Crap. Maybe I shouldn't have run for the U.S. Senate after all.
Looks like a Democratic candidate has emerged in Georgia's 10th Congressional District race to replace Rep. Paul Broun who is running for the U.S. Senate.
He is Athens-based attorney Ken Dious and he appears to be ready:
http://www.flagpole.com/...
Athens lawyer Ken Dious is running for the 10th Congressional District seat Paul Broun is leaving to run for Senate, he recently announced.
"I'm at the point where I think I have the time," Dious said in an interview at his office today. "I've always wanted to run for Congress."
If you recognize that name, it's probably because Dious was in the news not long ago for trying to foist a gas station onto the Colima Avenue neighborhood and collaboration with Republican Doug McKillip to redraw Athens-Clarke Commission district lines. He's a University of Georgia graduate and a longtime civil rights lawyer.
Here's the full statement from Dious:
http://clarkedemocrats.com/...
Dear fellow Democrats:
I have decided to seek the Democratic Party’s nomination to represent Georgia’s 10th Congressional District in the United States House of Representatives. I will be formally announcing my candidacy soon; however, prior to doing to do doing so I am notifying each of you as County Chairs and State Committee Members of the Democratic 10th Congressional District of my intentions to do so. I would be most appreciative if each of you would share this information with your local Democratic Party members. I have attached a copy of my resume, which summarizes my professional and political career.
On August 31, 2013, I had the opportunity to meet and speak with State Committee members in Newnan, Georgia. I am hoping that all members of the Democratic Party of the 10th Congressional District will consider my candidacy. I will be contacting each County Chair and State Committee Member by phone, within the next two weeks, to discuss my candidacy.
Kenneth Dious
Kenneth Dious & Associates
115 Sycamore Drive, Suite B-1
Athens, Georgia 30606
Indeed, it seems Dious is very focused and wants to reach out to Democrats anywhere and everywhere in GA-10, not just the voters but also the local Democratic Party members and leaders.
Here's where Dious stands on some of the issues:
http://www.flagpole.com/...
• The economy: Manufacturing jobs should be brought back from overseas, and banks should be reigned in. "As an attorney who's bee involved in foreclosures, we have to regulate our financial industry. Otherwise, the wealth is just going to take over everything, and that puts American democracy in question."
• Taxes: He would consider raising taxes on the rich but also believes the military and social services will have to be gradually cut over a 15-year period in order to balance the budget. "You can't all of a sudden cut everything," he said. "That will cause a recession." But Social Security and Medicare should not be touched.
• Syria: He is opposed to military intervention there or in any nation's civil war. "The American people are war-weary. I am war-weary. I am tired of watching the body count come back."
• Immigration: He supports comprehensive reform that gives undocumented immigrants who work and pay taxes a path to citizenship.
• The Affordable Care Act: Unlike House Republicans, he opposes repealing it. "I think we should give it a chance and see what happens."
Broun's GA-10 district is heavily Republican with a R+14 rating by the Cook Report. Therefore, Ken Dious certainly has his work cut out for him.
However, Athens is a very liberal city in GA-10 so there's reason to fire the base there, as well as anywhere else Dious can get voters alive and involved.
And why not build the base? After all, Georgia is becoming a purple state. Maybe certain Congressional Districts like GA-10 are solidly Republican but you have to start somewhere, right?
Now we just need Dious's website, donation page, etc.