After Georgia Representative Jay Neal announced his mid-term resignation in early November, candidates scrambled to assemble campaigns in a short timeframe. The limited time between Rep. Neal’s decision and the special election intimidated many from joining a wide-open race that would normally have attracted a half-dozen or more candidates.
When qualification ended, only three men signed up as potential replacements for Rep. Neal: Chickamaugan Steve Tarvin, Rock Spring resident Doug Woodruff, and outgoing LaFayette Mayor Neal Florence. Tarvin and Woodruff’s decisions to join the race weren’t surprising – both had shown previous interest in state/regional politics and had existing campaign structures from failed runs in 2012. Florence, however, had shown no prior interest in an office higher than mayor, hadn’t run for anything since 2009, and had no campaign organization or signs left over from previous efforts.
All three have done a good job in short time making voters aware of their campaigns and motivating supporters to contribute, but some of their positions on issues that matter haven’t been made clear. That’s the purpose of this Q&A – clarifying issues so voters can go to the polls Tuesday armed with enough knowledge to make an informed vote.
Each candidate was contacted on December 28th, with a deadline to respond set for 11:59 PM January 2nd. They were contacted with e-mail addresses known to work, but only two of the three – Florence and Woodruff – responded by deadline. As of 4 AM on Monday January 6th, Candidate Tarvin has still not responded to (or acknowledged receiving) these questions. Sadly, his positions will be left to speculation and previous reports. He DID reply to a Q&A in 2012, which can fill in some of the blanks.
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