Monday, Oct. 26, 2009

Earl Davis says experience makes him best candidate for Georgia House District 129

Earl Davis left the Georgia General Assembly in 1974 — 35 years ago.

Now, at age 75, Davis wants back in the game. The Hamilton businessman is seeking to win the House District 129 seat that was vacated when longtime legislator Vance Smith was named commissioner of the Department of Transportation.

A special election to fill the one year remaining on the term will be held Nov. 3.

Davis said he would have sought the seat in 1992 when Smith was first elected after Roy Moultrie’s retirement.

“Roy called me and told me he was going to drop out,” Davis said. “He told me then he would support me if I would run, but it was not possible at that time. I had some business problems I had to deal with and just couldn’t do it.”

But the timing is right now for Davis, a lifelong Republican. During his first stint in the General Assembly, he was one of two dozen Republican House members. Today, the Republicans control the House, Senate and governor’s office.

The top issue facing the state is the growing budget problem, Davis said. The state is facing a revenue shortfall that could reach $1.5 billion, a mess that the General Assembly will have to clean up by making tough decisions. Teachers and state workers have been ordered to take furlough days to save money.

“We have got to start budgeting more carefully,” Davis said. “It is not right that school teachers are having to take holidays without pay. It’s not right that state employees are having to do that. I attribute that to poor management. I know everybody is struggling, but I think it is poor management on the state’s part.”

The budget crisis has hit homeowners because the state balked on a tax break that cost most Georgia homeowners $300 this year. That’s not right, Davis said.

“The fact that the state did not provide tax relief funds for homeowners really hit people in the pocketbook,” Davis said.

Davis said his experience is what makes him the most attractive candidate in a crowded field. And he points to a piece of legislation he sponsored in 1973 as proof.

The bill allowed motorists pulled over for speeding by Georgia State Troopers to use their driver’s license as bond.

“Prior to that, the state trooper had to deliver you to the sheriff if he caught you speeding, then you turned over a cash bond or otherwise you stayed in the county jail,” Davis said. “Back then, a lot of Columbus people spent time in the Talbot County jail because they didn’t have cash for bond. My bill put a stop to that.

“I am the only one running who ever got a bill passed.”