Jenkins pledges commitment

Charles Jenkins

When I asked for your vote in 2003, I kept my campaign pledges simple and in line with the kind of representative our district deserves. I am again pledging to continue my commitment to the people of District 8 and ask for your support and vote in the up-coming November election.

Let's review the basic things I promised in order to represent you in the manner I thought you would like; being attentive to the needs of our mountain area, being accessible to you my constituents, using my Christian beliefs to help guide me in carrying out the business of the state government, casting votes with no selfinterest or conflict of interest, supporting to the best of my ability the needs of the region, voting for legislation which preserves sanctity of life for the born and unborn, working as a team player and honoring our heritage as we face the future.

I have worked to keep these promises to the best of my ability. By every objective measure, I am a fiscal conservative. I have never voted for a pay raise and never expect to. I have built good relationships with members of the General Assembly, regardless of party affiliation.

In the Legislature, I serve on major committees: Banks and Banking, Economic Development, Game Fish and Parks, and Retirement.

Prior to being elected to the Legislature, I completed a 33-year career with the Lockheed needs of our families. I am proud that through the years we have been able to protect private property rights and the Godgiven Constitutional rights and traditional values that have made our country and our state what they are today. I am very thankful for the confidence the people of the 51st District have placed in me and for the great support of so many local officials across our area. We worked well together and I look forward to continuing to work together to accomplish many more great things for our communities."

State Sen. Chip Pearson represents Senate District 51, which includes Dawson, Fannin, Gilmer, Lumpkin, Pickens and Union counties, and portions of Forsyth and White counties. He is President and CEO of Pecos, Inc., a real estate and construction company serving north Georgia and the Carolina's. Sen. Pearson currently serves on the board of the Northeast Georgia Council of the Boy Scouts of America, and he is a former member of the boards of the Georgia Department of Industry, Trade & Tourism and the Dawson County Development Authority.

Over the last several years, Sen. Pearson has been very active in the Republican Party in Georgia. He served for three years on the State Executive Committee of the Georgia Republican Party and for four years as chairman of the Dawson County Republican Party. He graduated from the Coverdell Leadership Institute and is widely respected in political circles for his active involvement in statewide grassroots campaign efforts supporting Republican elected officials. On November 2, 2004, Sen. Pearson was elected to his first term in the state Senate by garnering and impressive 63 percent of the vote. As a freshman Senator, he was selected by Senate leadership to serve as a Deputy Majority Whip and was assigned to the Appropriations, Agriculture and Consumer Affairs, Transportation and Regulated Industries and Utilities Committees.

After running unopposed in 2006, Sen. Pearson is now serving in his second term in the Senate. He has been appointed chairman of the Senate Economic Development Committee and secretary of the Senate Transportation Committee. He also serves on the Appropriations, Rules, Administrative Affairs and Insurance and Labor Committees and the influential Committee on Assignments. He also serves the Senate as a Deputy Whip.

A graduate of Shorter College, Chip is involved in a wide array of community groups including Rotary, National Federation of Independent Business and the Georgia Cattlemen's Association. Sen. Pearson is also a licensed pilot and an Eagle Scout. He is happily married to the former Jill Christian, and they are the proud parents of three children - Madeleine, Mary Anna and Edward. The Pearson's worship at Amicalola Baptist Church, where Chip and Jill teach Sunday school.