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Saturday, November 22, 2008
GOP groups say Martin’s soft on crime; the Democrat tells of a kidnapping
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Freedom’s Watch, a 527 group, and the Republican Senatorial Campaign Committee, have started after Democrat Jim Martin on the issue of crime.
With 10 days left before his runoff with Republican incumbent Saxby Chambliss, Martin responded this morning with a 30-second ad — and the personal story of his 8-year-old daughter’s 1980 kidnapping.
He’s told the story before. It was part of his response in 2006, during the Democratic primary for lieutenant governor, when opponents accused him of being soft on crime.
“You never forget the horror of coming face-to-face with violent crime,” Martin says in the current ad. “That’s why I fought so hard to crack down on violent crime and lock up violent criminals.”
Here’s the Freedom’s Watch ad:
And here’s the Martin response:
The RSCC continues to peddle an accusation that Martin voted against making child solicitation a felony as a state lawmaker, but the accusation doesn’t hold water. Read here for the details.
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Two months after giving away $1 million, state school superintendent files for bankruptcy
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
State School Superintendent Kathy Cox, who in September gave away the $1 million she won in a game show, has filed for bankruptcy.
Her husband is a builder hit hard by the economic collapse.
This is in today’s Athens Banner-Herald::
“On November 17, after consultation with numerous attorneys, my husband and I made the difficult decision to file for bankruptcy due to losses incurred by his home building business,” State Schools Superintendent Kathy Cox said in a statement issued Friday by her office.
“The collapse of the home building market has been well documented and small builders, like my husband, have been hit especially hard. This was a gut-wrenching decision, but in the end, we felt that we had no choice.”
Cox issued the statement, and a similar e-mail to school superintendents, following a story that appeared in the online version of The Newnan Times-Herald. According to the article, Cox and her husband, John, filed Monday for Chapter 7 bankruptcy, with $3.5 million in liabilities and just shy of $650,000 in assets.
Only last September, in a giddy peformance, Cox became the first $1 million winner on the FOX TV series “Are You Smarter Than A 5th-Grader?” by answering correctly the question: Who was the longest reigning British monarch?
She gave the money to Macon’s Georgia Academy for the Blind, Clarkston’s Atlanta Area School for the Deaf and Cave Spring’s Georgia School for the Deaf.
My AJC colleague Rhonda Cook talked to Cox spokesman Dana Tofig today. He said that Cox created a “gift foundation” with her winnings that will protect it from family creditors. Tofig also said that none of the $1 million would be used to administer the foundation — i.e., no individuals will profit by it. The cash still goes to the three schools.
Photo credit: Fox Television
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