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Wednesday, March 19, 2008
Not all frogs are green, not all cars are Fords, and not all African-Americans are Democrats
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
You’ll see a story on Thursday that says Democrat Jim Martin has been calling black legislators at the state Capitol, trying to persuade them to back his candidacy for the U.S. Senate.
Some African-Americans are uncomfortable challenging DeKalb County CEO Vernon Jones, who is also in the race. (Others may be working another game — withholding support as a means of pressuring strategists in Washington to ante up cash for the contest.)
On Wednesday, state Rep. Bob Holmes (D-Atlanta) was the only black lawmaker listed as a supporter in Martin’s announcement.
“Vernon has done a lot of good things over in DeKalb, but I haven’t seen indication of him having a statewide constituency,” Holmes said. “I would have expected to see his fund-raising and polling look better than what it looks to be.”
Melvin Everson, a two-term House member from Snellville, was one of many African-Americans who also have received calls from Martin.
Melvin Everson of Snellville, who is not a Democrat. Elissa Eubanks/AJC
“He told me, ‘I’m seriously considering entering the race against Saxby Chambliss,” Everson recounted.
Everson replied that this was nice, but he would be supporting Chambliss. “Before you go any further,” the lawmaker added, “I want you to know I’m a Republican.”
Oops.
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Democrat Jim Martin announces for U.S. Senate
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Democrat Jim Martin just announced that he’s joined the U.S. Senate race to unseat Republican incumbent Saxby Chambliss.
“Today, on the fifth anniversary of the Iraq War, it’s clear that the current administration is on the wrong track. We need a Senator in Washington who answers to Georgians and not to George Bush and Dick Cheney 92 percent of the time,” Martin said in a press release e-mailed at noon.
“Senator Chambliss’s uncritical advocacy of the Iraq war has been matched only by his disregard for the soldiers fighting it and their families. I believe we should respect our troops by using them more effectively and taking better care of them when they come home,” Martin said.
The Atlanta attorney and former legislator joins five other Democrats already in the race: Former TV journalist Dale Cardwell; DeKalb County CEO Vernon Jones; ecologist Rand Knight; Statesboro businessman Josh Lanier; and Rockdale County teacher Maggie Martinez.
Martin claims endorsements from numerous political, civic, and business leaders across Georgia, including: former First Lady Rosalynn Carter; former Gov. Roy Barnes; Commissioner of Agriculture Tommy Irvin; House Minority Leader DuBose Porter; State Rep. Bob Holmes; and Steve Leeds, a close associate of former U.S. senator Max Cleland — whom Chambliss defeated in 2002.
Martin’s web site is here.
Chambliss, who reported $4.4 million on hand to defend his seat late last year, is to hold a 3:30 p.m. rally at the state Capitol today with Gov. Sonny Perdue.
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Jim Martin for Senate? He’s got a web site, but…
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
He hasn’t formally announced his candidacy, but Democrat Jim Martin has set up this web site, with this caption: “Today, I announced my candidacy for U.S. Senate. Please contribute to help us build the site!”
And it’s dated March 19. That’s today.
We’ve got a call into Martin’s daughter, who’s been acting as spokeswoman, to see if this is real — or an Internet snafu. But there’s no word around the Capitol of any imminent appearance by Martin here or anywhere else. So stay tuned.
In the meantime, Republican incumbent Saxby Chambliss, who has $4.4 million to Martin’s zero, makes an appearance at the state Capitol this afternoon with Gov. Sonny Perdue and every Republican lawmaker he can muster.
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Correll on a Grady CEO: ‘It’s going to take an experienced executive’
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
This morning, WABE (90.1 FM) broadcast a telling interview with Pete Correll, who on Monday was named chairman of Grady Memorial Hospital’s new non-profit governing board.
Reading between the sound bites, it sounds like state Rep. Pam Stephenson (D-Atlanta), a lawyer who is currently serving as the CEO of Grady hospital, might not have the $600,000-a-year job for long.
The Atlanta public radio station has posted the audio here.
Pete Correll, the new chairman of the non-profit Grady Hospital board. Jenni Girtman / AJC
But here’s a partial transcript:
Morning Edition host Steve Goss: We see that Pam Stephenson has been named vice chair of the board. Will she continue as CEO of Grady hospital?
Pete Correll: She will certainly continue as CEO, as I understand it, through the time that the lease commences. Of course, that’s a decision of the Grady hospital authority board, not the new board.
The new board has not discussed what we’re going to do for a CEO going forward. And if Pam wants to be a candidate, she clearly would be, but this is a big job, and it’s going to take an experienced executive who’s done it before to lead this hospital through the magnitude of the financial transformation we’ve got to go through.
Goss: Do you feel she’s qualified to run Grady hospital?
Correll:You know, I honestly do not have any opinion on that. I’ve not studied Pam’s resume and what she’s done. She’s dealt very credibly with me. I have a lot of respect for her. This has been a difficult six months, but in terms of whether she’s qualified to run the hospital, I just don’t know enough to have an opinion.
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