Hall County GOP Chairman Blog

Qualification for all non-partisan candidates starts June 23, 2008 and ends at Noon on June 28, 2008.  In Hall County, the only non-partisan races for us are the two State Court Judge positions held by Judge Gene Roberts and Charlie Wynne.  The fee for qualifying is a whopping $4,734.64!  My guesstimate of the annual salary for the positions based upon the qualifying fee is $157,821.34 per year or about $13,000 per month.  That works out to about $73 per hour.

Word on the street has it that Judge Wynne will draw competition this time.  I don’t think anyone is planning on running against Judge Roberts.  I still have my fingers crossed for Judge Baldwin.  Letters supporting him need to be sent in before June 24, 2008 to the Judicial Nominating Committee.

Some of the issues likely to be raised if there is a contested election are:  the cost/benefits of the “DUI Court” program, the overtime required by the Sheriff and Chief of Police for officers to sit in State Court “on call” for trials that never happen, ways to expedite the plea process, and courtroom demeanor and treatment of attorneys and defendants in court.  Probably the biggest campaign issue will be the selection and payment of attorneys appointed to represent indigent defendants.  There are issues about who is considered “indigent,” how the attorneys are selected to be appointed, and how they will be paid for the services provided.  Currently the Public Defender does NOT handle cases in State Court, but Brad Morris has put in a bid to provide those services on a per-case basis.

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Democrats = Tax Increase * infinity.  Do you see the proof now with the Gainesville School Board? 

I guess the old addage that absolute power corrupts absolutely is at play in our small town.  The quarter-million-dollar man and his handlers appear to think that they are above reproach.  Way to go Carl Rogers for reminding the city school board that they can all be “fired” in February when the General Assembly gets in session if they don’t get their act together.  Do we really want to be put in the same pot with Clayton County?  Do we want to lose accredidation?  Don’t we deserve more for our money?  Ballew and his crowd don’t think anything can happen to them.  They now know differently.

How many weeks have we gone now without an answer to the question of the missing money?  The only answer we get is that taxes have to be increased, but no idea where the money went or where it is going to go.  Ballew might as well have taken the 5th Amendment when he gave The Times an interview.  He SHOULD have had a lawyer before he did that.

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Why is is that none of the yard signs for Democrats say “Democrat” on them.  Not just in Hall County, but in my travels around the state.  If you are not proud enough to put Democrat on your sign you need to change parties.  If you are liberal then you should trumpet it to the world!  Don’t hide your tax-and-spend light in a basket!  Let it shine.

We welcome all reformed Democrats in the Hall County Republican Party.  We have a tent that is big enough for everyone.  But in our tent you have to order from our menu.  And bigger government, more taxes, more services, and more regulations are things that ARE NOT on the menu.

UPDATE:  While in Atlanta I saw some yard signs and one door sign that actually had the “D” word on it.  Clayton County DA is one I recall.  And I saw some dude running for Senate on TV proudly touting that he was a Democrat and that he would help the middle class.  How?  By raising taxes on the “rich” I suppose.  Oops.  To the Democrats “the rich” is anyone who actually pays taxes.  I don’t think that will help the “middle class” much, do you?  Playing the definition game got the Democrats where they are today.

…and I want Larry to have it too!  In fact, I only supported the added 3rd State Court Judge because I felt that Larry would be a great addition to the bench.  Remember that I got started in party politics with a desire to run AGAINST Larry for the Solicitor position.  I decided that he would do such a great job that I did not run against him.  I was right.  He has done an outstanding job as solicitor.  I feel that he has the proper education, intelligence, personality, and temperament to make a fine judge in any Court.  Larry’s personality and dilligence will compliment Judge Gene Roberts’ style.

I encourage each of you to submit a letter supporting Larry to the Judicial Nominating Commission, Michael J. Bowers, Chairman, by mail to 30 Ivan Allen Jr. Blvd., NW, Suite 700, Atlanta, GA 30308, by fax to 1-866-547-3433 or by email to bwatson@balch.com.  If you would like, also send a copy of your letter to me.  Click on the link to the right to get my contact information.

Read the story in The Times here–>Larry Baldwin wants State Court judgeship.

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Maria Caulkins said: “We [the school board] all completely agree with the success of this administration in the quality of education with Gainesville city schools.”

I know there is a lot moral relativism going on and the hand holding and cheerleading for everyone no matter how badly they perform, but under no usage of the English language can the administration of the Gainesville City Schools be considered a success.  Unless by “success” you mean in the red several million dollars,  a couple million are just plain missing, and you are raising taxes 20% (this year alone).  If the kids are getting educated properly it is DESPITE the administration not because of it.  If the administration is teaching math to our kids, then there is no way they will ever pass the CRCT.

I’m glad that the quarter-million-dollar man got back from vacation in time to see his largest tax increase ever through, however.  It is a shame he missed the lynch mobs during the public hearings.  Hope he has his golden parachute at the ready.  But since his bosses think he is a “success,” his job is secure.  Hope the voters disagree.

Practice Tip:  By the way voters, here is a secret:  Republican voters outnumbered Democrat voters in Gainesville this year.  So if a real Republican were to run for school board he/she would be likely to win even if every Democrat voted for the opponent.  Maria Caulkins is not a member of the Hall County Republican Party.

Read the whole story here–>Gainesville schools weigh budget cuts; deficit is $6.6 million.

Can’t believe I’m quoting Jimmahy (in a good way), but you have to agree with the logic that Obama-Clinton ticket would be the worst of both worlds.  Actually it would be an Obama-Clinton-Clinton ticket and it would be the worst of all three worlds!

Read the quote heah y’all–>Carter: Unity ticket would be ‘worst of both worlds’ | FP Passport.

Am I the only one who can connect the dots?  Hillary drops out of the race, the mainstream media anoints their Chosen One as president, and the market immediately takes a 400 point drop.  Coincidence?  No way!

Even Fox News is too politically correct to tell the story like it is.  It is NOT the jobs numbers that caused the drop.  It is NOT the federal reserve numbers that caused the drop.  It is NOT the sudden rise in oil prices that caused the drop.  That is what we call a causation-correlation error.  All those things were CAUSED by the specter of an Obama presidency.

People with money are AFRAID OF OBAMA and his ilk.  They know that if he is coronated, he will lay waste to capitalism.  If I was Exxon or anyone with large amount of liquid capital, I would be cashing out and taking my money to a third-world country just in case he gets elected.  Ride out of the storm somewhere safe.

Worried about $4/gal gas?  With Obama expect much higher because that is the easiest way for him to raise money to give to his liberal friends and keep people off the road and “help the environment.”

Worried about terrorists?  Don’t be worried with Obama.  The will be right here in the U.S. visiting the White House and planning an end to all infidels (that means you).  Why not worry?  Once Obama is King you can’t do anything about it, so pray to THE ONE TRUE God (the one who does not preach martyrdom with virgins as a reward), don’t worry.

Inflation worries?  Inflation is always higher with Democrats than Republicans.  Gas will keep going up, other prices will go up too.  Your spending power will go down.  Good thing Obama gives good speeches.  IF you can afford the electricity, you can watch them on state-run TV all day long because you won’t be able to afford to do anything else.

Healthcare worries?  Everyone else will have free healthcare except you.  You will have to pay for everyone else’s healthcare.  Just about like right now in Hall County with the illegal aliens.  No worries!

Wonder why gold has been going up?  Because smarter people than us have been converting their dollars to gold for awhile to protect their assets.  They were way ahead of the curve.

I would sign it if I could.  Read about the Petition here–>Petition calls for removal of Gainesville superintendent.

Update:  Did you read The Times on Saturday and Sunday (June 7 & 8)?  Where is the criminal investigation?

Apparently if you are a fireman and molest a child, you get 18 months of pay without having to work while your case gets ready for trial.  According to The Times story (Man pleads guilty to sex charge), the Defendant John Bond was put on administrative leave with pay in November 2006.  He was fired on May 23 [2008]?  So that is 18 months free money for nothing?  How can we get that money back?  Why put him on leave with pay?  Isn’t there some administrative procedure to fire someone that commits a felony offense?  Wasn’t there something that he could have done that would not have put him around children?  AND… get this… no jail time.  He almost got to keep his name off the sex offender registry too!  But for Judge Gosselin, he would not have been identified as a sex offender.

I know some cases are just about impossible to prosecute. Sex crimes are the hardest.  I have to believe that the Assistant District Attorney Juliet Aldridge had her back against the wall and got what she could out of the case despite having witness / evidence problems.  But no jail time, no sex offender registry, first offender treatment AND 18 months of pay without having to work!!!!  Its like we were rewarding him for molesting children.

Warning:  Legal Content Follows.  First Offender sentencing allows someone without a felony record to get convicted of a felony and after they complete their sentence they get their record wiped clean.  In all cases, it means that the offender can possess a firearm and vote.  In sex cases that means that after completing their sentence the offender can get their name removed from the sex offender list.  Their records are sealed.  So you might see a nurse that has a felony conviction for prescription drug forgery, a doctor with a conviction for drug possession, get prescriptions from a pharmacist that went to prison for selling illegal drugs, or have your hair cut by someone who committed a vehicular homicide.  Once their probation is over and the record is sealed, you won’t ever know about it… unless they offend again.  It is a good program to give someone a second chance, but it has been stretched beyond its initial reasons for being.

Very nice.  First there was going to be a shortfall for next year’s budget so they needed a tax increase.  Then it turns out that instead of a $1M surplus this year, there is really a $7M shortfall so they need a bigger tax increase.  Then the School Board decides to max out the tax increase to pay for the “lost” money (still taking 2 years to pay the debt off).  Then the superintendent ($250,000 per year) blames a former employee who left almost a year ago (and who denies any knowlege of a budget problem) for the budget crisis and then he “lawyers up” and won’t talk to anybody claiming the School Board was being mean to him and has committed criminal acts.  Then the new CFO announces that another $1.8M is missing.  See the memo here–>School Nutrition Missing Money  How much can get stolen before someone besided me and The Times does something about it?  Sheriff Cronic:  Please call the GBI to start an investigation before the “auditors” clean up the evidence.  You don’t need a search warrant, just ask for consent to search and see who objects.

This is what happens when you let Democrats handle money.  There is never enough to do what they want, and sometimes some money goes missing.  The answer is always to raise taxes so you can pay for their mistakes.

Read The Times here–>$1.8 million in federal funds unaccounted for by Gainesville schools