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he 2013 Georgia General Assembly got under way Monday. As the
session approached, Staff Writer Jennifer Sami visited with the seven
members of Forsyth County’s state legislative delegation, all .
Republicans, to discuss voters’ expectations for the proceedings.
“There appears to be a lack of trust in govemment across all
levels. How can the 2013 General Assembly eam the trust of
Georgia citizens during the upcoming session?”
District 26 state Rep. Geoff Duncan, south Forsyth
“I think the best way to approach earning the trust of the citi
zens is to vote and act as though we are citizens of the community.
“I look at the opportunity to go down to the Capitol and vote
each and every day through the eyes of a father, a husband, a
small business owner and a Christian.
“And I think if we go down there and act and vote just like our
citizens, the folks we represent, that is a great first step in earning
the trust. Because at the end of the day, we have to earn the trust
of the corxmunity.
“Personal responsibility is the cheapest, quickest, most effective way to get this
country back on its feet. And as a legislator I strive to be a great example of person
al responsibility.”
District 51 state Sen. Steve Gooch, Dahlonega
“That is a very big concern I have as well. I do believe citizens
have lost confidence in the federal and state government and gov
ernment as a whole. We need to start doing things that are open
and transparent to the government. We need to keep our promises
and we need to deliver on those promises and not over-promise.
“That’s something a lot of politicians are caught doing is telling
people what they want to hear and then not doing it. But we’ve got
to earn people’s trust again and rebuild our reputations with the
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constituency and I think you have to do that with ethics reform
and communication with the constituents and that’s something we try to do weekly.
We put out articles, send e-mails with just generic information on what’s happening
in Atlanta and when we come back to the district also, we go to various meetings
like Repubiican Party meetings, town hall meetings, tea party meetings and any
where we can get a gathering of citizens that are concerned or interested.
“We want to meet with them and talk with them about what’s going on in Atlanta
and how it’s going to affect their lives. So that’s a big concern and it’s a challenge
we all have to take very seriously.”
District 22 state Rep. Calvin Hill, Canton
“I don’t know, in my district, what the question of trust might
be. I've always held many town hall meetings throughout the year
and am open to talking with any of my constituents at any time
and working with them in any way.
“Since the Republican Party became the majority 10 years ago,
one of the first things we did was to install cameras and recording
equipment in our chambers so any citizen that has access to the
Internet can look at all of our sessions live while they’re happen
ing or actually go back and look at them in the past because
they’re all archived. . ¢
“We were the first state to do this, by the way, in the country so we do have the
most open government that exists in the 50 states and I think this type of transparen
cy builds that trust.
“And if you combine that with things like my regular town hall meetings and my
open access of e-mail and phone, and I don’t know that there are any trust issues.
And I'm not speaking for the federal government at all.”
when available to all mem
bers of a caucus, commit
tee or subcommittee, or
when it is related to an
event related to the sena
tor’s official duties.
Complaints will be
reviewed by the Senate
Ethics Committee.
Democratic senators
criticized the new rule.
Sen. Vincent Fort,
D-Atlanta, caucus whip,
said the loopholes will
allow lobbyists to give
gifts under SIOO to sena
tors on multiple occasions
or several times on the
same day.
FROM 1A
Ethics
“Those kinds of things,
as long as they’re real reg
ulations, have a symbolic
value,” he said. “But it’s
taken 50 years to get to this
point ... and it’'ll take a lot
to repair the damage. But
that might be one step.”
Cavalli said distrust in
government on a national
level began in the mid
-1960s with the Vietnam
War and continued on with
issues such as Watergate,
false tax promises and eth
ics violations.
With the exception of a
brief stretch after Sept. 11,
2001, it’s remained low,
Cavalli said. On a state
level, it’s just an extension
of the national drop of trust
in government.
“It’s par for the course
and it’s been going on for
decades and decades ... it
sort of filters down over
the years when you're con
stantly being told your
taxes are too high, or regu
lations are too cumber
some,” Cavalli said.
“In the long run, people
don’t make that much of a
differentiation between
federal, state and local
governments.”
The change approved
Monday in Atlanta said
that no senator shall accept
a gift of more than SIOO in
value from a registered
lobbyist or a group of reg
istered lobbyists.
However, the rule does
include several exemp
tions, including awards,
travel, food and beverages
goios " Talk to
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CAPITOL
WATCH
2013
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McKoon said the lan
guage of the new ethics
rule wasn’t perfect, but it
was a vast improvement on
the status quo.
The resolution, approved
by a wide margin, also
returned some responsibili
ties to Lt. Gov. Casey
Cagle that were removed
under the leadership of for
mer President Pro Tem
Tommie Williams,
R-Lyons, and former
Majority Leader Chip
Rogers, R-Woodstock.
Staff writer Jennifer Sami
contributed to this report.
District 27 siate Sen. Jack Murphy, Cumming
“I think citizens have an obligation to look and see any time
we're spending money or proposing to spend money within the
state and federal government. They need to look at that and see
where the money is going.
“And if they don't like what they see, then they have an obliga
tion to question us as senators and representatives and as U.S.
Senators and U.S. Representatives. They have a right to question
us and an obligation to question us to tell us what they would like
to see, so that we can tell them what may be happening and what
may not be happening with expenditures.
“1 also think we just have to keep on talking to our constituents and try to explain
to them the best we can about what’s happening in the state and why we have to do
things so that they understand it and hopefully most of the time they'll agree with
us.
“But there are going to be times they don’t agree with us either because they
don't fully understand or they just don't agree with us period. And as a taxpayer and
a citizen, that’s their right.”
District 24 state Rep. Mark Hamilton, Cumming
“Well it’s my feeling that it’s the federal branch of government
right now that has the least amount of trust. We at the state level
have the support and trust of some of our constituents and there
are some that might be wary of what we do.
“And I think the biggest cause of that is when we, as elected
officials, don’t honor the trust and commitments that have been
placed on us.
“We will continue to work and try to be as transparent as we
possibly can and be as straightforward as we possibly can and to
engage our citizens as much as we possibly can. If we do those things, then there
really is no reason for the people of Georgia not to trust us and what we do.
“Now, that's very different from the category that they don’t necessarily agree on
what we’re doing because we can never please 100 percent of our citizens. I plan to
do what I've done in the past and that’s to send out regular communications, to
return phone calls and to respond to c-mails and listen to the constituents to find out
what it is that’s on their mind, and be very straightforward in how I vote on legisla
tion and the things I get involved with at the state Capitol. I think if we do that,
we're doing everything we possibly can.”
District 25 state Rep. Mike Dudgeon, south Forsyth
“After the [Transportation Special Purpose Local Option Sales
Tax] and the November elections, I think that’s probably the most
important strategic goal we need to have as a legislature is to
repair that trust bridge between the citizens and the legislature.
“There are a lot of details, but I think that we need to take
another stab at doing even better on ethics laws. Our laws right
now are not that bad, but need to do even better, and we especially
need to give more authority to the ethics enforcement.
“One of the reasons I’ve been a major advocate of no taxpayer
funding for the [new Atlanta] Falcons’ [football] stadium is the same thing. It’s
because it’s very hard for the average citizens to trust the legislature when we say
there’s no money for schools, no money for transportation, no money for anything
else, but there is somehow money for a stadium that nobody particularly thinks we
need right now. So that’s a huge issue to me because of the trust.
“We need to make sure we’re evaluating the kinds of bills that we pass based on
this is what the public really wants and that we’re not doing sweetheart deals for
favored people, and to make sure that we are truly acting in the public interest and
not doing things for political gain or political purpose.”
District 9 state Rep. Kevin Tanner, Dawsonville
“One of the things I think is there’s a lack of communication
with our constituents. I think many people get elected to office
and they forget to talk with the people who sent them there.
“Having been involved in government service for 20 years, peo
ple who know me will tell you I’'m always looking for ways to
reach out and talk with people, to get their input to seek their
guidance and counsel on issues and to make informed decisions.
“One of the things we’ll be doing is a [radio program] ... on
Fridays during the session, and I’m developing a contact list that
I’ll be doing a weekly e-mail update. I attend local meetings and I'm also going to
be hosting a weekly breakfast during the session. I’m looking for two-way commu
nication and I'd like for folks to contact me and tell me what they think on bills and
issues prior to us voting on them ... I'm looking forward to always trying to reach
out and help the constituents.
“J think that’s the No. 1 thing is that if people know you, know your values, have
a personal relationship with you, they trust you. That’s why you see greater trust
most of the time at the local government level, because there’s a personal relation
ship. There’s less trust at the national level.
“I'm going to work hard to continue to build those relationships and to listen to
those constituents who elected me into office.”
w | CONSTRUCTION
A JOENT VENTURE
REQUEST FOR QUALIFICATIONS
The Turner / Winter Joint Venture will accept Qualifications until 12:00 p.m., Friday,
January 25, 2013, for the following on the Forsyth County Courthouse and Detention
Center Project:
Design Assist Preconstruction Services for Mechanical and Plumbing
Design Assist Preconstruction Services for Electrical
Design Assist Preconstruction Services for Security Electronics
Design Assist Preconstruction Services for Concrete Structure
Design Assist Preconstruction Services for Detention Equipment
Design Assist Preconstruction Services for Precast Parking Deck
Firms must to be short-listed in order to receive a Request for Proposal to bid on the
scopes of work listed above. No other work on the Forsyth County Courthouse and
D s Gt b licited at this ti
The RFQ may be downloaded from the Forsyth County Procurement Department. Please
visit the website, www.forsythco.com, on the right hand side click on “Bids & Results”
and follow the directions provided. The RFQ may also be picked up Monday thru
Friday, between the hours of 8:00 AM and 5:00 PM at:
Turner / Winter Joint Venture
3560 Lenox Road, Suite 1100
Atlanta, GA 30326.
The envelopes containing responses to the RFQ must be sealed and delivered to Turner /
Winter at the address above by 12:00 p.m.. Friday, January 25, 2013. E-mailed
submissions will not be accepted.
Qualifications received will become the property of Turner / Winter.
All questions are to be directed to Gary Chichester (gchichester@tcco.com; Fax 404-504
3719). All questions are to be received not later than seven (7) days before the due date of
the Qualification.
Gary Chichester
Procurement Manager
Turner /'Winter Joint Venture
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 16, 2013 |
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