MOULTRIE — Georgia’s former Senate president pro tempore came through Moultrie Thursday as part of his campaign for the state’s top governmental job.
Eric Johnson, a Republican candidate for governor, is originally an architect from Savannah. He was elected to the Georgia Senate in 1998 and served as minority leader of the Senate until he was chosen as president pro tem when Gov. Sonny Perdue and the Republican Party took over the majority in 2002. He resigned from the position recently to focus on his campaign for governor.
Johnson said he entered the governor’s race to ensure Georgia continues to work to come out of the current recession. If elected governor, he will work to ensure Georgians do not have to face higher taxes while focusing on the state’s priorities.
“I didn’t want to see people come into the office and tax and spend their way out of the recession,” Johnson said. “We have got to continue to manage the budget without tax increases and to focus on our priorities.”
Georgia’s main priorities need to be public safety, education and transportation, Johnson said. The state needs to focus on roads and water in the short term and continue to ensure education for the long term.
In addition to those priorities, Johnson said he wants to ensure Georgians keep the jobs they have and to create more jobs in the state. He wants to see Georgia’s largest industry, agribusiness, continue to flourish and ensure water is plentiful and accessible to those in agribusiness.
Johnson said he knows he does not have the name recognition as some other candidates for the governor’s office, but he said that won’t matter when the campaign heats up. He is well known through the Republican party and among business leaders, he said, and he expects to be the top fundraiser and to have built a strong grassroots organization in the state.
If elected to the governor’s office, Johnson said he wants to make sure private sector businesses grow and flourish in Georgia. Being from South Georgia, he wants to ensure the whole state, and not just Atlanta, gets served by the Legislature.
“The whole state needs to worry about Atlanta,” Johnson said, “but Atlanta needs to worry about Moultrie.”
Local News
Savannah senator brings gubernatorial campaign to Moultrie
- Local News
-
-
Bingo Bash 2012
-
Former Moultrian falls to his death
A former Moultrian died Wednesday night after being pushed from a second-story walkway at his apartment complex in Bellingham, Wash., the previous day.
-
Convicted burglar sentenced to 14 years in prison
A man convicted in December on burglary and theft charges was sentenced Friday to a 14-year prison sentence.
-
Fires damage two homes
Stove fires damaged two homes this week, but no injuries were reported in either incident, Moultrie Fire Department reports said.
-
![CAG Tech Fair Winners 2012[1].jpg](http://d6673sr63mbv7.cloudfront.net/archive/x2009900191/g030000000000000000b4a9cc0f769eccc2ea8c64ef4a09832f6735f445.jpg "CAG Tech Fair Winners 2012[1].jpg")
C.A. Gray Technology Fair winners
-
Drug charge added when police arrest theft suspect
A Meigs man charged with theft faces additional charges as suspected marijuana was found on him at the time of his arrest, Moultrie Police Department reports said.
-
CORRECTION: DUI charge
In a Jan. 28 report, The Observer said Ronald Craig Bass, 50, 4411 Dunn Road, Hartsfield, was charged Jan. 26 with driving under the influence, open container violation and probation violation in connection with a minor wreck on Camilla Highway. Excluding the probation violation charge, that information came from a Moultrie police report of a November 2001 incident.
Bass was charged with probation violation Thursday because all the penalties from the 2001 incident had not been paid. He paid the remaining penalties following his arrest, according to a Moultrie police report.
The Observer regrets the error. -
Peanut Commission Research Report Day will be Feb. 8
The Georgia Peanut Commission will hold the annual Research Report Day Wednesday, Feb. 8, beginning at 9 a.m. at the National Environmentally Sound Production Agriculture Laboratory (NESPAL), located on the University of Georgia Tifton campus. The event provides growers and industry representatives an opportunity to hear the latest reports on research projects funded by GPC in 2011.
-
Boy Scouts help the needy with Scouting for Food program
Scouts of the Suwannee River Area Council, Boy Scouts of America will be collecting food today to help the hungry in the council’s 13-county service area, which includes Colquitt County.
- Jury duty
- More Local News Headlines
-
Killer of Fla. Girl Found in Landfill Gets Life
Army Orders Bradley Manning Court-martial
Cancer Charity Revives Breast-screening Grants
Heavy Snowstorm Hits Colorado On Its Way East
2nd Teacher From LA School Arrested on Sex Claim
Prosecutors Close Armstrong Inquiry, No Charges
Sights and Sounds: Football Fans Pour Into Indy
Unemployment Rate Down to 8.3%
Obama: Still Far Too Many Americans Need Jobs
GOP: Jobs Numbers Welcome, Can Do Better
Fla. Man Adopts Girlfriend in Legal Battle
More Deaths As Egypt Clashes Continue
Raw Video: Prince William in Falklands
Egpyt Protesters Blame Police for Soccer Deaths
'Lucky' 9-Year-Old Receives 6-Organ Transplant
Raw Video: Michelle Vs. Ellen in Pushup Contest
First Person: Will Peyton Manning Stay in Indy?
Egypt Shaken After Deadly Soccer Riot
New Suits, New Starts for New York's Unemployed
Hall of Famer Dorsett Speaks Out on NFL Injuries
