I am a bit of a political junkie. I’m trying to curb my enthusiasm, but that is hard. The political season is about to heat up with Super Tuesday now behind us. Two Tuesdays ago, the SWGA Patriots hosted the first debate for the candidates running on the Republican ticket to unseat Democrat Congressman Sanford Bishop in Georgia’s 2nd Congressional District.
There are three candidates vying for the position. Rick Allen and John House are both from the Columbus area and Ken Deloach is from the Macon area. Deloach is a Senior Pastor at Bread of Life Worship Center. A section of Bibb county was drawn into the district recently and Thomas county was drawn out. After meeting Ken Deloach just before the debate, a gentleman behind me shook his hand and welcomed him to the 2nd District. Deloach said something about the fluid nature of boundary lines which are always changing. I figured that the reference was due to the recent addition of part of Bibb county to the district. I later learned in the debate that Deloach lives about 800 yards from the district line. He explained that living in the district is not a prerequisite for serving as a congressman. The only requirement, according to Deloach, is to live within the state. Immediately I saw a red flag. It may not be against the law for him to run and serve the 2nd District, but it will be hard to vote for a candidate when Bishop is running ads that Deloach doesn’t even reside in the district.
Another candidate is John House. House is a retired US Army Colonel. In the debate, House said that his military background would help him to win the vote of the veteran community as well as those working on the two bases in our area along with their families. House was very well spoken. He said that he formally announced his intentions to run in January and he already has very nice handouts, yard signs, etc. He has also secured the endorsement of Mike Keown who lost the election to Congressman Bishop by a narrow margin. House had a video crew taping the debate. While I cannot confirm it, I can assume that John House is favored by the Republican establishment.
The final candidate running is Rick Allen. If you want a candidate that talks about the Founding Fathers and American Exceptionalism, Allen is your candidate. He narrowly lost the Republican nomination to Mike Keown, but he entered the race very late two years ago. This time he says that he wants to finish what he started in the previous campaign. Allen is president of Vita-RX which is a distributer of medical supplies. He brings the small business owner perspective to the table as well as a special knowledge about the new healthcare legislation. Allen was well spoken too during the debate and it appeared that he was the only one that made notes when the other candidates spoke. He even referenced his notes to the moderator when he was accidentally passed over for a question.
Right now, all of the attention is being focused on the Presidential race. I suspect that will be the case until the Republican party finds a candidate. However, our problems in southwest Georgia can be turned around with the proper local leadership. It is not too early to start looking at the candidates that want to be your next Congressman. Visit their web sites, shake their hands, look them in the eye. After all, they want to represent you. www.rickallenforcongress.com, www.johnhouse.us, www.deloachforgeorgia.com
Written by Bill Waller. Mr. Waller is a author and contributor local blog, Southwest Georgia Politics. He enjoys writing, traveling, and researching history. He currently resides in Albany, Georgia.
