ATLANTA (November 15, 2011) – Sen. John Albers (R-Roswell) today pre-filed Senate Bill 292, legislation which would require mandatory drug testing to determine welfare eligibility.

Senate Bill 292, known as the Social Responsibility and Accountability Act, would require recipients of Medicaid and the Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF) welfare programs to undergo drug tests similar to the routine drug-screening measures set forth by private sector employers.

“Whether you work to receive compensation or collect government assistance, the same standards should apply,” said Senator Albers. “If individuals are receiving aid at the taxpayer’s expense, citizens have the right to know how their funds are being appropriated.”

The bills’ provisions outline that if an applicant fails to comply with state-mandated drug testing or produces a positive result, the applicant will be disqualified from receiving state benefits for a specified period of time which will be determined by the Georgia Department of Human Services.

To receive welfare benefits, applicants already submit to a detailed application process and drug-screening measures would serve as an additional eligibility requirement. In an effort to protect the privacy of welfare applicants, screening results would remain confidential to protect against the scrutiny of public opinion.

“The Social Responsibility and Accountability Act touts the virtues of individual responsibility and accountability, and relieves the taxpayer from undue tax burdens,” said Senator Albers. “The proposed legislation would serve to reward law-obeying citizens who need assistance the most.”

# # # #

Sen. John Albers represents the 56th Senate District, which includes portions of North Fulton County. He may be reached at his office at 404.463.8055 or by email at john.albers@senate.ga.gov.

Official Announcement: Bruce Hoffman is running for City Council in Dahlonega, Georgia. He’s a proven leader, active in the community and a Vietnam Veteran. I believe the small mountain city in North Georgia is ready for his style of leadership. He’s ready to listen to the needs and concerns of his constituents and to make the best possible decisions for the growth and development of Dahlonega.

I know him because he’s my father. His passion for public service is unmatched and will serve residents well. He won’t be the guy that bends the rules or interprets them for his own gain. He’s easy to talk with and will continue to be very visible in and around the city and Lumpkin County. He’s your new “Go To” guy when you have questions about city government.

Vote for my Dad for City Council in Dahlonega!

Bruce Hoffman for Dahlonega City Council

Dates to remember!
Register to vote by: October 11
Early Voting: October 17-November 4
Election Day: November 8

Here are his qualifications for public service as a City Council member:
Dahlonega Community Volunteer and Memberships
Vice Chairman, Lumpkin County Veterans Affairs Committee
Lumpkin County Republican Party
Dahlonega-Lumpkin County Chamber of Commerce
Meals on Wheels
Community Helping Place
Dahlonega Visitors Center
Veteran Memorial Markers
Guest Lecturer, Criminal Justice, NGCSU
NGCSU Saints Club
Dahlonega Lions Club
American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars,
Marine Corps League, Vietnam Veterans of America
Disabled American Veterans, Military Writers of America
Military Service
United States Marine Corps
Combat Decorated, Vietnam Veteran

Career Experience
1968-1995, Hillsborough County Sheriff’s Office, Tampa, Florida,
Retired Captain
Instructor, Tampa Police Academy
Adjunct Professor, Criminal Justice, Hillsborough Community College
Consultant for U.S. Department of Labor, Washington, DC, 1995-1997
Bruce Hoffman & Associates, Private Investigations, Polygraph
and Security Consulting, 1997-01, 2003-08
Port of Tampa, Director of Security, 2001-03, Testified at two Congressional
and one Senate meeting on Seaport Security

Education
Bachelor of Arts Degree in Criminal Justice, University of South Florida
Masters of Science Degree in Management and Public Service, Nova
Southeastern University
Personal
Married to Jacque Hoffman for 42 years, one son, four grandchildren

Straight from Political Vine.

For Immediate Release
May 11, 2011
Contact: Julianne Thompson
Phone: 404-798-4663

“TEA PARTY LEADERS FOR EVERHART” CONTINUES TO GROW!
Tea Party and 912 activists from around Georgia continue to pledge support to Everhart for Re-election as Chairman of the GAGOP

Atlanta, GA - Last week, Tea Party leaders announced they would be endorsing Sue Everhart for GAGOP Chairman. This week, more leaders (all Georgians) within the movement have pledged support to Everhart, as the momentum grows for this weekend’s Georgia Republican Party State Convention.

Julianne Thompson – State Coordinator of Tea Party Patriots in Georgia and Co-Organizer of the Atlanta Tea Party

Debbie Dooley -  Co-Founder of the Atlanta Tea Party

Virginia Galloway -  Tea Party Educator and Co-Founder of the Atlanta Tea Party

Catherine McDonald – Leader, Atlanta 9-12

Steve Ramey -  Chairman of the Founding Fathers Tea Party

Anthony Scott-Hobbs – Chairman, Tea Party Business Network

Nighta Davis – Founder, American Patriots Tea Party

Kathy Hildebrand – 7th District Tea Party Patriots leader.

Stella Lohmann – Media Professional and Tea Party leader. Known as The Freedom Czar of America.

Conrad Quagliaroli – Organizer, Cherokee County Tea Party Patriots

Tom Ross, Henry County 912 Project

John Bigham, Henry County 912 Project

Clayton County 9-12 Project/Tea Party

Chris Collins Jackson County 9-12 leader

Maureen Miller ~ Douglas County TEA Party Chairman

Atlanta 912 Leadership Team supports Sue Everhart for GA GOP Chair:

John Allan
Marilyn Allan
Carey Brewer
Tony Brewer
John Heald
Judy Heald
John King
Karen King
Catherine McDonald
Deborah Fett Moscato
Amy Peil
Sue Simpson
Linda Smith

“This is very exciting”, said Julianne Thompson, State Coordinator of Georgia Tea Party Patriots and Co-Organizer of the Atlanta Tea Party. “Longtime GOP activists, as well as Tea Party activists brand new to the GOP have taken notice of Everhart’s support and respect of the movement, and her dedication to all of the various coalitions of conservatives that will make the difference going forward. They realize being an activist is about getting involved in choosing the right grassroots leaders going into 2012, if we are going to beat the Obama machine.”

Debbie Dooley stated, “After last week’s press release, Julianne and I were contacted by many Tea Party activists around Georgia who also support Sue Everhart. There were so many that it definitely warranted another press release. We expect more endorsements to come Sue’s way as this election will determine what direction the Georgia GOP will go in. It will determine if the Georgia GOP has its direction determined by the grassroots or powerful elected officials.”

The following Tea Party leaders proudly give Sue Everhart their endorsement:

————————————————————————
Kathy Hildebrand – 7th District Tea Party Patriots leader.

“You don’t trade the winning quarterback after you just won the Super Bowl. Sue is the one to lead us into 2012!”

————————————————————————
Stella Lohmann – Media Professional and Tea Party leader. Known as The Freedom Czar of America.

“If Georgia Republicans want this state to remain “RED” in 2012, we must have a leader who knows, understands, and has proven consistent experience in every aspect of the political process. Sue Everhart has been the ‘boots on the ground’ for many years in grassroots cultivation, management, and growth. Like many conservatives, labels and titles are insignificant when selecting leaders; it’s about integrity to principles and passion. In the more than twelve years that I have known Sue, she remains one of the most reliable models of citizen activism working tirelessly in any capacity entrusted to her with humility and grace. The fact of the matter is Sue gets results. It would be difficult to travel within Conservative circles in Georgia without someone having a story to tell about working on a winning team with Sue. Sue IS the One (for GA GOP Chairman) because she was “Tea Party before Tea Party was cool!”

————————————————————————
Conrad Quagliaroli – Organizer, Cherokee County Tea Party Patriots

“I’m forwarding this message about Sue Everhart, because after hearing all three candidates last month, I decided to support her.  Reason- while her opponents are very capable and embrace technology, it occurred to me that the number one job of the chairman is to raise money and get people to work together.  And for that, you need to have personal contacts with these people.  It seems to me, that after many years volunteering for the GA Republican Party, Sue is the only one with those kind of relationships.  Additionally, while you can hire the technical expertise, you can’t buy those personal contacts.

I will of course support whoever is our chairman, but I will be voting for Sue Everhart at the convention and hope you will as well.”
————————————————————————

Editors Note: I support Political Vine and Bill Simon 100%.

(Georgia – May 5, 2011) −  Mystery surrounds the whereabouts of the anti-free speech, anti-US Constitutional political hoodlums who contacted the previous email hoster for the Political Vine newsletter and convinced them that the material published in at least one PV newsletter violated some silly rules.

The previous email hoster prohibited any transmission that “harassed, threatened, embarrassed or caused distress, unwanted attention or discomfort to a person or entity.”

This, despite the fact that the individuals who were called-out (either individually or in a group) in each PV-newsletter tended to be in violation themselves of what normal folk would call Standards of Decency When Dealing With Other Members of The Human Race.

“On the one hand, I have to give the opposition team some credit and a tip-of-the-hat as a courtesy acknowledgement of their ingenuity.  On the other hand, all this truly caused was one email vendor to lose revenue and another one (located in Canada…where we love the sexy way their female tech helpers say ‘about’ on the telephone) gained a client,” said Bill Simon, Chief Writer of Political Vine.

“Look, darned near every single person that was previously identified by the PV to be a low-down scalawag of a person deserved to be publicly identified and if ‘unwanted attention’ or ‘emotional distress’ was experienced by these people, then let that be a lesson to them and others who engage in deceitful and unkind ways against others that there may be some uncomfortable consequences to their disrespect of people,” concluded Simon.

About The Political Vine (“PV”) PV was established on July 24, 2000 and is based in Georgia. All material printed in this newsletter is produced by fun-lovin’ Georgia Republican activists whose agenda is to deliver facts, information, humor, opinion and rumors in a satirical (and sometimes sarcastic) environment.

ROSWELL (February 18, 2011) – Preserving voter trust is a responsibility of any public official. When government starts making decisions without public input, it ignores the fundamental principles of democracy. When the life of the Georgia 400 toll was extended last year without any community involvement, I knew it was time for the legislature to stand up and protect the voters.

This week, I sponsored Senate Bill 97 to end the Georgia 400 toll as soon as possible by prohibiting any toll that is no longer paying off any debt from collecting money from drivers. We’re also establishing a process that would only allow tolls to be extended with the approval of the State Road and Tollway Authority and a joint resolution from the Georgia General Assembly. This will ensure community involvement and support in future decisions.

As a supporter of right to life, I joined several of my fellow senators this week in announcing the introduction of a bill to ensure the protection of human life. Senate Resolution 153 defines a person as “irrespective of age, race, sex, health, function, or condition of dependency, including unborn children at every state of their biological development regardless of the method of creation, whether through fertilization, cloning or a functional equivalent.” The purpose of this legislation is to protect all innocent life. Because the resolution is a Constitutional Amendment, it will go before the voters to allow them to determine if our government should ensure that all life is protected.

The Senate Republic Caucus has decided not to pursue the passage of the Sunday alcohol sales bill. While I do support letting the voters decide and am disappointed the process has stalled, I agree that we need to first focus on the issues that matter most to Georgians, such as education, HOPE, and joblessness. I look forward to working with my colleagues to revisit the issue once we have taken care of Georgia’s most pressing needs.

I have also sponsored a resolution honoring the brave officers of the Roswell Fire Department for their unwavering compassion and commitment to protecting the lives of local citizens. The department was recently recognized as the Top Collector by the Georgia Firefighter’s Burn Foundation during their 2010 Boot Drive, collecting over $80,000. Money from the annual boot drive is used to fund a camp for burn survivors, allowing children with burn injuries to interact with other children who can relate and share experiences in a safe and caring environment. I am proud to serve alongside these selfless and dedicated officers as a volunteer firefighter in Alpharetta.

# # # #

Sen. John Albers represents the 56th Senate District, which includes portions of North Fulton County. He may be reached at his office at 404.463.8055 or by email at john.albers@senate.ga.gov.

Imagine Election, the nonpartisan voter information website, today announced the public launch of its free nationwide ballot lookup solution. Voters can use their address or zip code to search for candidates who will appear on their ballot for the upcoming midterm elections on November 2, 2010. The service covers candidates for Senate and Congress as well as candidates for state-level executive, legislative and judicial offices in all fifty states. It cuts through the maze of district boundaries to help voters figure out exactly which candidates are relevant to them.


Features include:
* Candidate lists for federal, state, and some local elections in 50 states
* User friendly – just type in address or zip code or browse by state
* Summary campaign finance information to provide additional context
* Candidate profiles include automatic Google Search
* Information on how to register to vote, where to vote, and what to bring
* Links to ballot measures for each state and other online resources
* Candidates can publish profiles with a picture, bio and experience
* Citizens can publish user reviews about candidates


Imagine Election was founded by Summer Nemeth, 29, who tried to make sense of the political junk mail she received before the 2006 midterm election and thought, “there must be a better way.” She realized voters can’t Google a name if they don’t know it, and that’s why political information has stayed stuck in the dark ages of junk mail and lawn signs instead of moving online. She envisioned an information-rich, location-based website that would collect opinions and help people make informed decisions on Election Day – taking a model like Amazon or Yelp, and applying it to the political sphere.


“Imagine if every voter looked up their ballot, read what candidates had to say, scrolled through user reviews of each candidate, and then made an informed decision?” Nemeth said. “Voters would feel more empowered. Great candidates would be more likely to win, and scandal-prone candidates would be more likely to lose. And the zillions of dollars used to buy political favors and TV ads would diminish in significance. It’s still awhile off, but the user-friendly ballot lookup we’re launching today in all 50 states will bring us one step closer.”


***


Imagine Election is a nonpartisan, nationwide voter information website. The site allows voters to look up candidate lists using their zip code or address, and features more than 12,500 profiles of candidates active in the 2010 midterm elections. Imagine Election was founded in 2008 and is a social enterprise based in New York City.

Last night was a tremendous victory for us. This morning, we all came together to make it a bigger victory for North Fulton.


I want to thank everyone who helped make our victory possible. So many dedicated volunteers helped us in innumerable ways – going door to door in neighborhoods, addressing postcards, waving sign, making calls, etc. It is difficult to express in words how thankful I am to you for your support and encouragement. Most importantly, I want to thank God, my wife Kari and two sons Will and Ryan.


I thank the voters. I am honored to have your trust and pledge to deliver on my promises to provide a leadership that is focused on serving you and your family. I am here to listen to your concerns and be your voice at the Capitol. After a short vacation with my family, I will be in touch soon with a number of efforts to help you be heard in the Legislature.


Finally, I want to thank my opponents. I congratulate them on a hard fought contest. I spoke with Brandon this morning and we agreed to work together and focus on overcoming the challenges facing our community and our state. Because of his ongoing commitment to serving the greater good, all of North Fulton is a winner this morning.


Again, thank you for the opportunity to serve you. Stay tuned. We’re just getting started!


Sincerely,
John Albers
Senator-elect, District 56

These are my picks and predictions for the Georgia primary Runoff tomorrow.


#1. Karen Handel – Governor
#2. Maria Sheffield – Insurance Commissioner
#3 Sam Olens – Attorney General
#4 PSC – John Douglas
#5 SS 56 – John Albers


I’m just a little political blogger in this world and my patience runs thin when politics get ugly. If some of the candidates above don’t win, then in my opinion the best will be sent home and we are stuck with second rate choices going up against the Democrats in the Fall. Worst case scenario, I’ll just stick with mainstream blogging and worry about my core business of affiliate management and quietly walk away from political commentary.

A Message From Maria Sheffield:


Georgia needs and deserves an Insurance Commissioner who does not require on-the-job training, an insurance commissioner with the right experience.


Given the state of the economy, its direct impact on the insurance industry and the raging federal debates regarding healthcare and the regulation of insurance, it is crucial Georgia have an insurance commissioner who is fully versed in the issues.


As the only candidate who has worked at the Georgia Department of Insurance and as someone that has worked on behalf of consumers as well as worked in and with the industries regulated by the Department for the past 15 years, I am Ready to Lead and Prepared for the Challenges.



My Georgia roots are deep. I was born and raised in the wonderful town of Ivey in the heart of agriculture country in Wilkinson County.


My Mom was a nurse and a native of Bibb County and my Dad served in and retired from the Air Force and was a native of Laurens County. They were both truly exceptional people who gave me the value of public service and hard work.


I am ready to lead in part due to challenges I have encountered over the course of my life.


When I was five years old my Dad was forced to retire from the military due to serious medical issues; my Mom was killed by a hit and run drunk driver when I was 15 years old; my Dad died 10 years later from brain cancer. As a result, I had the blessing to care for my only surviving grandparent, my maternal grandmother, who suffered from dementia for the last 9 years of her life.


I know first hand through my own experiences, the realities of dealing with insurance and the affect the process can have on you when you are in the mist of a emotional situation.


I know and understand how to deal with these issues and can help Georgia families receive those services and benefits they are entitled to when they are most needed.


I understand hard work, self-reliance and the value of a hard earned dollar. I am proud that despite all the challenges I faced growing up I was focused and determined to get a quality education.
I graduated salutatorian from my high school and then worked to put myself through university, earning a BA in Political Science and Master of Public Administration from Georgia College and State University in Milledgeville and my Master of Business and Juris Doctorate from Georgia State University all by the age of twenty-five.


I have never run for office before and I am not running just to run, I have a passion for this office based on my personal experiences and I am prepared to lead this office based on my professional experiences. I encourage you to look at all the candidates in this race and ask us the hard questions about this position and what the position of Commissioner of Insurance actually means.


I am running because I care about Georgia and I want our citizens to have access to the insurance coverages and I want to make certain that when a consumer files a claim, they are promptly treated fairly and honestly by the industry.


I am running because I care about our honest insurance agents who are, practically speaking, small business people who need a Commissioner who supports free-enterprise and less government regulation.


I am running because I care about Georgia’s firefighters and want to make sure they have a Commissioner who will work for them to assist them when needed with the appropriate state support.


I am running because I care about local law enforcement who need a Commissioner who when asked, works with them on investigations to resolve cases, so justice is done in a expeditious manner.


I am running because I care about the victims of natural disasters such as fires, floods, and hurricanes and am ready on day one to cut through the red tape and get Georgia families the relief they need so they can get back on their feet.


I ask for your support, I ask you to tell your friends, family and neighbors about my campaign, and I ask you to vote for me for insurance commissioner in the Republican Runoff this Tuesday.


Thank you for your time – please follow me on my Facebook fan Page and on Twitter at mariasheffield


For Georgia, I am,
Maria Sheffield

–
Follow Maria Sheffield on Twitter: @mariasheffield


Join The Maria Sheffield Facebook Fan Page

VOTE August 10, 2010