State Senate seat, commissioners race on ballot Tuesday in Whitfield County

Published 4:29 pm Monday, May 21, 2018

With most local candidates running unopposed, most of the action will take place at the top of the ballot in today’s primary election.

But there are two contested races in Whitfield County.

Chuck Payne (incumbent) and Scott Tidwell face each other in the Republican Party primary for the District 54 state Senate seat. Mike Cowan and Barry Robbins (incumbent) are the two Republicans seeking the District 1 seat on the Whitfield County Board of Commissioners.

The winner of the District 54 state Senate GOP primary faces Democrat Michael S. Morgan in the Nov. 6 general election. There is no Democratic opposition in the board of commissioners race, so the primary winner is expected to win that seat.

Robbins, who is seeking a second term as commissioner, has vowed to hold the line on taxes and spending if re-elected.

“I will not vote for a tax increase, and I hope that we can cut taxes,” Robbins said. “We came in a little over $3 million under budget (in 2017). That speaks well of our management and our department heads. If we can get department heads and elected officials to continue to manage their budgets that way and come in under budget, that’s a step towards being able to reduce our millage rate.”

Cowan, who held the District 1 seat from 1997 to 2010, says he would like to see county employees get a pay raise.

“I really believe that with President Trump in office and the tax reform and other changes he has pushed, that the economy is going to grow and workers are going to start getting more overtime and start getting raises, and I think county employees should get a part of that. They have an important responsibility,” Cowan said.

Payne, who is seeking his second term in the state Senate, says he will continue to fight for conservative values.

“I’m very proud that we cut the state income tax, the top rate (from 6 to 5.5 percent),” Payne said. “I’m also proud of the adoption bill that we passed this year. It was taking three years to adopt a child, and the number of children in foster care had doubled since 2008. The law we passed cuts the red tape and bureaucracy and should cut that three years down to 11 or 12 months, getting those children into good homes more quickly. As someone who worked in the juvenile justice system, I can’t tell you the number of times I had a 15-year-old who wasn’t a bad kid but just didn’t have a stable home and was acting out.”

Tidwell says he doesn’t want Georgia to be a “magnet for illegal aliens.”

“There’s such an abuse going on,” he said. “You can take the driver’s exam in 12 different languages, 11 foreign languages and English. When people come to this country the right way and become naturalized, they are supposed to show a proficiency in English. I have friends who are naturalized citizens who are really alarmed by what is going on. I’m not opposed to immigration. I just want it to be done the right way. It isn’t right that we treat some people one way, make them obey all the rules, and then treat other people completely differently.”

District 54 includes all of Whitfield and Murray counties and parts of Gordon and Pickens counties.

Meanwhile, Georgia voters will help determine who will replace Republican Gov. Nathan Deal, who is in his final year in office due to term limits.

Seeking the Republican nomination for governor are Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle; Hunter Hill, a former state senator from Smyrna; Secretary of State Brian Kemp; businessman Clay Tippins of Atlanta; and state Sen. Michael Williams of Cumming. Former state House of Representatives members Stacey Abrams, of Atlanta, and Stacey Evans, of Smyrna, are seeking the Democratic nomination.

Polls are open from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m. Anyone in line at 7 p.m. will be allowed to vote.