Cathy Cox For Georgia's Governor

Here Comes the New Guy

2006-05-10T17:45:00.000-07:00

Cox's former campaign manager resigned after allegations of alternating her opponent's online biography. The biography was on Wikipedia, a research website featuring information about everything and anything. Website viewers can add their own information to the site. Apparently, Morton Brilliant, the former campaign manager, went on Wikipedia and added information concerning Mark Taylor's son Fletcher. Fletcher is awaiting trial on a DUI arrest. The August 2005 crash he caused left a friend dead.

Cox had apologized to Taylor and said the legal woes of his son are off limits. She prides herself on clean politics and has set her campaign theme around that trait. I doubt that the allegation will have an effect on her clean image. She has now placed her faith on Chris Rigall. He has served as a senior aide to Cox in the secretary of state's office since 1996. He also has about 30 years of experience in communication, public policy and political campaigns. His experiences will undoubtedly aide Cox in her campaign. She hopes to bring back accountability and responsibility to the state government.

Wikipedia.
Article.

Cox and Taylor Coming Together???

2006-05-10T17:20:00.000-07:00

With the primary coming up July 18, voters are finding it strange to believe that democratic opponents Cathy Cox and Mark Taylor are coming together in an issue concerning ads attacking the republican Governor Sonny Perdue. The two signed a letter to Ralph Knowles, who is the chairman of Georgians for Truth, claiming that the planned ad targeting Perdue will most likely backfire against Democrats. Both Cox and Taylor agree that politics can be a difficult business, but they do not approve of the actions taking place. There was no immediate comment from Knowles on the ad.

I am aware of Cox's stand on clean politics, so I knew that she would not stand for some commercial slandering an opponent. Cox firmly believes that candidates should be in charge of their own ads. Only until I read the rest of the article, it finally made sense to why there was much disapproval.

Georgians for Truth is a state political committee set up in 2005. It is affiliated with a Democratic fundraising firm called The Oblander Group. They claim to have aided the presidential campaigns of Al Gore and John Kerry. The Oblander Group is headed by Kristin Oblander. Oblander is also a contracted employee for the Democratic Party of Georgia. Many Democratic circles worry that Oblander's connections with the state party give voters the appearance that the Democratic Party is behind the ad. They believe that Oblander should not be able to work for the party as well as the third-party group.

Article

Run for Governor is Official!

2006-05-07T14:11:00.000-07:00

Cathy Cox is officially running for governor. She stopped at the Capitol to file the papers qualifying her to run for governor. Cox's democratic challenger, Mark Taylor, also made the same stop. Each spent a few minutes speaking with party officials and handed over the required fee of $3,867.19. The winner of the Democratic primary will challenge current Governor Perdue in the fall. The primary is to take place July 18th. Morton Brilliant, Cox's former campaign manager, resigned yesterday. There had been allegations that he had revised an online biography of Mark Taylor. The biography included information about the drunk driving arrest Taylor's son Fletcher.

As a voter, there are many questions unanswered about the issue. Did Cox truly know about Brilliant's doing? Is it really true? The change of the biography is only an allegation. There is a possibility that Taylor's people had written the biography revision to make Cox and her campaign staff look bad. The article did not mention where the changed biography could be found. How could Brilliant access the online biography? There are many questions surrounding the allegations, but both candidates are eager to get back to the real issues. Cox had apologized to Taylor and his family in a statement the same day of Brilliant's resignation. She said her campaign will not resort to personal attacks.

article can be found here.

Returns to University

2006-03-24T12:55:00.000-08:00

Cathy Cox goes back to her old classroom and speaks with those in Charles Bullock's class. She spoke and answered questions about her campaign for governor. Her ex-teacher thought she was articulate and proved to be a good role model. Apparently, Bullock also asked Sonny Perdue and Mark Taylor to pay a visit, but he did not hear any word from either of them. Cox, however, jumped at the chance to visit her old teacher, whom she calls "the master." The students in the legislation class were said to have enjoyed Cox's visit. One junior in the class stated that he was happy to be given the opportunity to listen to the next possible governor of Georgia.

Cathy Cox took a great opportunity to talk to the college students at the University of Georgia. Many young voters do not vote for a particular party. It seems that whoever takes the first step in acknowledging the young voters is most commonly the person who will receive the most votes from that age bracket. The fact that Cox is also a democrat will also help her with the young voters. To the young voters, Republicans seem very stiff and close minded whereas the Democrats seem to be more open to ideas. Bullock also stated to the newspaper that Cox has a great chance of winning because she is a woman. I definitely agree that being the only female in the governor campaign is a plus side for Cox. The young females that were in Bullock's class that day were probably pleased with such an effective role model. The primary is in July.

article from: University of Georgia

A Double Celebration??

2006-03-08T08:27:00.000-08:00

Wow! What are the odds?! The Georgia primary will take place July 18. It is the same day Cox was born. She will turn 48 this year. Around a year ago, Cathy Cox first announced that she was campaigning for governor. This would make her the first female chief executive in the history of Georgia. Before she can face the current governor, "Sonny" Perdue, she must win a tough primary battle against the Lieutenant Governor, Mark Taylor.

Cox wants to be known for her rights on voters and her views on education. She is a firm believer in research and studies that will give insight to how children's brains develop. She also says that even though we have new research we are still teaching our children in the older ways. "Your arts magnet school in Gainesville and your school choice that adds a level of competition for parents to send their children where they want them to be are showing some tremendous results," Cox said. "We need to look at those things and see how we can break the 100-year-old model that is failing our children."

The summary of the article was taken from: The Gainesville Times.

A Stand on Voter's Rights

2006-03-08T08:10:00.000-08:00

Insider politicians are leading attacks against Cathy Cox. Georgia used to be the second worst in the nation at ensuring every vote was counted. Under Cox's leadership it has improved to be the second best at protecting the votes. Georgia Since the photo ID bill was first proposed in Georgia, Cathy Cox has been one of the strongest voices against it. She has spoken on behalf of other groups, such as the AARP, the NAACP and the League of Women Voters in their fight to dismiss the ID bill. Many Georgians are excited about the new changes Cox has in mind for the state. Most are impressed with the stands and issues Cox has on voter's rights and it would be beneficial for her campaign to continue to struggle and fight for the voter's.

A More Ethical Georgia?

2006-02-08T10:27:00.000-08:00

A large part of Cathy Cox's campaign deals with getting rid of the "good old boy" way of politics. She wants to promote good ethics and political reform for the state of Georgia.

She wrote, from her own blog, “This far-reaching proposal will close the revolving door of government, put ethics law enforcement in the hands of a truly independent body, create a tough code of ethics, and reform the way state contracting is done.”

Apparently, new ways of reaching ethical reform of politics has been an issue for some time and many current politicians have been working to put this in effect. Some say that she is simply jumping on the bandwagon. If she is elected, they fear she will take full-credit for bringing ethical politics to Georgia.

There have been a lot of changes concerning ethical means in politics. Georgia currently has a strong Republican force in both the House and the Senate. They have passed legislation to promote the type of ethical behavior Cox is shooting for. Not many people of Georgia are aware of how campaigns are funded, so they may not be aware of the changes.

In 2005, the penalties in Georgia were increased for multiple abuses of campaign regulations. The maximum fine for this crime used to be $1,000. Now that serious legislation has been passed, the maximum fine has been upped to $10,000. Another change for Georgia's more ethical politics is a new law effecting lobbyists. The lobbyists in Georgia are now forced to reveal the names of any client that pays over $10,000 for their campaign. This is to prevent secret agreements to pass laws that would favor their clientele.

Polls indicate Cox has the best chance in the upcoming election for beating the current governor, Sonny Perdue.

More information can be found at this site.

First Things First...

2006-01-27T09:34:00.000-08:00

Before one can follow a political career, one must know the background of the candidate.

Like many candidates, Cathy Cox grew up in a small town. Her mother was an art/music teacher and her father ran the local funeral parlor. Her dad later served as town mayor. I believe this may have influenced Cathy into politics.

But she did not start in politics immediately. She graduated from Abraham Baldwin Agricultural College in Tifton with her degree in agriculture. That was not enough for the young Cathy Cox. She then went to the University of Georgia and earned a degree in journalism. She was a crime reporter for The Gainesville Times and was a general-assignment reporter for her hometown's newspaper, The Post-Searchlight.

Again, this was not enough. She went back to school again to recieve a degree in law. She served ten years as a lawyer to the common Joes of Georgia and its small businesses. She has served as Secretary of State since 1999. In 2002, she was re-elected unanimously by Republicans, Democrats and Libertarians alike. There is a whole section devoted to what she has done under her reign. I would hope that some of you would check it out. It is pretty amazing.

Mrs. Cox has a few things in her favor. Her small-town background and her degree in agriculture will hopefully aide her in the farmer vote. If Georgia is anything like Illinois is, the farmer vote is much more valuable. I did not talk about her religious beliefs, but she is a proud Christian and this may help her candidacy as well.

She seems to be one of the front-runners for Geogria's Governor. I'll be sure to check out her main competition, Sonny Perdue, but all in all, this should be an interesting race.