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Politics & Government

Know Your Leaders

Lilburn Patch takes a look at the winners of the 2010 mid-term elections who represent your districts

U.S. CONGRESS

Hank Johnson, District 4 (D-incumbent)

Education: Clark College, B.A.; Texas Southern University-Thurgood Marshall School of Law, J.D.

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Career: Attorney

Elected Office: Georgia's 4th Congressional District, 2007-present; DeKalb County Commissioner, Fifth District, 2001-2006; DeKalb County Magistrate Court Judge, 1989-2000

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The favorite to win Georgia's 4th Congressional District, U.S. Rep. Hank Johnson breathes easy after securing his seat with 75 percent of the vote.

A life in public service seemed like a natural choice for him. He grew up in the D.C. Beltway, where he saw his father work for the Bureau of Prisons as Director of Classifications and Paroles. As a young boy, his mother insisted on him reading aloud The Washington Post as she washed dishes. His mother took him to President John F. Kennedy's funeral. Johnson worked his way through the DeKalb County system, first working as Magistrate Court Judge for 10 years, and then spending six years as a county commissioner. He won his first term in the 4th congressional district after beating Cynthia McKinney -- whom he succeeded -- in a runoff.

In his first year, Johnson was named to the House Armed Services, Judiciary and Small Business committees. He still serves on those committees. In 2010, Johnson was named to the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. He plans to use his position on that committee to press the need to improve Georgia roads and transit systems, as well as secure funding to see transportation infrastructure projects move forward. Already, the state received 4.1 million for studies on high-speed rail between Atlanta and Charlotte.

Recently, he honored Lilburn's centennial by proclaiming July 27 as "Lilburn Day in the Fourth District." At the centennial, Mayor Diana Preston recognized Johnson for obtaining federal funds for the flood recovery last year. He also wants to continue to work with the Gwinnett Community Improvement District to secure more funding to revitalize the county. Upgrades to the Jimmy Carter Boulevard Bridge over I-85 were a result of his efforts.

Rob Woodall, District 7 (R)

Education: Furman University, B.A.; University of Georgia School of Law, J.D.

Career: Legislative Correspondent, Legislative Assistant, Legislative Director, Chief of Staff, former U.S. Rep. John Linder

Elected Office: First office

Rob Woodall won his former boss's job with 67 percent of the vote for Georgia's 7th Congressional District. He succeeds U.S. Rep John Linder, who gave him a strong endorsement for the position.

Woodall started his public service career with an urge to counter the Clinton administration's health-care proposals. He felt that he could best do that by working with his local U.S. representative, Linder. He briefly left law school and became a Legislative Correspondent for Linder. He eventually completed his law degree and remained on Linder's staff for nearly 15 years.

He was eventually promoted to Chief of Staff, where he worked with Linder to promote FairTax legislation. Woodall also worked with Linder and radio commentator Neal Boortz to write "The FairTax Book" in 2005, and later co-authored a second book, "FairTax: The Truth," which became a NY Times #1 Bestseller in 2008.

Woodall won overwhelming support from conservative voters for his stance on the economy, taxes and jobs. He vows to repeal TARP, health-care reform and any other stimulus proposals that the Obama administration has put forth.  He hopes to work with Congress to curb deficit spending and call for immigration reform that begins with securing the borders.

GEORGIA STATE HOUSE

B.J. Pak, District 102 (R)

Education: Stetson University, B.A., Accounting; University of Illinois College of Law, J.D.

Career: Lawyer

Elected Office: First office

B.J. Pak handily beat Democratic opponent Porter Deal with nearly 70 percent of the vote to secure the open State House seat for District 102. Pak, a first-time candidate for office, was the last person to jump into the race and declare his run at the end of April. The seat was being vacated by current State Rep. Clay Cox after his decision to run to replace U.S. House Rep. John Linder in District 7.

Pak comes from humble beginnings. As a Korean immigrant, his parents set up shop in Orlando, Fla., where his dad took odd jobs bagging groceries and washing dishes at Red Lobster. Soon the family managed to open their own business and Pak got his first taste of hard work and sacrifice, taking up many hours to help his parents run their grocery store.

During his early tenure with Atlanta's renowned Alston & Bird law firm, he decided to go into public service. Sept. 11 had just happened, and he felt the need to serve. He became the North Georgia district prosecutor for the U.S. Attorney General, where he fought entitlement fraud, illegal immigration and helped put an end to Mexican-based drug cartels operating in the Gwinnett County area.

Early on in his campaign, Pak noted that while he had the support of the growing immigrant community in Lilburn, particularly the Korean community, many questioned whether he would be able to garner enough votes to "overcome his ethnicity." He balked at the idea and called it "self limiting" to not think that "someone who looks like me could earn the vote of people that don't look like me." Pak rather wants to focus on the issues that unite the community and make it better. One of the first things on his agenda: transparency.

David Casas, District 103 (R-incumbent)

Education: Georgia State University, B.A., History

Career: Educator, Cobb County School System

Elected Office: Georgia's 103rd State House District, 2003-present

David Casas beat Democratic challenger Allan Burns to continue to serve the 103rd district in the Georgia Legislature. Casas won with roughly two-thirds of the vote.

Early on, Casas had a deep appreciation for the freedoms afforded to him in the U.S. The product of Cuban political refugees, Casas's parents fled the Communist-run country to the U.S. He grew up in Georgia, where he helped his family pass citizenship tests and also became the first generation to attend and graduate college.

Casas developed a passion for teaching and has taught history, economics and political science in Cobb County. He coached speech and debate teams and the Model United Nations team. His efforts were recognized when he was awarded the STAR Teacher Award for Cobb County in 2002. His education experience also led to his selection to serve the Georgia Assembly's Education Committee for three terms, as well as serve as chairman of the subcommittee on Academic Achievement.

Rep. Casas is a founding member and chairman of the National Conference of Hispanic Legislators and legislative liaison for the Governor's Hispanic Commission. He is also a member of the Lilburn Business Association. Casas received major endorsements from conservative groups including Georgia Right To Life, the NRA and the Tea Party of Georgia, which helped secure his victory.

He sums up his goals for the Lilburn community in three steps: support small-business job growth with resources, put money back in the hands of consumers and keep fewer taxpayer dollars from state government. He believes this combination of solutions will create long-term substantial growth.

STATE SENATE

Don Balfour, District 9 (R-incumbent)

Education: Bob Jones University, B.S., Accounting

Career: Executive, Waffle House Inc.

Elected Office: Georgia's 9th State Senate District, 1992-present

Incumbent Don Balfour held a significant lead over Democratic challenger Rashid Malik to secure his seat once again for the District 9 State Senate seat. Balfour finished the race with 63 percent of the vote. He's held the seat since 1992, making him the longest serving Republican in the State Senate.

Balfour is the chairman of the powerful Senate Rules Committee. He also serves on the Appropriations Committee, Education and Youth Committee and the Health and Human Services Committee. As a legislator he prides himself on helping to pass several tough laws focusing on eminent domain, tort reform and ethics. In 2000, Balfour fought to pass a bill to freeze property tax values for Gwinnett County residents, which, he estimated, saved the county's citizens $1.2 billion since it was established.

Originally, Balfour entered the race to replace U.S. House Rep. John Linder. But early on in his campaign, he took a bruising from opponents, including state Rep. Clay Cox who gained the endorsement of Snellville Mayor Jerry Oberholtzer. Cox criticized Balfour for announcing his run on a phone during an overseas trip to Egypt and demanded that Balfour step down as the Senate Rules Committee Chair because he was running for Congress and shouldn't handle state affairs.

Balfour eventually ended his run for Congress and switched to maintain his old seat. He ran on a platform of strong conservative values and looks to fight for Second Amendment rights, stronger ethics law and tough immigration law. His longtime supporters rallied together to help him retain his state senate seat. Recently, Balfour said that he planned to introduce a bill that would prohibit children of illegal immigrants from enrolling in Georgia's colleges and universities.

Steve Henson, District 41 (D-incumbent)

Education: University of Georgia, B.A., Economics

Career: Vocational Administrator, Educator, Henson Training Institute

Elected Office: Georgia's 55th State Senate District, 1991-1999; Georgia's 41st State Senate District, 2003-present

Steve Henson edged out his younger Republican challenger Jordan Johnson to serve another term as Georgia's state senator for District 41. He was one of a few Democrats who managed to keep his seat despite the huge Republican sweep. He secured the closely contested race with 57 percent of the vote.

Henson is a longtime resident of Tucker. As a vocational administrator for Henson Training Institute, education is a top priority. He has sponsored legislation holding public schools accountable and providing funding for youth programs. He fought for and passed a bill that would mandate attendance for school-age children. He also has a passion for improving the access to health resources for Georgia citizens, and helped pass legislation that would create a task force for Alzheimer's and dementia.

Henson serves on a variety of committees, including the Senate Appropriations, Health and Human Services and the Urban Affairs committees. Henson was awarded the Environmental Leadership Award from the Georgia League of Conservation Voters. He also participates in many local organizations including the Tucker Jaycees, DeKalb Lung Association and the League of Women Voters.

He pledged during his campaign to spend his next term working to shore up health-care costs, continue to increase job growth and prevent the outsourcing of jobs, and fight for better enforcement laws to protect the state's water resources.

GWINNETT BOARD OF COMMISSIONERS

Lynette Howard, District 2 (R)

Education: Georgia State University, B.S., Chemistry

Career: Research Chemist, Puritan Chemical Co.; Head of Marketing, ATCO Chemical; Program Developer and Specialist, Gwinnett Environmental & Heritage Center

Elected Office: First office

Lynette Howard beat out Robert Lee Byars to become the District 2 member of the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners. This will be Howard's first elected position where she will be serving constituents living in the Norcross, Berkeley Lake and Lilburn areas. Howard will succeed current District 2 Commissioner Bert Nasuti.

Howard attributes her victory to her leadership in the community. She's been the president of the Peachtree Station Homeowners Association and the United Peachtree Corners Civic Association. Bruce LeVell, chair of the Gwinnett Republicans, acknowledged Howard's citizenship and her "door-to-door" grassroots approach to convince voters that she would be the best representative on the county board.

Howard says that she wants to be a voice for her constituents and campaigned on a pledge to bring "kitchen table" issues to the board. As a member of the Municipal-Gwinnett Planning Commission, as well as the Gwinnett County Planning Advisory Committee, she has had her share of interaction with the board.

As District 2 Commissioner, Howard wants to spur business and job growth in the area. She says that she would start with her staff by appointing people who are qualified for their positions and have a deep understanding of the needs of Lilburn citizens and the rest of Gwinnett County. With her new position, Howard has an opportunity to bring fresh ideas and a different perspective back to the county board.

GWINNETT BOARD OF EDUCATION

Robert McClure, District 4 (R-incumbent)

Education: Birmingham Southern College, B.A.; University of Alabama School of Medicine, M.D.

Career: Physician

Elected Office: Gwinnett County Board of Education, 1996-present

Dr. Robert McClure retained the District 4 seat on the GCPS Board after being challenged by Democrat Mark Williams. A 30-year resident and physician of Gwinnett County, McClure has spent over a decade governing Gwinnett County public schools. He first ran for election in 1995 at a time in which he says the Gwinnett County Board of Education was not moving the school system in the right direction. "History has confirmed my judgment because the educational trend that was driving the direction of the board at that time has long since been abandoned," he said.

The changes to Gwinnett's public schools have been quite noticeable. During McClure's tenure, 63 new schools have opened and 83 others have acquired new additions. McClure noted that the buildings cost nearly a third less to build, which saved Gwinnett taxpayers $365 million dollars. That good stewardship of taxpayer's dollars, he says, should be an example to constituents that he is dedicated to providing the best possible education for Gwinnett students.

McClure's goal for his fifth term is to insist on high student achievement and improve access to resources so that teachers encourage that standard. As a result of a student-teacher focused approach, SAT scores for Gwinnett County improved three years in a row, and the county won the Broad Prize for best urban school district in America. The award will now afford $1 million worth of scholarships to Gwinnett County seniors.

However, McClure says that severe cuts in local and state funding cannot be sustained. He calls for a Constitutional amendment to allow local school districts to use a portion of revenue generated from the Special Purpose Local Options Sales Tax (SPLOST) to keep schools afloat during the down economy without relying on additional taxpayer dollars. McClure says, "If the level of our present funding sources does not improve or additional funding sources are not found, a reduction in services is likely." 


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