The Georgia Senate has a new
legislator -- and he is not going to have luxury of taking a few
weeks to get acclimated.
David Shafer will be sworn in
Monday at the state Capitol in Atlanta and will immediately begin
his job as the representative for Senate District 48, which
includes portions of Forsyth, Fulton and Gwinnett counties.
A familiar face will handle
the swearing-in duties: former state senator and now Gwinnett
County Superior Court Judge Bill Ray, whose seat Shafer won.
"I think it is extremely
critical that the district will now have a representative, when
you consider the sudden resignation of Bobby Reese [House District
85] -- couple with my leaving office -- left a gap in
representation," Ray said on Wednesday. Reese gave up his House
seat in order to run for the seat that Shafer won decisively in
Tuesday's special election.
"I think David will do a good
job. I think he will be able to work with senators from both
sides of the aisle and that he will be well liked. I think he
will find that to accomplish things you have to take a moderate
approach to how you deal with the other side," Ray said.
"On the other hand, there are
still going to be strong ideological differences between the two
parties, and I think that his vote will reflect that."
Shafer will work with state
Sen. Casey Cagle and state Rep. Tom Knox as a member of the
Forsyth County delegation.
The hot topics before the
legislature right now include a budget with proposed cuts in wake
of the state's economic downturn.
Also, Shafer will work with
north Fulton state Sen. Rusty Paul on his legislation calling for
shifting funds for the proposed Northern Arc to other road
improvement projects in the counties that would be impacted by the
Arc.
Voting results Tuesday show
that Shafer had overwhelming support from the majority of the
precincts in the three counties he will represent in the Senate.
Although he fell short of
getting 50 percent of the vote in Forsyth (49.22), he easily
surpassed the mark in Fulton and Gwinnett counties.
Of the 14 Forsyth precincts
that participated in the special election, Shafer carried 11 and
Reese three.
Although the overall turnout
for the county was only 7.14 percent, the Old Atlanta Precinct had
a relatively high turnout and gave Shafer a significant edge.
Ray noted he was surprised by
the result, but not shocked.
"I think that anytime you
have four candidates in an election, you believe there is going to
be a runoff. Especially in a case where there is no incumbent.
But David did a good job."
"David will do a good job and
be for the people in the district," he added.
