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Georgia: District 3 rivals support strong schools

By: Chloé Morrison
(Contact)

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Ralph Noble
Tom Weldon

RINGGOLD, Ga. — Both candidates for the District 3 state House of Representatives seat said they want to fight in Atlanta to strengthen and support schools in Northwest Georgia.

Republican Tom Weldon and Democratic nominee Ralph Noble spoke during at a candidate forum at Heritage Middle School on Monday night.

It was hosted by the Catoosa Education Association and the Georgia Association of Educators (GAE), which have endorsed Mr. Noble, a former president of the GAE.

The candidates told an audience of teachers, administrators and the general public where they stand on education-related issues.

Jill Cavan, who is a member of both education associations and helped moderate the event, said the forum allowed candidates to discuss their perspectives in a nonpartisan setting.

“We need to look for someone that is ... going to be an advocate for our students,” Ms. Cavan said. “For our teachers, certainly, but when you are looking at the good of the students, you are looking at the good of the employees of the school system.”

With K-12 education facing state funding cuts, discussion often went to budget problems during the forum. Ms. Cavan said educators need a candidate who can help find solutions to the cuts she said have already greatly affected schools.

Mr. Noble and Mr. Weldon are vying for the District 3 House seat held by Rep. Ron Forster, R-Ringgold, who is not seeking a fifth term.

Oct. 6 is the last day to register to vote. Absentee balloting is under way now through Oct. 31 and advance voting will take place Oct. 27-31. Election Day is Nov. 4.

ralph noble

A long-time educator, Mr. Noble has lived in Ringgold since 1990. He teaches in Whitfield County at Eastbrook Middle School. He was endorsed in July by the Catoosa Education Association and the GAE.

“I have kind of a unique look at this district because I live in Ringgold and work in Whitfield,” Mr. Noble said.

District 3 includes most of Catoosa County, except small portions on the east and west, and the southwestern part of Whitfield County.

Mr. Noble, a former GAE president, said Monday that he’s weary of what is happening in Atlanta.

He said Georgia’s Constitution guarantees that education be adequately funded and that isn’t happening, Mr. Noble said.

“I’m tired of the waste,” he said.

The state is approaching a $2 billion deficit.

If elected, he said he will approach the job as public service. He believes he is the right person to help correct the “budget disaster.”

Mr. Noble also said that he will work not for “the politics of power, but politics of the people.”

tom weldon

Mr. Weldon is Ringgold lawyer who said he wants to be an “advocate.”

“We don’t need another representative,” he said. “It is time for some advocating in Atlanta. It’s swimming with the sharks down there.”

He said he takes an active role in the community, in his church and coaching athletics. Mr. Weldon is also the vice president of the Lookout Mountain Judicial Circuit Bar Association. He has four children, three of whom attend Catoosa County schools, he told the audience.

“I have a vested interest,” he said. “I’m pleased with the great education they’ve received so far.”

Coker vs. mullis

Sen. Jeff Mullis, R-Chickamauga, faces a challenge for his District 53 seat from Walker County deputy sheriff Bruce Coker.

Mr. Coker was at Monday’s forum and said he is tired of lobbyists controlling the General Assembly. A self-proclaimed “country boy” from LaFayette, he said he will always return phone calls and work to be a liaison for the school systems.

Sen. Mullis sent regrets that he could not attend the meeting because he was on an economic mission to Europe with Gov. Sonny Perdue, meeting with possible investors in the state and public transportation experts.

Mr. Coker said he was irritated that Sen. Mullis is “trotting around” Europe while there are important issues facing Georgia.

The governor’s office said the two are on the trip courting economic development. Gov. Perdue’s spokesman, Bert Brantley, said it is important for the governor to work to attract more economic growth. He said the trip was scaled back because of budget cuts, and that the governor’s office will reduce its budget 6 percent, like every other state agency. Sen. Mullis was paying his own way on the trip, the Senate Information Office reported.

Rep. Jay Neal, R-LaFayette, spoke on Sen. Mullis’ behalf.

He said the trip is nothing to laugh about or mock because Georgia is a global player in economic development.

“Sen. Mullis is one of the most influential senators in the state,” Rep. Neal said.

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