Fresh Loaf

State Sen. David Shafer, R-Duluth, says he’s dropping out of the lieutenant governor race. He will instead seek re-election in the Senate.

From Shafer’s campaign:

Today I am fully suspending my campaign for Lieutenant Governor with the intention of seeking re-election to the State Senate.

I will always be grateful to those who have so generously supported my candidacy. I am especially proud of the endorsements from my colleagues in the Georgia General Assembly and our strong showing in the various Republican straw polls.

I was relieved to learn that the Lieutenant Governor’s surgery went well and that his doctors are optimistic about his ability to actively campaign for re-election. He has been a friend for many years, and I wish him a speedy return to full health.

I would not have entered the race had it not been an open seat, and there is no point in remaining in it as long as the Lieutenant Governor is well enough to be a candidate for re-election.

Public service is, by definition, about serving others, not the positions or titles that we want for ourselves.

Dr. Bill Sheals and Matt Reeves have agreed to serve as honorary co-chairs of my re-election campaign.

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

Bookmark It

The 2009 General Assembly doesn’t start until next week, but already the infighting has begun. This time, it isn’t the lop-sided Richardson/Ralston showdown-that-wasn’t. It’s a smashmouth tussle between state senators Eric Johnson and David Shafer, who both plan to run for lieutenant governor in 2010. Ho hum.

Here’s the story – yawn – so far: Johnson stepped down as senate president pro-tem in November to devote himself to running for guv lite. Over this past weekend, Shafer told a crowd of Cobb Republicans that he, too, is seeking the post, and added that he has never given money to Democratic state Rep. Alicia Thomas Morgan – something that Johnson has done, leading to much controversy within the GOP.

Johnson – zzzzz – responded by taking offense and releasing a statement that essentially called Shafer a poopybutt:

“I am saddened by such early, petty comments. I am afraid that this is what Republicans will have to hear from my opponent for the next 18 months.”

Shafer has most recently released a list of 100 supporters, including a goodly number of Republican state legislators.

If the two carry their catfight over into next week’s legislative session, I may need to scream. The election is a year-and-a-half away, for Christ’s sake and it’s for lieutenant governor! Moreover, by the time the winner – assuming, for argument’s sake, that it even is one of them – is positioned to run for governor, Georgia might well have flipped back to being a blue state.

Bookmark It

Just received from state Sen. David “Border War!” Shafer, R-Duluth:

With Casey Cagle’s decision to run for Governor, Georgians must elect a new Lieutenant Governor in 2010. I wanted to let you know that, with the support of my family and the encouragement of my colleagues in the General Assembly, I will seek this office.

I have filed paperwork creating a campaign committee so that we can prepare for the effort. Chuck Clay will serve as chairman of the committee, and Bartow Morgan will serve as treasurer. Chuck is a former Senate Republican Leader and past State Chairman of the Georgia Republican Party. Bartow is the CEO of The Brand Banking Company, Gwinnett County’s oldest and largest community bank.

Shafer says the campaign will formally launch after the legislative session ends. He’s holding a start-up fundraising event, however, on Thursday, Jan. 8, 2009, from 3:00 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. on the 49th Floor of One Atlantic Center. If you want to help with his campaign, send him an e-mail.

Bookmark It

Dick Pettys of InsiderAdvantage brings news that Sen. Eric Johnson, R-Savannah, has confirmed that he’ll run for lieutenant governor in 2010 — but only if Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle decides he won’t seek another term in office.

Johnson’s a champion for education — that was one of his pet projects during the last legislative session. Pettys says it looks like universal school choice might be a big part of his ‘10 platform and his strategy in January as well.

He’s also one of the more colorful characters under the Gold Dome. When Gov. George Pataki of New York pulled down Georgia’s old flag in its statehouse because it incorporated the stars and bars, Johnson climbed on the ledge of the third floor in the Capitol to pull down the Empire State’s colors. He’s always good for a quote, was/is an awesome blogger, and underwent one of the coolest extreme makeovers a lawmaker has ever attempted since Joe Lieberman became a Republican. (Come on, you know he is, he’s just too lazy to change the letterhead.)

But he’s also a lawmaker who’ll actually address your questions without trailing off into some “let’s-move-forward-with-solutions” nonsense speech laden with soundbites and canned phrases. You may or may not agree with him all the time, but at least he’s direct. Of course, that’s gotten him into some trouble before.

Plus, he says he reads Fresh Loaf, so we gotta show some love to a reader.

(The senator from the Garden of Good and Evil says he’s a Led Zeppelin fan, hence the rare photo posted to the right. Johnson stood in for Robert Plant during a tour after the famous singer suffered a panther attack.)

Bookmark It