This is old news by now, having appeared on Georgia Equality's website earlier this week. However, I've seen no discussion and heard little about this myself. I respectfully disagree with GE's call to skip the governor's race. But I agree with them on this call. For the longest time I've been torn between Martin and his main rival, Greg Hecht. At this point, I've decided to vote for Martin.
He's personable, likeable, and despite the Hecht campaign's poisen pen in the last few days, Martin has a very fine record of public service.
Here's what GE had to say:
Georgia Equality is proud to endorse Jim Martin for Lieutenant Governor of Georgia in the July 18, 2006 Democratic primary. During his 35 years of public service, Jim has been one of the leading voices in support of fairness and equality for all Georgians.
Jim was the first Democratic candidate for statewide office to stand up against a special session to re-open the gay marriage debate.
In the 1980's, when few politicians had the courage to address the HIV/AIDS crisis, Jim was a leader in the state response to HIV and AIDS and in getting state and federal funds for the Ryan White program and other initiatives. Jim was also the first Chairman of the Metropolitan Atlanta HIV Planning Council and worked closely with Sandy Thurman and others to develop Georgia’s response to the HIV/AIDS epidemic.
Jim was the author of the Durable Power of Attorney for Health Care Act, which created the right for people to designate loved ones to make end-of-life decisions for them. As Chairman of the Judiciary Committee in the state House, Jim built consensus on and passed out of committee hate crimes legislation to protect LGBT Georgians.
Jim needs your vote in the Democratic primary. Recent polling shows that Jim is the leading candidate in a field of five Democrats and is in the strongest position to defeat Ralph Reed in November. Although Jim is ahead of the other Democrats, a run-off is likely. Georgia law provides that only those who vote in the Democratic primary may vote in the run-off. Those who vote in the Republican primary will not be able to support Jim in the critical run-off. As a community, we have the potential to ensure that our next Lieutenant Governor is a fair-minded one, but only if we vote in the Democratic primary.
The best way to defeat Ralph Reed is to ensure that Jim Martin wins the Democratic primary on Tuesday, July 18, 2006.
http://georgiaequality.org/cms/content/view/377/34/
1 comment:
I first saw Rufus in CL's podcast debate and then again in last Sunday's Lt. Gov. debate on GPB. I find him interesting because he describes himself as a "conservative" Democrat. Yet, he has some very progressive views.
I don't point that out to discredit Rufus, but just to say that labels can be so pointless. And I very much appreciate Rufus' point of view on issues like gay rights and abortion.
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