Seth Harp offers himself as bridge on ethics between tea party and Legislature

"I am totally supportive of the efforts of the Atlanta Tea Party, Georgia Conservatives in Action, and the other true grassroots organizations who are promoting the need for transparency and integrity in the Georgia state government.

"Regarding the legislative proposal to charge citizens a fee to talk to their elected officials, I stand with the grassroots. The idea that citizen groups are to be treated as lobbyist is patently unconstitutional. I think the idea of these types of restrictions is intended to kill the bill and thus sink the entire reform movement.

"It is simply unconscionable to me that any individual citizen would be forced to register with the state to exercise their Constitutional rights to free speech and freedom of assembly to petition their government which their tax dollars fund in the first place.

"Regarding provisions in the ethics bill which would allow officials not to have to report what money was spent on as long as they paid for it with private funds and reimbursed themselves with campaign funds - I strongly oppose this. I stand with the grassroots leadership for integrity and transparency in government. I oppose political loopholes and as the next Chairman of the Georgia Republican Party will insist on a spirit of respect from elected officials towards both the grassroots activist who work so hard to elect them and for all taxpayers who pay their salaries.

"In closing, I am the candidate with the relationships with our elected officials to serve as the bridge between them and the grassroots to accomplish real and meaningful ethics reform which honors grassroots leaders and all tax payers.

Seth Harp"