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June 2006
Cox: 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.
Permalink | Comments (7) | Categories: Ad Watch
Taylor claims role in creating HOPE scholarship
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
THE AD
The television ad opens with Mark Taylor, leads to a teacher overlooking a child and notes that Taylor was endorsed “by Georgia’s teachers because he’s a real innovator.” It touts his backing of the HOPE scholarship and pre-kindergarten classes, saying he sponsored the law creating HOPE. It then says that his Democratic opponent, Cathy Cox, “opposed the law creating HOPE scholarships.” It says Cox admitted voting against the lottery, which funds HOPE scholarships, and includes a shot of a 13-year-old newspaper article in the Miller County Liberal that quotes her on the issue. “Rep. Cox stated that although she did not vote for the lottery, she would be watching how the $139 million anticipated to come in the first year would be spent.” It ends with another shot of Taylor and the phrase, “On education, only Mark Taylor has always been there.”
SPONSOR
Mark Taylor for governor campaign
THE REALITY
Taylor has been endorsed by the Georgia Association of Educators and the Georgia Federation of Teachers. While Taylor pushed the bill that created the lottery as an assistant floor leader for Gov. Zell Miller in the Senate, the proposed lottery amendment that passed the General Assembly was sponsored by the House, not Taylor and the Senate. Cox was not a legislator at the time.
Cox said Saturday that she voted for the lottery at the polls in 1992 and that Taylor’s claim is false. Her campaign provided a statement from Terry Toole, author of the article cited in the ad. In the statement Toole, who is editor and publish of the Miller County Liberal, said the Taylor campaign took the quote out of context.
He said Cox, who was speaking to the Lions Club as a freshman legislator, was referring to the fact that she didn’t vote for HOPE in the Legislature because she wasn’t a lawmaker when it passed. Toole could not be reached for comment Saturday.
“The facts here are crystal clear: This is a big lie from the ‘big guy,’ ” Cox said.
Rick Dent, Taylor’s spokesman, said he believes the ad is accurate. “She joined [Gov.] Sonny Perdue in trying to kill the education lottery,” he said.
Perdue initially opposed the lottery, but he has funded HOPE and pre-kindergarten as governor and, while serving in the Senate, voted for budgets that funded the programs.
ONLINE
Check out Taylor’s claims: www.coxrecord.com
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8 candidates speak at Gwinnett event
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
On Wednesday evening, June 7, the Gwinnett County Chamber of Commerce hosted a forum for statewide candidates.
The sound files below were recorded by reporter Jim Galloway and contain the introductory statements by the eight who attended — five for lieutenant governor, and three for secretary of state. Candidates are listed in order of appearance.
Note: The following files are between 4-7.5 megabytes.
Permalink | | Categories: Hear the candidates
