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■FOCUS ON VOTING
Hey, It s hip to vote these days, what with hot Issues such as
environmental protection and abortion on the line. There are a
lot of Important offices that can't be overlooked, so be sure to
research each candidate's position before heading to the polls.
for governor
The Issues
Education
Abortion*
Environment
Zell Miller (D)
I , _ ► 1
]
• Miller would create a Higher Edu
cation Capital ana Equipment Im
provement Trust Fund which would
be used to issue bonds for capital
and equipment needs throughout
the University system
• He supports full implementation
of the College Opportunity Act of
1990 a prepaid tuition plan that
will help middle income families
who cannot afford college but don't
qualify for government aid
• He wants to make Georgia facul
ty salaries competitive
• Miller wants to increase tne per
centage of college educated adults
from 15 percent to 20 percent
• Miller opposes further
restrictions on a woman's
right to choose abortion
• He supports Geor
gia's parental notification
law
• He opposes direct
public funding for abor
tion
• Miller would adopt a com
prehensive state environmen
tal policy to integrate the
states water, land and air pro
tection programs
• He would develop a poliu
tion prevention program within
the state's University System
to teach business and govern
mem about pollution control
• Miller would like to reduce
solid and hazardous waste
generation by at least one
third over the next five years
• He win establish a public/
private partnership to protect
100.000 acres as conservation
parks and natural areas
Johnny Isakson (R)
• Isakson proposes the creation of
20 college scholarships per con
gressionai district for students who
excel academically but cannot afford
a higher education In return, he
would require these students to
teach m Georgia public schools for
at least five years
• Isakson opposes fur
ther restrictions on a
woman's right to choose
abortion
• He supports Geor
gia s parental notification
law
• He opposes d.rect
public funding for abor
tion
• Isakson favors a partnership
between state government
and private industry to find so
lutions to Georgia's environ
mental problems and to in-
sure future protection
• He will implement policies
and procedures which will
c-eate markets for recycled
solid waste products
• He favors requiring
whereve' possiDie the use of
recycled paper for state bid
specifications
* There's currently no legislative prohibition on direct public funding for abortions in Georgia, but at Gov
Harris' direction, Medicaid funding is denied for abortions.
Information compiled by David Johnston from campaign position papers and news reports
The Red and Black • Friday, November 2, 1990 • S
FOCUS
for It. governor
1 " ——————i
The Issues
Education
Abortion*
Environment
Pierre Howard (D)
• Howard would seek to increase
the percentage of the state budget
allocated to education
• He would attempt to increase
teachers' salaries
• Howard supports a
woman's right to choose
abortion
• He supports ail current
Georgia abortion laws, in-
Clud.ng the parental notif,
cation law
• Howard sponsored a bin
that passed the General As
sembiy last session which
bars the sale of phosphate
laden detergents m Georgia
• He sponsored another bill
which aiso passed last ses
sion that requires the produc
er of hazardous waste to
come up with plans to reduce
the source of that waste
• Howard has me endorse
ment of the Georgia Chapter
Of the Sierra C ut)
MattTowe^(R)^__
m
• Towery supports using a portion
(from $40 to $60 million a year) of
proceeds from the proposed state
lottery to provide partial higher edu
cation scholarships to qualified stu
dents Towery is the only candidate
supporting the aiiocaion of lottery
money to higher education
• Towery suppo-ts hold
mg a statewide referen
dum on this issue
• He supports Georgia s
parental notification a*
• Towery .s opposed to
public funding *CV abor
tions
• Towery supports the pnas
ng in of mandatory recycling
of soi'd waste over a five year
period
• He wants to separate the
environmental protection en
forcement agency 'rom the
Department of Resources to
1 .’ease enforcement
• Towery s .DpoMS tax nee')
• .«"» '<>' comparves tnat re
duce tne ' use O* tOX'C mate'
* There's currently no legislative prohibition on direct public funding for aborlions in Georgia, but at Gov.
Harris' direction, Medicaid funding is denied for abortions.
Information compiled by David Johnston from campaign position papers and news reports
Libertarians: We’re realists — we know we won’t win
By AL DIXON
Staff Writer
Though they’re not actually making ei
ther of tne two traditional parties sweat it
out in this year’s election, the Liberta
rians have arrived on the Georgia polit
ical scene as the new alternative party.
Carol Ann Rand, the Libertarian can
didate for governor, explained her party's
goals in this year’s race.
"We are realists — we do not expect to
win,” she said. "But our two goals are to
generate a significant number of in-
auiries and to improve media relations. I
think we’ve achieved those goals al
ready.”
The polls conducted during the race
haven’t included Libertarian candidates,
Rand said, so it’s impossible to predict ex
actly what sort of voter response they will
get on election day.
The party was officially founded in
1971 in Denver, Co.
Libertarians currently hold 150 offices
nationwide, mostly local, Rand said. The
highest office ever held by a Libertarian
was in the state legislature.
The Libertarian Party is founded on
the principle of limited government, an
idea introduced to this country by
Thomas JefTerson, she said.
‘We hold the belief that self-govern
ment is better for people than others’ gov
ernment,” she said. "We are working
towards re-establishing the limited gov
ernment of our forefathers — toward re
vitalizing the American dream.”
Walker Chandler, Libertarian candi
date for lieutenant governor, said all the
party’s policies ore based on the princi
pals of “individual rights, individual re
sponsibility, limited government and the
toleration of others’ rights.”
The Libertarians remain true to their
ideals in their stands on issues, which
creates a very untraditionol platform.
‘We are liberal on personal issues and
conservative on fiscal issues,” Rand said.
Rand and Chandler’s platform stresses
radical reforms in three particular areas:
Education, taxes and the prison system.
"Our primary focus is overcoming the
failure of government schools by priva
tizing them,” Rand said.
"I want to introduce parental choice
into the system by using the educational
funds to give each primary and secondary
student’s parent a voucher to be used at
any school,” she said.
‘This will give all parents a chance to
select the place of their child’s education
and will improve schools by introducing
competition.
Rand said programs similar to this al
ready are in place in some states, in
cluding Vermont and the city of
Milwaukee, Wis.
The idea was introduced by Milton
Friedman, a Nobel Prize-winning econo
mist at the University of Chicago.
As the second part of her plan, Rand
said she wants to improve the standard of
living for all Georgians by eliminating
state income taxes.
‘There are currently 10 states with no
state income tax,” she said. “1 know how
to make Georgia the 11th.”
Rand said she will eliminate state in
come taxes by decreasing the size of the
government, therefore decreasing govern
ment expenses.
She said she will decrease government
size by privatizing many government pro
jects and running the state like a busi
ness.
‘The taxpayers are paying $50,000 n
year to support state-run golf and music
halls of fame.”
In addition to cutting out "pork-barrel”
projects, Rand and Chandler support con
tracting out government services that
can’t be made private, such ns highway
maintenance.
‘We would like to remove government
licensing barriers to operating a busi
ness,” Rand said. “There is no reason to
require 2,000 hours of training for a
person to open a beautician business."
The third aim of the Libertarian plat
form, Rand said, is to “Provide the safety
and security of all Georgia residents by
reforming the criminal justice legis
lation.”
“Basically, we want to eliminate the
overflow problem in our prison system by
catching, convicting and punishing only
the real criminals," she said.
Chandler explained, “We want to elimi
nate laws against ‘crimes’ with no vic
tims.”
He said legislation interfering in peo
ple’s private lives and prohibiting activ
ities such as homosexual intercourse,
drug use, prostitution and gambling need
to be removed.
"Most politicians are jumping on the
drug-war bandwagon these days, just to
win votes,” Chandler said. “I personally
think anybody who would do something
like cocaine or heroin is crazy, but it is
still their right."
Rand said that government regulations
would have to be placed on drugs, but the
advantages of legalization would far out
weigh the disadvantages.
Chandler said one of the few issues
which divides Libertarians is the ques
tion of abortion. Most Libertarians, in
cluding Rand and himself, support
women’s right to choose, though they do
not support government funding for the
operations.
“Basically, it’s a question of when life
begins,” he said. “I personally support the
court’s decision that it begins at tne third
trimester of pregnnncy,” he said.
GOP fields candidates
in all 10 district races
By KEVIN McQREEVY
Campus Correspondent
Howard: I’m winning
bipartisan supporters
By AL DIXON
Staff Wnter
As election day draws near, it
has become apparent that the ex
citement in the governor’s race will
not carry over to the race for lieu
tenant governor.
A poll in The Atlanta Constitu
tion Thursday showed Democratic
Candidate Pierre Howard leading
with 55 percent of the vote to Re
publican Candidate Matt Towery’s
20 percent.
“I’m still vigorously cam
paigning, but I feel gtK)d about my
position in the race,” Howard said
in a press conference Tuesday. “I
think the voters see me as the can
didate with the message for
change."
Howard cited support across
party lines as the reason for his
lead in the race.
“I’ve been endorsed by many
newspapers and interest groups
who are supporting Isakson in the
governor’s race and normally en
dorse Republican candidates,”
Howard said.
“I think this is because of my
strong stands in the areas such as
educational funding, health care,
welfare reform and law and order,”
he said. “I have a record of being
able to get things done.”
Howard said as the campaign
draws to a close, he will stress the
three issues he considers most im
portant: education, the protection
of the environment and the needs
of the elderly.
He said he will be campaigning
in West and Southwest Georgia in
the final days of the race. He also
has several television ads ‘In the
can” for possible use.
‘Towery seems to think the only
way he can win now is to go ncg
ative with his campaigning — to
concentrate on distorting my re
cord,” Howard Baid. "I think it will
backfire.”
In an interview Tuesday, Repub
lican candidate Matt Towery said
he thinks the race is being inaccu
rately portrayed by the polls.
‘Tne polls the Atlanta papers
have conducted did not include the
party of the candidates,” he said.
*They were somewhat inaccurate
because they tested only recogni
tion of candidate’s names with no
reference to party affiliation."
Towery said that in on indepen
dent lieutenant gubernatorial poll
which included party affiliation,
Towery hopes to gain
additional points by
tying Howard to the
‘good ’ole boys in
Georgia politics.
Howard’s lend was only 11 points.
Towery said one of tne issues he
hopes will lure undecided voters to
vote Republican is the constitu
tional amendment he would pro
pose to limit the offices of governor
and lieutenant governor to one
term.
“Limiting n candidate to one
term will allow him to make tough
decisions free of pressure from spe
cial interest groups which contrib
uted to his campaign fund,”
Towery said.
“I have pledged to serve one
term if elected," he said, "and I
have challenged Howard to do the
same.”
Towery also is touting education
as his main concern. He is the only
one of the four major candidates for
governor and lieutenant governor
who supports using a portion of
f iroceeds from the proposed state
ottery to fund higher education.
Towery proposed setting aside
$40 to $60 million dollars a year
from the lottery fund to provide
partial scholarships to any high
school student in tne state meeting
the following criteria: a family in
come of less thnn $45,000 a year, a
“B” average and a minimum Schol
astic Aptitude Test score which
would be determined by educa
tional experts.
Towery hopes to gain additional
points in the race by tying Howard
in with the “good ol* Doys” in
Georgia politics.
"Howard clnims he is not part of
the good ol’ boys," Towery said.
“But his voting record doesn’t sup
port this claim.”
Towery cited Howard’s vote
ogninst the proposal to reallocate
funds from pork-barrel projects
such ns golf courses and a music
hall of fame to a fund for pay raises
for veteran teachers.
Of his last-minute campaign
plans, Towery said he didn’t plan
to unveil any new strategies. “I
think the important thing is to try
to get me and my opponent head to
head in the debate Friday.”