3) What about the Young Democrats of Georgia? Are the regions of Middle & Northeast Ga Chapters of the YDG involved in asisting Pardue get on the ballot?

Remember when Michelle Conlon was forced to run as an independent instead of as a Democrat because Republican Secretary of State Karen Handel refused to reopen campaign qualifying for Democrats after another Democratic candidate was disqualified for residency reasons. In that race, she got on the ballot with the assistance of the DPG & YDG as well.

This is a seat that democrats can ill-afford to just hand over to the GOP. All Pardue needs is 3,958, the 5% needed to get on the ballot. The number of registered voters in District 23 is 79,179. I don't know why he's seek at least 4,500 signatures to get on the ballot, maybe to guard against any potential disqualifications when the secretary of state's office reviews the petition. That maynot seem like alot to the average voter, but it takes hard work to get those signatures & Chuck Pardue can't do it all by himself.

So Democratic Party of Georgia, you have basically 1 month remaining to help Chuck Pardue in gathering the signatures needed to get on the November ballot. It time to show that you all care about the rural democratic candidates for once.

Its time to PUT OR SHUT UP!

Young Democrats of Georgia Gubernatorial Debate

Young Dems Respond to Ga Young Republican Chair

Yesterday, hundreds of supporters of education in Georgia showed up outside the state capitol building to protest further cuts to Georgia's higher education. This group represented all spectrum of Georgia society- some families have been Georgians since the time of Oglethorpe, others have just arrived.Some were rich, some were poor, some were middle class. Some were students, some were educators, some were legislators, some were just Georgians who understand that education is critical to the survival of our state- and yes, while many were Democrats, there were Republicans and Independents in the crowd to show that, despite partisan differences, education is the critical issue facing Georgia in 2010.

In a hastily crafted response to this outpouring of support for education in Georgia, Cameron Fash, the Chairman of the Georgia Young Republicans, attempts to establish the argument for dismantling the University System of Georgia advocated by State Senators Seth Harp, Don Balfour and others. He failed.

We also hope that Mr. Fash, who shows his dislike for publically funded education, doesn't drive on publically funded roads, or attended any publically funded high schools or colleges, or ever attended any events in publically funded arenas, etc. You see, what Mr. Fash and others fail to realize is that just because it's funded by the public doesn't make it evil.

The HOPE Scholarship does not cover the full cost of college. While it is an asset and benefit of the state, its perpetual funding is in jeopardy, and therefore failing to meet the goals that it was established for. College tuition is not cheap; many Georgians work late-night jobs, take out student loans, and so forth in order to pay for their education. People such as Cameron Fash, who disregard the struggles of Georgia's working and middle classes, are prime examples of why Georgia needs more funding for higher education, not less.

A better educated Georgia will mean better paying jobs for Georgians. No international corporation is going to look at a state slashing education left and right, be it secondary or higher education, and say "that's where I want to take my business."

We will continue losing job opportunities to those who value education more than us until we realize that the only solution to Georgia's long-term economic struggles are to invest in a world-class secondary and higher education system.

The Young Democrats of Georgia will continue to work with a broad coalition of everyday Georgians working to ensure the survival of our educational system, while the Chairman of the Georgia Young Republicans will wait out the struggle with Seth Harp and Don Balfour in Glenn Beck's Fear Chamber.

Education is under attack - stand up, fight back!

Jane Bradshaw, President, Young Democrats of Georgia
Steve Golden, Chief of Staff, Young Democrats of Georgia
Trevor Southerland, Vice President of Finance, Young Democrats of Georgia