Financial Disclosures Coming Next Week

All candidates running for public office in 2009 and 2010 will be submitting their financial disclosures to the Federal Election Commission on July 1. Much can be determined about a campaign’s viability by these disclosures, not only in terms of how much money has been raised, but also from where it came from and how it has been spent. The Beacon will provide a full analysis of each candidate’s fundraising activities and what it may portend in the Sunday July 12 edition.

DISCLOSURE PREDICTIONS

We expect the Eric Johnson (R-Savannah) for Governor campaign to show surprising financial strength, and believe he will start moving up in the polls over the summer. Johnson is the dark horse in the GOP governor’s race and may become a top tier contender by the fall. This may be the big story of the disclosures.

On the Democrat side, we predict Ga. House Minority Leader Dubose Porter (D-Dublin) to exceed expectations. The Beacon is one of the only serious media outlets in the Georgia that has not effectively anointed Roy Barnes as the presumptive Democrat nominee.

VERNON JONES TO RUN FOR SECRETARY OF STATE

Former Dekalb County CEO Vernon Jones (D), who lost a run-off election to Jim Martin last summer for the chance to face Senator Saxby Chambliss (R) in the general election, is planning to run for Ga. Secretary of State and will make an announcement soon. Jones is currently a talk show host on WAOK-AM radio station. Surprise! He may switch party affiliations and run as a Republican.

BELLE ISLE FUNDRAISER DEEMED SUCCESSFUL

Alpharetta Councilman and State Senate (R/D-56) candidate David Belle Isle held his first official fundraiser on Thursday and it appears to have been successful. The Belle Isle bash attracted about 50 supporters and raised around $20,000, a very formidable showing out of the box for the Belle Isle-ites.

The councilman, who I still rate as a long shot in this race, is billing himself as a “true conservative.”

Belle Isle says he is still putting together his platform, but the basics will be transportation, education, and controlling government spending.

In a strategic gamble, he appears to be taking on the North Fulton County Republican leadership team at the state capitol, specifically Speaker Pro-Tem Mark Burkhalter (R-Johns Creek) and Majority Whip Jan Jones (R-Milton). Burkhalter is widely credited with almost single-handedly winning control of the statehouse for Republicans for the first time in history. He campaigned tirelessly around the state for years to wrest House elections from entrenched Democrats in district after district from 1997-2002. Many of the Republicans in the House today Burkhalter personally recruited, and he raised millions of dollars for their campaigns.

But Belle Isle could apparently care less.

“The current [state] Republican leadership has let us down. They have lost sight of the core Republican ideals of fiscal responsibility and local control. Instead of limiting the government’s role in local affairs, they decided that the highest ranks of the state know how to spend local dollars better than the municipalities,” Belle Isle said. “If the [state] Republicans wanted a centralized economy, they should have become Democrats.”

Belle Isle also railed against the state GOP for accepting $8 million in stimulus funds from the Federal Government.

“We should have said no thanks to the federal government, and cut another $8 million from the state budget.” Belle Isle added.

But the Belle Isle-ites have some problems, which are outlined in this week’s Beacon Editorial.

BOB HAGAN SET TO RUN FOR ROSWELL COUNCIL – AGAIN

Roswell businessman Bob Hagan, who lost in a run-off to Councilman Kent Igleheart in 2005, has told me he is set to run in 2009 and may take on Igleheart again. “I nearly unseated him then,” Hagan said. “If I run against him this time I will win. We need to focus on bringing business back to Roswell,” Hagan asserted. Look for Hagan to file sometime in early August.

AL NASH OUT OF ROSWELL MAYOR RACE

Citing business pressure his firm is currently facing due to the recession, Roswell entrepreneur Al Nash, who seriously considered a mayoral bid earlier this year, has decided to remain in the private sector – for now. A Nash candidacy would likely have doomed Jere Wood’s re-election campaign, now underway. But if Nash, a powerful business icon in North Fulton County, decides to endorse one of Wood’s opponents, he may yet influence the outcome. Nash is dialed in regionally and commands enormous respect within the Metro Atlanta business community. Normally endorsements don’t mean much. This one – if it happens – will.

BODKER GETS BURKHALTER’S BACKING

Johns Creek Mayor Mike Bodker, up for re-election for a second term as chief executive of his new city this fall, is unlikely to draw any serious opposition. But if he does, he will have some very potent and influential help – from Ga. House Speaker Pro-Tem Mark Burkhalter, a Johns Creek resident. Burkhalter told me last week, although he and Bodker do not always see eye to eye on every issue, he believes Bodker is “the right man at the right time” for Johns Creek.  Burkhalter said he would personally campaign door to door for Bodker’s re-election effort if necessary.

ROSWELL MAYOR DEBATE

The Beacon will be partnering with another media outlet to bring you the first live Roswell Mayor debate. Watch for details in the next coming weeks.

Note: please email me with comments or suggestions at jfredericks@beaconcast.com