Candidates help open Obama HQ in Dalton

Published 9:58 pm Saturday, July 12, 2008

Whether it’s a Fourth of July event, county fairs or any radio spot he can find, Democrat Jeff Scott is blanketing north Georgia as he campaigns for the District 9 seat in the U.S. House of Representatives.

Scott is running against incumbent Nathan Deal, R-Ga., of Gainesville who was first elected to Congress in 1992. Neither Deal, 65, nor Scott, 35, have opponents in Tuesday’s Primary.

“You realize that when you are facing an incumbent who has been there awhile, you have to overcome that name recognition,” said Scott, who was in Dalton Saturday to speak at the opening of the Barack Obama campaign headquarters off Airport Road. “That’s probably been the biggest issue, getting my name out there enough for people to be able to see the different option. The name recognition thing is huge.”

Scott is a native of Walker County and currently lives in Chickamauga with his wife Holly. He has been in the education field for almost 10 years teaching elementary, middle and college classes and has also served as a school administrator.

Many people Scott talks to in District 9, which covers 15 north Georgia counties including Whitfield and Murray, are concerned about the “disconnect” between the citizenry and the government. He believes voting for legislation that helps his constituents, regardless of party lines, can help repair that perceived disconnect.

“The people just feel like the representatives in office just don’t work together, they don’t understand the needs of the people in the community,” Scott said.

Voters are also concerned about the influx of illegal immigrants into north Georgia, he said.

“For too long in Congress we’ve tried to put Band-Aids on the issue whether it’s trying to put a fence or I know Congressman Deal has talked about kind of looking at birth rights of children born to illegal immigrants,” Scott said. “Again, that’s only putting a Band-Aid on a problem. What we have to do is go to the core issue and try to understand why the Mexican government and Mexican businesses aren’t doing more to pay their workers better. We also have to look at our businesses that are hiring illegal workers at a lower rate than what they would have to pay an American worker.”

While Scott is a former chairman of the Walker County Democrats, he hasn’t served in any elected political position. This is his first campaign.

“I think like a lot of citizens we can do better,” Scott said. “I’ve always enjoyed serving and helping make the lives of people better. When you’re passionate about something and you have a drive, you have to do it. You have to step out and lead. More than anything else, right now we need leaders.”

Scott has bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga in multidisciplinary education and supervision. He also has an educational specialist and doctorate from the University of Alabama in leadership, technology and policy.

For more information about Scott, visit www.electjeffscott.com/.

Deal will hold two town hall meetings in the area on Aug. 5. The first will be at the Northwest Georgia Trade and Convention Center from 9 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. followed by a meeting at the Murray County Senior Center from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. For more information about Deal, visit www.house.gov/deal/.

Miriam Whiteside, an organizer of the local Obama headquarters, said the group has been working to open the site for about a month. The headquarters has plenty of educational information about Obama and campaign materials.

“We want them to know what Obama is about and what we are about,” Whiteside said.

The Obama headquarters is at 2705 Airport Road, Suite 112. It covers Whitfield and Murray counties. For more information, call (706) 517-4151.