By John Fredericks / Staff

It’s all about the leadership

House Judiciary Chairman Wendell Willard (R-Sandy Springs), an early front-runner to capture the D-56 State Senate seat of the retiring Dan Moody (R-Alpharetta), withdrew from the senate race on Friday.

Willard told The Beacon he has decided to stay in the House, at the request of his close friend, newly minted House Speaker David Ralston (R-Blue Ridge), who won the GOP caucus speaker nomination on Thursday.

Willard made a compelling nomination speech for Ralston on the House floor prior to the vote, and is now being widely credited as having swung the election to his ally Ralston, who started the day as a slight underdog to House Ways and Means Chairman Larry O’Neal (R-Bonaire). Ralston defeated O’Neal on the second ballot, after Bill Hembree (R-Douglas) was eliminated.

Sources close to Willard said his frustration with the former House leadership team of Glenn Richardson (R-Hiram) and Mark Burkhalter (R-Johns Creek) prompted his senate campaign. “Wendell was fed up and simply didn’t want to be a part of that culture anymore,” one Republican Caucus member said.

Of particular agitation to Willard, a veteran legislator, was the former leadership’s heavy handedness, their “Hawk” system of manipulating committee votes and what he called “questionable ethical judgment.” One GOP committee chairman, who preferred anonymity, termed it the “culture of debauchery.”

Willard says that all changed on Thursday, when Ralston was elected Speaker, Jan Jones (R-Milton) became Speaker Pro-Tem and Ed Lindsey (R-Dunwoody) captured the Whip post.

“Our new leadership team in the House represents a cleansing of the soul and a new day has dawned,” Willard stated. “I have decided to remain in the House and do what I can to help David Ralston make the 2010 General Assembly session one that will go down in history. We have a daunting task ahead of us, no doubt,” he concluded. “We have to get to work right away.”

IMPACT ON THE STATE SENATE RACE

Willard’s withdrawal, combined with Burkhalter’s resignation from the House leadership to pursue business interests, throws the race wide open.

Georgia Transportation Board member Brandon Beach, who is also CEO of the North Fulton Chamber of Commerce, was thought to be the candidate to beat by insiders just a few weeks ago. But much of his campaign was pinned on Burkhalter’s support and endorsement. Absent the interim Speaker’s influence, Beach’s fundraising capacity may suffer somewhat, as will future endorsements. Beach’s Achilles Heal may now actually become Burkhalter himself. Several of Burkhalter’s enemies in the statehouse say they are determined to derail his handpicked candidate, Beach.

Political neophyte John Albers, of Roswell, has been gaining traction of late, but he has never held elective office, and some GOP party stalwarts take a dim view of several of his campaign proclamations, like cutting the state budget by $10 billion and spending $3 million to tear down the Ga. 400 toll booths. Albers has already put $100,000 of his own money in his campaign, and promises to infuse $100,000 more if need be.

Alpharetta Councilman David Belle Isle is running as the “true conservative” in the race, and has made the state’s acceptance of President Obama’s stimulus money a major campaign theme.

Summing up the three candidates, one high-ranking elected official in North Fulton said, “Power brokers, big money, political hyperbole and rhetorical grandstanding is not going to cut it in this race. This Senate seat is not for sale.”