Billy Hair vs Buddy Carter: Georgia State Senator From 1st District

LuckyBogey's Blog ^ | November 2, 2009 | LuckyBogey

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When the votes are counted Tuesday, the State Senate’s 1st District might have seen its first seriously contested election since 1992.

One thing is certain: It will be the first election there since 1994 with no incumbent on the ballot. Not that the candidates are political rookies: Buddy Carter recently was in the state House and Billy Hair chaired the Chatham County Commission for eight years. Carter and Hair are Republicans, which is no coincidence. Shifting boundaries and political loyalties have made the lst – which takes in Bryan County and parts of Chatham and Liberty counties – a GOP bastion.

In 1992, Democrat Tom Coleman barely hung on to his seat with 52 percent of the vote. But Republican Eric Johnson, elected after Coleman retired in 1994, had only two Democratic opponents; neither drew more than 29 percent of the vote. Meanwhile, GOP President George W. Bush carried the 1st by 2-to-1 margins in 2000 and 2004; Republican Gov. Sonny Perdue did even better in 2006.

Johnson quit Sept. 15 to focus on his 2010 quest for governor, triggering a special election in the 1st on Tuesday. Carter had a head start in the race, which began as a marathon and turned into a sprint. Eying the 2010 elections, he began gearing up to run early this year, when Johnson signaled his intention to run for statewide office. By the time Johnson stepped aside, Carter was fundraising and building an organization.

Both he and Hair have spoken to GOP groups. Their members are considered the people mostly likely to vote Tuesday. They also have used radio, newspapers or mailings to advertise. But Hair is playing catch-up when it comes to the money needed to pay for such items.

On Oct. 19, the end of the campaign finance reporting period, Carter had raised nearly $152,000 and had almost $41,000 in the bank. In contrast, Hair had rounded up just less than $17,000, and had only a little more than $2,000 on hand.

The reports showed that, especially when it came to campaign mailings, he had been heavily outgunned. He said he would try to make up the difference with volunteers and door-to-door campaigning.

Even though some cities and towns in the 1st will hold elections Tuesday, low turnout – predictions range from 10 percent to 20 percent – is expected. Chatham County GOP chairman Frank Murray noted there have been no debates, few forums and little buzz among party activists. “From what I can see,” Murray said, “things have been pretty low-key.”

Carter: Wants to play leadership role

Buddy Carter knows well the history of the 1st State Senate District. The last two lawmakers to fill the now-vacant seat were Republican Eric Johnson and, before that, Democrat Tom Coleman. Each served about a decade and a half, held key leadership posts, and steered massive state spending to the district and Chatham County.

“Those are big shoes to fill,” Carter said. “I’m excited about the opportunity to carry on that tradition. “I want to be part of the leadership so I can work with my colleagues to get things done for the district and the rest of the state.” Until he stepped aside to seek the Senate seat, the former Pooler mayor was finishing his third term in the state House. Based on that stint, he has the support of many of his GOP legislative colleagues.

“He’s been very effective,” said Rep. Ron Stephens, R-Savannah. “He knows all the senators and the lieutenant governor, who presides over the Senate. “People trust Buddy. He has built the rapport he needs so he can start helping the district the day he walks in the door.” When he first announced his quest for the Senate seat, Carter summarized his key issues as the “four T’s.”

They included taxes – the state budget, transportation, trauma – the system for treating critically injured people, and thirst – or water. More recently, he’s added a fifth T: teaching – or education. But Carter has stressed the first T – taxes. He co-authored a law – similar to Chatham County’s – that sharply limits increases in property tax assessments in Effingham County.

He says he’s been working with legislators such as Stephens, co-author of the Chatham County measure, to apply the concept statewide. Carter stresses that he has never voted for a tax increase, either as mayor or in the House. But he doesn’t rule out the possibility of some sort of increase as the state tries to deal with its budget crunch. Carter rejects the criticisms that his opponent, Billy Hair, has made concerning the legislature’s role in the state budget process.

He said Hair may not understand how different being one of 236 state lawmakers is from the executive jobs Hair has held. But, like Hair, he is reluctant to be pinned down on just how money can be found to fund essential programs without raising taxes. “These are difficult questions,” he said, “and that is why it’s important to have people in office who know what they’re doing.”

Hair: State issues match his resume

Ask Billy Hair why he’s running for the state Senate, and he has a ready answer. “If you look at the issues facing the state,” said the former Chatham County Commission chairman, “there’s an almost perfect match between them and my resume.” As Hair sees them, the top challenges are budgeting, transportation and education. Chairing the commission for eight years, the Skidaway Island resident said, gave him a firm grasp of such issues.

For example, he said, he was immersed in transportation issues and worked with the state Department of Transportation “on almost a daily basis.” Former Savannah Mayor Floyd Adams said he and Hair teamed up to bring the area road money. “Billy understood that intergovernmental cooperation pays big dividends,” said Adams, now a local school board member.

Hair also said his stints as president of Savannah Technical College and vice president of Augusta Technical College steeped him in educational concerns. And both sets of jobs, plus his educational and professional background in business qualify “eminently,” as he puts it, in budgeting. That is the issue that he’s been stressing in his special election campaign.

“There is no reason we should be in the financial shape we’re in,” the candidate said, referring to the state’s ongoing budget crisis. Hair faults a system of across-the-board spending cuts that, he said the state has used – with some exceptions – to tighten its belt. That approach, he argues, equates essential programs such as mental health and education and non-essential programs such as parks. “There is no way we should be furloughing teachers and mental health workers,” Hair said.

As an alternative approach, he supports “zero-based budgeting” that requires each department to justify what it plans to do. That would leave enough money in “the normal revenue stream” of existing taxes to fund even big-ticket transportation projects, he said. So Hair opposes various proposals to let people vote whether to add a penny to sales taxes to fund major highways, roads and related work. Voters are tired of such measures, and they’ll “fail miserably” if they are put on the ballot, Hair said.

Hair is reluctant to name which programs he considers non-essential. But he says that, once they are identified, user fees should be levied to pay for them, or they should be cut or eliminated. Former Savannah mayor Adams gives Hair high marks. “He’s a good man,” Adams said. “He listens to people. … “He can articulate those issues in Atlanta in a way that will foster cooperation and serve the district.”

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