SWGA Politics

At Least One Candidate Wouldn’t Be Running

under Republican Attorney General Candidate Sam Olens‘ proposed ethics reforms.

According to Bludgeon and Skewer, State Rep Hardie Davis still hasn’t paid $100 in ethics fines for failing to properly file required ethics disclosures regarding his current State House seat.

Where he runs afowl of Olens’ proposed ethics reforms is that he is currently running in the Special Election for State Senate District 22, which was vacated when Ed Tarver accepted a new job as a US Attorney.

Part of Olens’ ethics reforms package includes “Inability to qualify for public office for outstanding ethics fines and taxes” – meaning Davis would be looking at either paying the $100 in fines he currently owes or going home. No State Senate, and not even a State House seat.

What is particularly interesting is that per the Bludgeon and Skewer article above, Davis has over $20K in his campaign account! Surely $100 isn’t that big of a deal with that much money in the bank, right?

The State Senate 22 Special Election is an exciting time for Libertarians, however, as the race features 3 Democrats, 1 Libertarian, and no Republicans! If you live in that district, I highly encourage you to do two things: 1) Check out the Libertarian candidate, Taylor Bryant. 2) Go vote! The election is timed to ensure that district is represented in the upcoming session of the General Assembly, which starts Jan 11, and therefore the date of the election is VERY unusual:

Jan 5, 2010 – the first Tuesday in 2010!

On the first Tuesday in 2010, go vote for the first Libertarian in the General Assembly!

For more on Sam Olens, check back here on SWGAPolitics.com on Christmas Eve, when I post the full audio (and maybe even transcript) of the 18 min interview I did with him last Friday.