There are only two state-wide elections in Georgia on the ballot this November, for two Public Service Commission (PSC) seats. Each race features a Republican incumbent, Libertarians fielded a candidate in both races, Democrats only managed to field a candidate in 1 of the 2 races.
Despite being divided by regions, the PSC races are state-wide elections, so everyone in Georgia can vote in both of these PSC races this year. One races features Republican incumbent Chuck Eaton versus Democrat challenger Steve Oppenheimer and Libertarian challenger Brad Ploeger. The other features Republican incumbent Stan Wise versus Libertarian challenger David Staples, with the Democratic Party failing to field a candidate.
I received the following press release today from Libertarian candidate David Staples (the one that doesn’t have a Democrat in the race) touting that the anti-TSPLOST coalition of the Sierra Club’s Georgia Director Colleen Kiernan and Debbie Dooley of the Atlanta Tea Party are once again uniting to back his campaign.
It should be noted, Staples also included a long list of endorsements for his campaign, of which I am included. Therefor I feel necessary to note that the top of the release focuses on Kiernan and Dooley (anti-TSPLOST alliance) but the bottom part includes people such as myself who were in favor of the TSPLOST.
My recommendation to every Democrat is to vote against Republican incumbent Stan Wise by casting your ballot for Libertarian candidate David Staples (again, there is NO Democrat in this race) but if you want to contribute or volunteer for a state-wide election this year, flip over to the other PSC race and support Democrat Steve Oppenheimer.
The full release from Staples is below the jump.
Anti-TSPLOST Team Endorses David Staples For Public Service Commission
October 8th, 2012
Powder Springs, GA – Named “Best Odd Couple” by Creative Loafing, The Sierra Club’s Georgia Director Colleen Kiernan and Debbie Dooley of the Atlanta Tea Party drew lots of attention for jointly opposing the T-SPLOST proposal being put before voters this past July. The Sierra Club of Georgia and Debbie Dooley have come together again to endorse David Staples’ candidacy in his bid for the Public Service Commission seat for District 5.On July 31st, voters also spoke loud and clear that ethics is one of the most important issues in this election cycle. Georgians far and wide have loudly proclaimed: “Ethics Matter”. David Staples has criticized the incumbent of 18 years for a number of things, including: receiving 91% of his campaign contributions from the executives, attorneys, and lobbyists for the utilities he is charged with regulating; accepting $14,000 in gifts from lobbyists in just his current term; sleeping during Commission hearings; consistently siding with the utility instead of the consumer; and accepting $10,000 in campaign contributions just two days before voting on the case being presented by those very same contributors.
Ethics is a non-partisan issue. It doesn’t matter whether someone is a Democrat, Republican, Libertarian, Green, Independent, or any other affiliation – Ethics Matter.
The following people or groups have endorsed David Staples in his bid for the Public Service Commission and urge voters to cast their vote for David as well:
The Sierra Club of Georgia
Debbie Dooley – Atlanta Tea Party Co-Founder / Co-Organizer; Board of Directors Tea Party Patriots
Jim Powell – 2008 Democratic PSC Candidate and former Regional Director US Dept of Energy
Judge Jim Gray – Former California Superior Court Judge, Current Libertarian Vice Presidential Candidate
Jimmy Norman – Executive Director, Georgians for Constitutional Government
Catherine Bernard – Public Defender
Jade Morey – Former Chairperson, Georgia Association of College Republicans
Trevor Southerland – Former Annual Fund Director, Democratic Party of Georgia
Jeff Martin – Political Activist
Tom Knighton – Owner / Publisher – The Albany Journal
Kelly Nguyen – Senior Advisor, Ga4Liberty
Bill Greene – Former Co-Coordinator for Georgia for Ron Paul
Jordan Graye – Radio DJ, B98.5FM
John Monds– Former PSC Candidate, President Grady County NAACP
Lance Lamberton – Founder, Cobb Taxpayers Association
Chuck Donovan – Former candidate, US Senate
Jeff Edgens – Former Irwinton City Councilman
A number of leaders within the the Republican and Democratic parties have also privately offered their words of encouragement and support, though they are unable to officially endorse due to rules set in place by their respective parties. I appreciate their support and respect their wishes to remain anonymous. It is our hope that on November 6th everyone will put partisan politics aside and vote based on the issues in this race and not the letter beside the candidate’s name
For more information, please visit David’s website at http://www.VoteStaples.com
or he can be reached by e-mail at david@votestaples.com or by phone at 678-699-7062.
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