Northwest Georgia group pitches congressional plan

ATLANTA - A Dalton man with a plan for a Northwest Georgia congressional district pitched his idea at the state Capitol today.

Ed Painter, with Northwest Georgia for the Northwest Georgians, reiterated his stance that 13 counties in Northwest Georgia need their own district, while speaking to the Georgia Senate Subcommittee on Reapportionment.

Political observers expect North Georgia to be the home of Georgia's new 14th Congressional District and most believe it will be built around Gainesville and Hall County.

Painter's plan suggests modifying U.S. Rep. Tom Graves' 9th District to include Dade, Walker, Catoosa, Whitfield, Murray, Fannin, Gilmer, Pickens, Gordon, Chattooga, Bartow, Floyd and Polk counties.

After Painter spoke, subcommittee Chairman Mitch Seabaugh, R-Sharpsburg, said the meeting was to focus purely on the state Senate districts and Painter's statements went beyond that scope.

For complete details, see tomorrow's Times Free Press.

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