 |
|
 |
| |
Shafer a senator; Murphy mum
Special
to Bill Shipp's Georgia
 Let’s start the New Year off with an assortment of
insider talk concerning Georgia.
On the political front: Thanks to the governor’s appointment of
state Sen. Billy Ray, R-Lawrenceville, to the Gwinnett
Superior Court, look for Republican stalwart David Shafer to
join the ranks of the state Senate by Valentine’s Day.
Shafer, who served as state Republican executive director
during the party’s glory days in the early 1990s, ran earlier this
year for the state chairmanship of the Georgia Republican Party. He
narrowly lost to ex-Christian Coalition head Ralph Reed in a
marathon state convention proceeding that was cut short by Shafer’s
decision to avoid bloodshed by conceding to Reed.
Shafer,
who had been “exploring” a candidacy for one of the newly created
state Senate seats, is the clear favorite to succeed Ray in the 48th
District, which includes parts of Gwinnett, Forsyth and Fulton
counties. He begins the special election campaign with a substantial
war  chest and the backing of two of the Republican Party’s
biggest fundraising titans — Waffle House CEO Joe Rogers and
former Norrell Corp. Chairman Guy Millner. He has the unified
backing of local Republicans and has been endorsed by virtually
every significant political figure in the district, including former
State Sen. Clint Day, R-Alpharetta, who held the seat before
Ray.
Insiders expect this Shafer effort to be successful, and
expect big things from him in the Senate.
Insiders doubt claims that House Speaker Tom Murphy,
D-Bremen, has decided definitively not to seek another term,
particularly since Murphy has made it clear that he has talked to no
one about his plans. And even if he had, reports that he has
suggested that the two top contenders, House Majority Leader
Larry Walker, D-Perry, and Appropriations Chair Terry
Coleman, D-Eastman, make a choice — with one succeeding Murphy
as speaker and the other becoming Appropriations chairman — are
ludicrous. After all, Coleman already holds the Appropriations
chairmanship and Walker, as majority leader, helps decide all budget
issues.
Murphy has been busy practicing law, actively arguing
cases, and is in strong shape for the new session. The guess here is
that he will make a decision on his future toward the end of the
session this spring.
Predicts Smyre
will play big role
in speaker
succession
| Meanwhile, should a battle to fill
Murphy’s shoes as speaker arise after the 2002 elections, insiders
are already recognizing that Rep. Calvin Smyre, D-Columbus,
recently named Democratic Party chair, will likely play a critical
role in helping determine who might be the future speaker. But for
the time being, expect there to be no accurate word on Murphy’s
plans.
Expect Gov. Roy Barnes to enjoy a successful legislative
session. Yes, there will be budget battles, but Barnes has the state
in better financial position than most other governors do theirs,
and revenue projections might turn out to be a bit more positive
than originally anticipated. Expect the governor to address consumer
issues such as natural gas availability and eliminating the
outrageously long lines for drivers’ licenses. And we have it
confirmed — the governor this session will go after predatory
lenders with all of his considerable might.
Former Democratic Party Chair David Worley is clearly
starting to receive the support of some of the Democrats’ biggest
donors in his quest to win in the newly created 13th Congressional
District. Sen. Greg Hecht, D-Morrow, has a political base in
the district, and longtime powerful Rules Chairman Sen. David
Scott, D-Atlanta, will likely make it into a primary runoff with
Worley because of his strong support among African Americans, who
make up a sizeable minority of the primary vote. This one will be
fun to watch.
Now to the world of football: Even many UGA fans are outraged
over the treatment of Tech  coach
George O’Leary by Notre Dame. Few feel his resume blunder
justified the harsh penalty of having no job whatsoever. And
insiders report that the Notre Dame leadership’s claim that they
supported O’Leary might have been true at the start of the
hire-then-fire controversy, but quickly melted away when the bad
news broke, leaving the former Tech pigskin boss with almost no
support.
Meanwhile, many were interested in reports in the
media suggesting that no other coach since the late Alabama legend
Paul "Bear" Bryant had influenced the Southeastern Conference
more than just-departed Florida Coach Steve Spurrier.
Insiders believe that former UGA coach and current Athletics
Director Vince Dooley enjoyed a greater long-term impact on
the SEC. Dooley coached for many more years, appeared in many more
bowls, won many more games and equaled Spurrier in national titles.
More importantly, Dooley's involvement in reform of college
football, followed by his unprecedented string of national titles in
numerous sports as AD makes him the insider's pick for most
influential. But hats off to Spurrier -- a true winner who hopefully
will land in Atlanta as coach of the Falcons.
Next week:
InsiderAdvantage lists Georgia’s true inside power people who may
have been left off other such lists.
Matt Towery is
chairman of InsiderAdvantage. Bill Shipp’s Georgia is a
wholly owned subsidiary of InsiderAdvantage.
|
| |
 |
 
 
BILL SHIPP'S
GEORGIA
is published weekly except Christmas week by
Word
Merchants
P.O. Box 440755
Kennesaw, GA 30144
news@billshipp.com |
|
