These candidates in local races face opposition in the Nov. 2 election. Candidates not listed here chose not to respond.
State Legislature
Senate District 40
Fran Millar (R)
Age: 60
Occupation: Insurance Broker
Educational background: B.A, Economics West Virginia Wesleyan College
website: Millarforstatesenate.com
Q: Why should voters choose you for this position?
Proven record of performance for the past 12 years including tax freezes, education options besides four years of college, prescription safety, and doing what is right and best for our community.
Q: What’s should be the state Legislature’s priorities during the next session?
Budget, tax reform based on council’s recommendations, education including preserving HOPE scholarship, transportation with MARTA becoming part of an integrated system with all counties in metro area contributing, disincentives for illegal immigration, and water supply alternatives
Eric Christ
Age: 43
Occupation: Technology Business Executive
Educational background: Bachelor’s in Business Administration from Georgetown University
MBA and Woodruff Fellow from Emory University
Website: www.christforsenate.com
Q: What’s should be the state Legislature’s priorities during the next session?
A: 1. Attract new employers to Georgia, 2. Restore funding for public education, 3. Improve the sustainability of our water and transportation infrastructure, 4. Reduce wasteful government spending
Q: Why should the voters choose you for this position?
A: I’m running as a neighbor, not a career politician like my opponent. For too long, our legislators have avoided the hard decisions on education, taxes, and infrastructure necessary to keep Atlanta the economic engine of Georgia and the Southeast. We can’t delay any longer and I will fight for common sense solutions to these challenges.
House District 79
Keith A. Kaylor (D)
Age: 45
Occupation: Environmental Engineer
Educational background: B.S. Chemical Engineering
Website: None
Q: Why should the voters choose you for this position?
I have a technical background, which I feel is sorely needed in the Georgia legislature. I will be able to approach issues on a pragmatic, problem solving basis, instead of the emotional and party politics basis used today. In addition, I am not beholden to special interests and other politicians; I will work only for the voters of District 79 and all of the citizens of Georgia.
Q: What’s should be the state Legislature’s priorities during the next session?
The legislature’s priorities should be the crucial issues facing the Atlanta region and Georgia, but have been neglected for years: education, transportation, water supply, and ethics.
Tom Taylor (R)
Name: Tom Taylor
Age: 48
Occupation: Defense Contractor
Educational background: Georgia State University. BA International Relations / Economics and MBA, International Business
Website: www.TomGetsResults.com
Q: Why should the voters choose you for this position? Experience and proven results. Led the legislative effort to incorporate the City of Dunwoody, spending five sessions in the General Assembly as an unpaid advocate for the city. Elected to Dunwoody City Council twice, starting the new city from scratch, delivering superior services whil running a budget surplus. Know the issues at the local, county and state levels.
Q: What’s should be the state Legislature’s priorities during the next session? Balancing the budget and redistricting based on the 2010 Census.
House District 80
Mike Jacobs (R) (I)
Age: 35
Occupation: Attorney
Educational background: J.D., magna cum laude, University of Georgia School of Law. B.A., Georgetown University.
Website: www.repjacobs.com
Q: Why should the voters choose you for this position?
North DeKalb citizens deserve a legislator who fights for them, doesn’t just “go along to get along” with the DeKalb political crowd, and is tenacious and effective.
I helped to pass the five-year renewal of the DeKalb County property tax assessment freeze that is on the November ballot. After an 11-year-old DeKalb student committed suicide, citizens approached me to strengthen Georgia’s anti-bullying law. I got it done. Included in this year’s transportation bill is a transit study commission that I proposed, originally as House Bill 1252. Its task is to determine how to fold MARTA and county transit agencies such as Cobb and Gwinnett into a seamless regional mass transit system. MARTA cannot be sustained in the long-run on the backs of DeKalb and Fulton taxpayers, and better transit is vital to Metro Atlanta’s future economic growth.
Q: What’s should be the state Legislature’s priorities during the next session?
We are going to need to manage a continuing downturn in the state budget without raising taxes on our citizens, who are also feeling the economic pinch. We should pass legislation to prohibit conflicts of interest by school board members and press forward with giving parents more control over our children’s education through the expansion of charter schools. We also need to continue working toward a seamless regional mass transit system for Metro Atlanta.
Sandy Murray (D)
Age: 63
Occupation: Computer Consultant
Educational background: BS Mathematics, LSU
Website: votesandymurray.com
Q: Why should the voters choose you for this position?
I would represent all people in our district, not just selected constituents and lobbyists.
Q: What’s should be the state Legislature’s priorities during the next session?
Revising our tax code, balancing the budget, fixing our education system, dealing with transportation gridlock, and solving our water problems.
House District 81
Jill Chambers (R) (I)
Age: 47
Occupation: State legislator and former business owner of a wholesale art gallery
Educational Background: Associate degree from DeKalb Tech
Website: jillchambers.org
Q: Why should the voters choose you for this position?
My experience working with open records, government transparency and a record of fiscal conservatism helps the taxpayers get more for what they pay for. I have a particular interest in helping out public safety, specifically the Georgia Bureau of Investigations and Georgia State Patrol. I also have oversight of MARTA spending and I’m chairman of MARTOC. And in the governmental affairs committee, I work on election laws and open records law.
Q: What should be the Legislature’s priorities during the next session?
The only thing we’re mandated to do is to balance a budget and that should be the entire focus of the Legislature. We started a website that allows closer examination of all state spending, called open.georgia.gov.
Elena Parent (D)
Age: 34
Occupation: Attorney, Mother
Educational background: Bachelors and law degree, University of Virginia
Website: www.elenaparent.com
Q: Why should the voters choose you for this position?
District 81 needs a fresh voice and new ideas at the state Capitol. Georgia has long been considered the “Capitol of the South” but in recent years surrounding states have made forward-thinking policy decisions that have positioned them to attract businesses and new residents. Georgia needs new voices, vision and energy to tackle issues such as education, economic development, transportation and the environment to make sure that we are moving our state forward.
Q: What’s should be the state Legislature’s priorities during the next session?
Education, fiscal responsibility and quality of life, which I consider to include transportation, infrastructure, economic development and the environment. I would address all of these issues by first watching the budget process closely to make sure we are doing all we can to support the programs that best benefit our citizens while cutting out unnecessary special-interest spending and tax cuts.
Special Election for DeKalb County District Attorney
Constance Pinson Heard (D)
Age: 53
Occupation: Attorney at Law
Educational Background: B.A., Spelman College. Masters, Georgia State University, J.D., Georgia State University School of Law
Q. Why should the voters choose you for this position?
I will bring independence to our District Attorney’s Office as I am not politically or personally obligated to any special interest groups, public officials, individuals or contractors. My only obligations will be to DeKalb citizens.
Our public school system is awash in scandal. Chief among my immediate acts would be the investigation and prosecution of public corruption from the school house to the jail house to the administrative offices of our county.
As a practicing attorney for nearly two decades, my extensive legal experiences include litigating criminal and civil cases before juries and the bench in the State and Superior Courts. In addition, as a 37 year DeKalb County resident, active in our community and a public school and DeKalb Perimeter College Educator, I possess the experience and expertise to lead the DA’s Office in fighting for the safety and well-being of our families, stability and protection of our neighborhoods and property, and ensuring accountability to taxpayers from those entrusted to run our educational and governmental institutions.
Special Election for DeKalb County District Attorney
Robert James (D)
Age: 38
Occupation: Lawyer
Educational Background: B.A, Middle Tennessee State University; J.D Georgia State University College of Law
Q: Why should the voters choose you for this position?
I am a former child-abuse prosecutor in the DeKalb District Attorney’s office, where I prosecuted sexual predators and child murderers. I was elected solicitor general in 2006 and since I have supervised the prosecution of all misdemeanor crimes in unincorporated DeKalb County. As solicitor general, I managed a staff of 75 employees, including 25 lawyers and 14 police officers, and a $5 million budget. I am past president of the Georgia Association of Solicitors and the DeKalb Lawyers Association.
Nonpartisan elections Superior Court Judge
Courtney Johnson
Age: 36
Occupation: Attorney
Educational background: B.A., Georgetown University, law degree, Emory University School of Law.
Website: www.courtneyjohnsonforjudge.com
Q: Why should the voters choose you for this position?
A: As an assistant district attorney, I gained valuable trial experience in the DeKalb County Superior Court handling the same types of complex litigation matters over which Superior Court Judges must preside.
Michael Rothenberg
Age: 32
Occupation: Attorney
Educational background: B.A. University of Florida; J.D. from South Texas College of Law
Website: www.MichaelForJudge.com
Q: Why should the voters choose you for this position?
In my career I have handled every type of case that Superior Court handles – divorce & custody, criminal law, contract disputes, zoning, habeas corpus, appeals from magistrate court, and others. I have tried jury trials in DeKalb county and throughout Georgia. I will draw upon these experiences to run the most efficient, ethical, and compassionate court room possible. We need judges who have experience in every type of case that may come before them, ready to go on day one.
Denise M. Warner
Occupation: staff attorney, DeKalb County Superior Court Judge Mark Anthony Scott
Educational Background: B.A. University of Massachusetts; J.D., University of Connecticut School of Law
Website: www.denisemwarner.com
Q. Why should the voters choose you for this position?
Voters should choose me because my life, legal and leadership experiences make me uniquely qualified to serve as a DeKalb Superior Court Judge. The first nine years of my career, I was a trial attorney in hundreds of cases focusing on family law and personal injury law, and represented youth in delinquency cases. My trial practice required me to appear in superior courts throughout the metropolitan Atlanta area. For the past five years, I have worked in the DeKalb Superior Court judicial system as the Staff Attorney to Judge Mark Anthony Scott, and understand how the judicial system works. During these difficult economic times, it is not time for on the job training. As the single mother of a Chamblee High School Freshman and the Immediate Past President of the DeKalb Bar Association, I am the Superior Choice for Superior Court.
Board of Education
District 1
Merope “Bobbe” Gillis
Age: 45
Occupation: Owner of Bobbe Gillis Professional Art Services Inc.
Educational background: BFA from the University of Georgia
Website: http://bobbegillisdekalbschoolboarddistrict1@blogspot.com
Q: Why should the voters choose you for this position?
I am a concerned and passionate parent of two children in the DeKalb County School System and I intend to make the needs of all the children in our county a priority. I am accustomed to running a business where I am an expert leader and able to work as part of a team, implement new policies, maintain budgets for large and small projects, hire new employees and vendors, oversee a labor force, make effective judgments and be held accountable for all endeavors. All of these are areas of expertise I will apply to fulfill my duties as a board member.
Q: What would you want to see in a new district superintendent?
I would like to see an individual who has turned around a failing school system or similar corporation. A person who has a proven history of success. A person who is very passionate about education and believes it is a universal and fundamental right for every citizen. A person who is impeccably honest and will work within the community to redefine the DeKalb County School System.
Nancy Jester
Age: 39
Occupation: Full time parent and volunteer; President of the Hawthorne Elementary School Foundation; former actuarial consultant
Educational background: B.A. University of Alaska Fairbanks
Website: www.nancyjester.com
Q: Why should the voters choose you for this position? Voters should choose me because I bring the professional and academic experience and knowledge necessary to manage the financial, regulatory and compliance complexity of an over $1 billion budget. I have children currently attending public schools in DeKalb. I am invested and committed to reforming our district for all of DeKalb’s students.
Q: What would you want to see in a new district superintendent? We need an outsider who will work with the Board to more effectively manage the over $1 billion budget so that our children are first in line to receive the benefits of our financial resources. Our new superintendent should be laser focused on improving student achievement in DeKalb.
Jim Redovian (I)
Age: 67
Occupation: owner, Atlantic Southern Products
Educational background: BBS, Ohio
Website: none
Q: Why should the voters choose you for this position?
Experience I have been involved either as a parent, advocate, grandparent, as well as current Board Member for over 33 years.
With all that needs to be accomplished over the next twelve months we need a Board Member who understands how the systems works and who makes it work. I have spent the last four years learning the system and my record speaks for itself.
Q: What would you want to see in a new district superintendent?
I believe utmost of all we need a proven Administrator with experience to run an organization of 14,000 employees and a budget of well over a Billion dollars. Education experience would be important, but management is paramount.
District 9
Eugene P. Walker (I)
Occupation: Educator, Administrator, Public Servant
Educational background: bachelors degree, masters degree, Ph.D. degree
Website: www.DrEPWalker.com
Q: Why should the voters choose you for this position?
Because of my professional training, range of work and life experiences, and my deep commitment to public education.
Q: What would you want to see in a new district superintendent?
• A demonstrated history of success as a high level business or educational leader
• The ability to select, evaluate and hold accountable the senior administrative staff
• The ability to interface and interact well with others, especially DeKalb School Board members
• The talent to foster an environment of high morals and ethics
• The capacity to be transparent in dealing with personnel and the general public
• Visionary leadership and the capability to marshal support for the vision
• The understanding that the Superintendent’s role is to guide and implement policy rather than invent it
• The ability to put together and appropriately manage a school system budget
(I) indicates and incumbent; (D) indicates a Democrat and (R) indicates a Repbulican