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DEL.ICIO.USCox: Taylor used prison labor
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
THE AD
The television ad opens with Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor and headlines saying he “fabricated� an attack on Democratic rival Cathy Cox by saying she voted against the lottery. It then switches to Cox saying she “has always supported the HOPE scholarship, always will.� HOPE is funded with lottery proceeds. It next shows a shot of Taylor and makes a new charge, saying the lieutenant governor used his influence to get “free prison labor for a company project, costing hard-working, law-abiding Georgians their jobs.� It finishes with the phrase, “Mark Taylor: he lies and just looks out for the other big guys. Georgia, we deserve better.�
SPONSOR
Cathy Cox for governor campaign
THE REALITY
To make its case, the Cox campaign cites a 1999 Atlanta Journal-Constitution article about Taylor acting as an intermediary between the Georgia Department of Corrections and Crisp County officials to help out a struggling South Georgia recycling plant.
Workers hired off welfare were fired and replaced by free convict labor. The story does not say Taylor’s family trucking company was involved, as the ad states.
However, one of the family’s businesses — Trans Waste — had a contract to haul waste to the recycling plant. Taylor’s campaign said his family sold the business in September 1998, but Cox’s campaign said his family remained connected to the business.
Taylor’s father, Fred, was listed as secretary of Trans Waste Services Inc. in the company’s most recent corporate filing with the secretary of state’s office. Rick Dent, Taylor’s spokesman, said the listing is inaccurate.
The company that bought Trans Waste in 1998 issued common stock to the Taylor family’s MML Limited Partnership that year, according to documents obtained by Cox’s campaign. Dent said that the Taylor family did not benefit from the plant’s replacement of paid workers with inmate labor, although that move could have kept the plant in business and the hauling contract intact.
While Cox says she has always supported the HOPE scholarship, she doesn’t say in this ad that she backed the lottery. Taylor has accused her of voting against it as a private citizen, citing a newspaper article about a speech she made in 1993.
Cox said last week that she did vote for the lottery and the author of the article Taylor used for the attack ad on the lottery said this week that his quotes were taken out of context.
However, the Taylor campaign produced a letter from former Blakely City Councilman Benjamin Cawthon, a member of the audience at the Cox speech in 1993, who said Cox did, in fact, indicate that she voted against the lottery.
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By Barbara
June 28, 2006 9:56 AM | Link to this
Is the true reality that Kathy Cox actually voted against something that was ATTACHED to the “Lottery/HOPE” legislation? Please research and presnt the whole and complete history of this issue. Thank you!!
By Dave
June 29, 2006 11:24 AM | Link to this
It is terrible to be negative about our political canidates, but in my humble opinion, all canidates that hold public office, or have held public office in the past, have dirty hands from some shyster deal or another. I do mean ALL politicians, which of course includes, Cox, Taylor, and Perdue in this particular race. Think about it. Sad!!!!!!
By Diver
June 29, 2006 12:10 PM | Link to this
One of the problems I see here is the failue of the media to investigate and report. All they (the media) seems to do is report sensationalism and not the facts. What ever happened to investigative reporting, to discover and post the candidates platforms, views, and inconsistancies. This way the public doesnt have to sift through the muck and/or listen to adds that sling mud. I will commend the author of this since they did do some investigation on the matter, but more could have been said. Example, if you own stock in a company as Taylors family did/does, then the free labor does provide a benifit, maybe not initially or directly, but bottom line basic buisness 101, Profits = Income - Costs.
By Rodawg
June 29, 2006 2:50 PM | Link to this
The small amount of money that Taylor’s family made from this deal was inconsequential considering their overall wealth, but it sure looks like they benefited. Taylor’s campaign keeps denying affiliation with Trans Waste, but Trans Waste must think there is or they wouldn’t continue to file showing Taylor’s dad as an officer of the company. Who are you going to believe, Taylor or your lieing eyes?
It’s like the debate issue. Taylor says that he looks forward to the opportunity to debate Cox, but when given the opportunity, he avoids opportunities to debate her. Why won’t he debate her? Why does he keep saying that he will when he won’t? Let’s see a debate so we can choose the best candidate.
By Concerned Citizen
June 30, 2006 9:47 AM | Link to this
All this negativness will allow Mr. Perdue to get back into office. We are divided and divided we fall! Let us as a party get our ducks in a row and try to bring back some help for our State attitude! We have lost so much this year, our military bases, plants, and attacks to get rid of Lockheed/Martin is anybody paying attention to the economy. People are coming to Ga in numbers and jobs are going out in numbers! Somebody address the REAL ISSUES!
By truerblue
June 30, 2006 10:05 AM | Link to this
Unfortunately negatives do come out in a political battle such as the Governor’s primary. It doesn’t necessarily have to get this ugly but often its the only way to let folks know the true character of a candidate. And speaking of true character I feel that Taylor’s campaign manager Rick Dent has done a jam up job of attacking the opponent and straying from addressing the real issues facing GA. More often than not press releases from the Taylor campaign are attacking with no mention of what Taylor plans to do but rather what he did as Zell Miller’s gopher. Is anyone else interested in hearing what he thinks about the future of Georgia or are you satisfied just hearing about the past and what Zell Miller did? Zig Zagging Zell is not, I repeat, NOT running for office!
By J & J Ranch
July 4, 2006 12:16 PM | Link to this
If you’ve ever been to the Secretary of State Homepage and looked around, you get the impression that Ms. Cox is on the ball when it comes to Securities\Investments.
“Be Smart! - The Georgia Investor Education Site�, “Secretary of State’s Watch List�, “Top 5 Investment Scams and Schemes�, there is a “Consumer Alert� and “Public Complaint Form�.
Ok, the problem with this is that it gives the impression that if you get screwed you can get help. WRONG!
Scenario: You have long term investments some of which are Mutual Funds - retirement savings. The company which you use to invest through allows your stocks, Mutual Funds, Bonds to be accessed by another individual using less than acceptable paperwork. The address your statements come to is changed, investments are sold, you end up losing in the neighborhood of $500,000.00
You file a complaint with Cox. Nothing happens. You file another complaint. Nothing happens. You file yet the third complaint. Still nothing happens except you get a letter back stating that this is your third complaint, nothing is going to happen.
Don’t let Cox fool you!
Nothing is going to happen!