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Attorney General Sam Olens announced a major appointment in the state law department Wednesday, a move that seems to have been prompted by criticisms from Olens’ Democratic challenger, former legislator Greg Hecht.
Olens has named Camila Wright as a prosecutor in the attorney’s general office who will focus on trying cases that involve human trafficking. She’ll also conduct training sessions for law enforcement officers.
“Human trafficking is a scourge on our communities that robs our children of their dignity, innocence and basic human rights,” Olens said in a news release.
“I have been deeply committed to fighting and ending this horrific crime throughout my tenure as attorney general, from advocating for tougher laws, to raising awareness,” he added.
Olens announced the new appointment in the wake of unrelenting criticism by Hecht that the attorney general hasn’t been tough enough in prosecuting cases of child abuse and neglect, particularly those instances involving children who die after their families have had contacts with social workers.
“What we should be doing is fundamentally protecting citizens in need, such as the 400 children who passed away between 2011 and 2013 when that man was wasting time on unconstitutional laws,” Hecht said during a GPB debate with Olens.
While Olens has roughly a five-to-one advantage in fundraising over Hecht, he hasn’t quite been able to put away his challenger in the polls, where Hecht has been competitive.
A SurveyUSA poll last week had Olens with a 47-40 percent lead over Hecht, but that lead narrowed to 48-43 percent in this week’s survey. In both polls, Olens was below the 50 percent support level generally considered to be safe territory for an incumbent officeholder.
Hecht has been confronted by some awkward issues of his own. He recently announced that more than 30 sheriffs had switched their endorsement to him from Olens, but several of the sheriffs disputed that claim.
Rounding up the ads
As the date of the general election gets closer, the ads and video clips released by the campaigns get even more hard-hitting and bare-knuckled.
Jason Carter has posted a video that features state Rep. Stacey Evans (D-Smyrna) supporting him on the issue of making HOPE scholarship benefits available to more college-bound students.
Gov. Nathan Deal’s campaign ads say Carter has effectively tried to destroy the HOPE scholarship program by proposing that benefits be extended to a larger number of students.
Evans calls that charge “a blatant lie” in the video posted here. She says:
Supporters of Governor Deal are running ads, making robo-calls and sending mailers accusing Jason Carter of trying to destroy HOPE, and I’m here to tell you that that is a blatant lie.
My name is Stacey Evans and I’m a state representative from the Smyrna area. And Jason and I have worked closely to try to restore some of the cuts that Nathan Deal made to the HOPE scholarship.
When Jason and I introduced legislation to try to restore some of the cuts that Gov. Deal made to HOPE, he said it was no problem and that we didn’t need to worry about it. There are 80,000 fewer students on HOPE in this state.
Jason has always worked hard to make sure that every student could attend and afford to go to college.
Here’s the truth: Jason is the candidate for governor that will never stop working for the middle class and will never stop working to make HOPE available to all students.
The irony here is that Deal worked with Evans to get a bill adopted in this year’s legislative session that lowered the grade point requirement for HOPE grants to technical college students, thus making it possible for more of these students to get financial assistance.
Evans was one of the few Democratic legislators who was able to see one of her bills pass with her name still on it – which adds poignancy to her charge that Deal’s supporters are guilty of a “blatant lie” on this issue.
Barrow is blasted
Democratic Rep. John Barrow caught a double-barreled advertising blast from his Republican opponent in the 12th Congressional District, Rick Allen, and from the National Republican Congressional Committee (NRCC).
The NRCC attack ad (viewable here) continues the anti-Obama theme that the PAC has been sounding against Barrow for weeks:
What’s behind John Barrow’s folksy ads? A long record of siding with Barack Obama intead of Georgia.
Barrow voted to defend Obamacare 24 times. Barrow voted with Obama and Pelosi to increase the debt five times.
And Barrow voted for Obama’s wasteful stimulus that spent our tax dollars creating jobs – in China.
When it matters most, Barrow votes with Obama, not Georgia.
Allen’s TV spot also mentions Obama in passing but concentrates more heavily on calling Barrow various permutations of a liar (watch the ad here):
John Barrow wants our trust again. But just look at his lies.
Barrow said he didn’t vote with Obama 85 percent. He did, and he knows it.
Barrow said he supported the ‘no budget, no pay’ bill. A bald-faced lie. He voted no.
Barrow says he opposed Obamacare. Another lie.
The Augusta Chronicle calls John Barrow the most shameful two-faced politician of his era. We should never trust him again.
On a more positive note, Attorney General Sam Olens runs an image ad that doesn’t even mention – much less attack – Democratic opponent Greg Hecht (view the ad here):
When it comes to protecting Georgia, no one has fought harder than Sam Olens.
When pill mills brought crime and drugs to our communities, Olens worked with local law enforcement to shut them down.
When taxpayers were being cheated through Medicaid fraud, Olens took over enforcement, recovering millions.
And when the federal government attempted to step on our rights, Sam Olens took the fight all the way to the Supreme Court.
[Although the commercial doesn’t specify which rights were being stepped on, it appears to be a reference to the Affordable Care Act, a case in which the Supreme Court ruled against Olens and found the law to be constitutional.]
Attorney General Sam Olens — Leading the fight to protect Georgia.
© 2014 by The Georgia Report
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