Newspaper Page Text
NEWS
The Red & Black | Wednesday, August 16, 2006 | 5A
State Senate
race heats up
By AUBREY SMITH
basmith@randb.com
Mac Rawson, a Democrat
native to Athens and former
director of the University’s
Sea Grant College Program,
will be challenging state Sen.
Ralph Hudgens, R-Comer, for
his District 47 seat in the
Georgia State Senate this
November.
Rawson said he is troubled
by Hudgens’ sponsorship of a
bill redrawing Athens-Clarke
County’s State Senate dis
tricts without consulting the
local government.
Before the redistricting,
District 46 included all of
Athens. Now it contains only
the western portion of Athens
and Oconee and Walton coun
ties. The eastern portion of
Athens-Clarke has been
placed in district 47, which
includes portions of Barrow,
Jackson, Madison and Elbert
counties.
Though Democrats have
filed suit with the state claim
ing partisan gerrymandering,
Hudgens stands by the redis
tricting. He asserts that divid
ing Athens-Clarke into two
senate districts gives resi
dents of Athens twice the rep
resentation in the Senate and
was not an attempt to dilute
the Democratic majority in
Athens-Clarke.
Redistricting aside,
Rawson disagrees with
Hudgens’ stance on the state-
mandated “65 percent solu
tion” for public K-12 school
systems, requiring school sys
tems to allocate at least 65
percent of their budget to the
classroom. Rawson said it was
a “political approach trying to
control local school systems”
and neglects expenses such
as libraries and fuel.
Fuel itself likely will be a
topic of interest to voters in
this election. Rawson said he
believes “alternative fuels are
certainly a great idea,” and
while the University is doing
its part at the moment, it
must continue to develop new
ideas in the area of fuel for the
long-term.
Hudgens echoed Rawson’s
emphasis on the need to
develop renewable energy
sources, noting ethanol fuel
as a possible solution for ris
ing gas prices at the
University.
Hudgens said the
University could implement a
10 percent ethanol, 90 percent
gasoline mixture in the near
future and eventually go to an
85 percent ethanol mix, or
E85. Not only would utilizing
ethanol be price-effective, it
also would reduce our
dependency on foreign oil and
help Georgia corn farmers,
Hudgens said.
Hudgens said he plans to
fight for the University at the
state level.
Though he has never been
on the Higher Education
Committee, Hudgens said
Michael Adams personally
asked him to
work his way onto the
Appropriations Committee.
The Appropriations
Committee delegates money
to state institutions, includ
ing the University.
Rawson said he will work in
the best interest of the
University. Specifically,
Rawson supports efforts in
biomedical research, an area
he hopes will have not only
academic but also economic
rewards.
On all issues, Hudgens first
points to his five beliefs listed
on his campaign homepage:
“lower taxes, less govern
ment, more personal respon
sibility, greater individual
freedom and stronger fami
lies.”
University political science
professor Trey Hood said as
an incumbent and a powerful
member of the Senate, he is
secure in his chances for
reelection. If he isn’t elected,
though, Hudgens said he’ll
“just go fishin’.”
Rawson said as a former
student and employee, he
already has shown his com
mitment to the University.
“I spent 30 years with the
University,” he said. “I
received my Ph.D. here. I am
very closely tied to the
University.”
Rawson said if he believed
Hudgens were acting in the
best interests of the
University, he would support
him.
Bill Cowsert (R-Athens)
Education:
>• Presbyterian College
>- University of Georgia
School of Law
Employment:
>- Cowsert and Avery law firm
Political Experience:
>• Could not contact Cowsert
for information
District 46
Rep. Jane Kidd, D-Athens,
will square off against
Republican candidate Bill
Cowsert from Athens in this
year’s race for the District 46
Senate seat.
Kidd said keeping public
education affordable, includ
ing higher education, is a key
component of her platform,
and that protecting the
HOPE scholarship is crucial.
She also said she is partic
ularly concerned with the
longstanding trend of state
budget cuts in education.
The freshman legislator
said she believes K-12 schools
should be “fully funded.” The
burden of providing public
education rests with the state
and should not be passed on
to local residents through
increased property taxes,
Kidd said.
Besides education, Kidd
said a topic of special interest
to Athens-Clarke residents is
the stormwater ordinance.
Kidd acknowledged that no
one enjoys paying additional
costs each month but said she
believes the fee associated
with the ordinance is the
“fairest way” to distribute the
cost and protect our water
resources. The county ordi
nance was adopted in
response to pressure from the
state to shift responsibility for
stormwater regulation to the
local level.
Kidd vacated her House
District 115 seat to enter the
Senate race. Cowsert has
never held a state office.
Although his campaign
manager returned calls,
Cowsert himself did not find
time to speak with The Red &
Black, despite repeated
attempts over five days.
Cowsert ran in 2004 and
Rep. Jane Kidd (D-Athens)
Education:
>- Bachelor’s in Journalism
from the University.
Employment:
>- Alumni Relations Director,
Grady College of Journalism
and Mass Communication
2002-2004
Political Experience:
>• State Rep. District 115.
2004-present. Member of
Higher Education, Health and
Human Services and Education
committees.
>• Two terms on the Lavonia
City Council
lost to Kidd for her current
seat, but he may have better
chances this year, said Trey
Hood, a University political
science professor.
Hood believes this year’s
Senate District 46 will lean
Mac Rawson (D-Athens)
Education:
>- Ph.D. from the
University’s School of
Forestry and Natural
Resources
Employment:
>- Director of the University
of Georgia Sea Grant
College Program, retired in
the spring of 2006.
Political Experience:
>- None
more Republican than the
House District 115 seat in
2004, largely because of the
redrawing of the district in
2006.
Kidd said she is aware of
her odds in the upcoming
election but remains confi
dent.
“I’m going to run a good
race and prove them wrong.”
Sen. Ralph Hudgens (R-
Comer)
Education:
>- Bachelor of Science in
Agriculture from the University
of Florida.
Employment:
> President of Hudgens
Enterprises Inc., an investment
firm with holdings in real estate.
Political Experience:
>- State Rep. Dist 24.1996-
2002
> State Sen. Dist 47. 2002-
Present
>- Chairman of the Insurance
and Labor Committee, Vice
Chairman of Agriculture,
Secretary of Banking, Secretary
of Natural Resources, serves
on Reapportionment and
Redistricting and is Ex-Officio
on Retirement.
Get Fuzzy®
by Darby Conley
TDU THOUGHT GREEN EGGS ANP
HAM WAS AM ARTICLE CM THE
CHERMOSTL PISASTEK... IT’S A
CHIUPgRI’S STORY'.
The Daily Puzzle
ACROSS
ture
60 Card for
party
1 Cincinnati
36
Before, for
readers
11
Centerward
nine
merly
61 Elation
12
Exploit
5 Layer of
37
Hoods’
62 Nearly
13
Latin being
paint
guns
extinct
24
Victory sign
9 Stage whis
38
Damp
63 Rock-
26
Links vehi
per
39
Monopoly
strewn
cle
14 Touched
board cor
64 d’oeu-
28
Book part
down
ner
vres
29
Essence
15 Lofty
40
Psyche
65 Alaskan
30
Pavarotti
16 Tibia and
division
transport
showstop-
femur
41
Mocking
per
17 Wild and
reproach
DOWN
31
Jodie
crazy
42
Prenatal
1 Tore down
Foster film
18 Out of the
43
Blue gem
2 Please
32
Ripens
wind
stone
mightily
33
Bonkers
19 Web loca
45
Work on a
3 Kuwaiti cur
34
Perched
tions
sampler
rency
upon
20 List ender
46
Peel
4 Do doers
35
Type of
21 Lounge
47
Church top
5 Alpine cot
bread
lizard s look
per
tage
38
Primary
22 Wear away
51
Out of bed
6 Lubricated
39
Ring mas
23 Inferred
54
O’Neill’s
7 Pulitzer
ters?
25 Complexion
daughter
winner of
41
Dry
problem
56
Bolsnevik
1958
42
Lawyer’s
27 Matched
Trotsky
8 Mental
levy
grouping
57
Part of a
health pro
44
Place to do
28 Astronaut
school day
fessional
time
32 Playing
58
-friendly
9 State of
45
Takes a
marble
59
Author
being away
long, long
35 Skyline fea-
Bagnold
10 Evening
look
47 Villain’s
expression
48 Kind of
code
49 Longest
river of
France
50 All over
51 Play com
ponents
52 Trellis
8/16/06
piece
53 Source of
poi
55 Christiania,
today
University of ^
Georgia Booksfl
Next to the Tate Student Ce|
Phone: (706)542-3171'
“IT’S WHERE DAWGS SHOI