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Campaign Diary by William Coit
Saturday, February 09, 2002Dear Supporters,
The campaign is moving forward. We are picking up strength in several counties in the district. I've attached a copy of my speech to the Spalding County Republican Party and I added 3 new speaking dates. Please come meet and greet me in person.
Honesty is the Best Policy...
Fellow friends and supporters thank-you for inviting me to speak today. My name is William Coit and with your support, I will be the first Congressman from the 13th District. My campaign for congress is about uniting people instead of dividing them.
The 13th district is the most creatively drawn district in Georgia. It’s comprised of 11 counties. Butts, Clayton, Dekalb, Fayette, Fulton, Henry, Newton, Rockdale, Spalding, Gwinnett, and Walton counties. It’s 47% white, 40% black, 10% Hispanic, 1% Asian. It’s the most multi-cultural district in Georgia.
As children we learned that honesty was the best policy. When we get older some people forget this lesson — they're called politicians.
Mark Twain once humorously called Congress "America's only native criminal class." We laugh, but when politicians campaign saying one thing and then do the opposite it assaults the very foundation of our representative democracy. How can the people control their government if they are lied to by those who go to Washington to decide policy? How can they know what they're voting for?
If you have been following metro Atlanta politics the past year, you've probably noticed how money has played a part in influencing political officials. Look no further than the $360 million dollar contract to move dirt for a fifth runway at Hartsfield. Dirt contractor Ronnie Thornton pleaded guilty to violating federal banking laws while funneling illegal campaign contributions to the former mayor.
Then there’s State Senator Charles Walker who violated Georgia law by failing to reveal his business relationships with medical institutions in Augusta and Atlanta. His company, Georgia Personnel Services Inc. received nearly $1.5 million from Grady Hospital and almost $130,000 from MCG during the past four years.
The state Ethics Commission found him guilty and fined $8,500 for failing to report business relationships he and his family had with various state entities.
Also, State Senator Van Streat, who was suspended after his indictment on felony corruption charges steaming from the prison transfer of a convicted murderer and two-time prison escapee in exchange for $4,500 in campaign contributions.
It makes you wonder what the other Democratic State Senators are doing at the Gold Dome with the public’s trust.
This type of behavior is unacceptable for people we have entrusted with carrying out the public’s work. We should expect our public officials to be held to a higher standard. Their moral integrity should not be questioned.
In the next couple of months, politicians will hit the campaign trail to ask you to vote for them. Many will tell you stories, some of them will tell you what you want to hear. Some of them will flat out lie to you. Watch out. They are career politicians. I stand here today as a citizen who’s fed up with the lies and empty promises. As a matter of fact, this is what I will promise to you. I, William Coit solemnly swear to Tell You The Truth. Even when the truth hurts.
The battle to win district 13 is a battle over the direction of the education of your kids, the re-employment of your neighbors, the reduction of taxes and spending, and the creation of jobs. I say when you go into the voting booth choose my plan.
We have failed. Let me repeat that. We have failed. We have failed in our attempt to improve the education system in Georgia. Our kids rank 49 out 51 states and the District of Columbia. Georgia has the worst 4-year graduation rate in America. Now, we both know that this failure is unacceptable. Some changes need to occur. I propose giving parents the freedom of choice in deciding what schools their kids should attend and how taxpayer dollars are spent for education.
I'm going to continue telling the truth. Second, the majority of the communities in the 13th district did not experience the economic and technological boom of the last ten years in Georgia. There is a great disparity that exists between suburban communities and the inner city. I propose creating a community business plan to prioritize economic development projects. As a nation we must do all that we can to help small business owners and distressed communities prosper.
I know the truth hurts, but I must continue. Third, you are paying too much in federal, state, and local taxes. The middle class is caring an unfair burden while special interest groups and large corporations circumvent the system and pay little or no taxes. This has to stop. I propose returning 33% your federal taxes to you. If you make between $20,000 and $65,000, under my plan you would get tax relief.
Finally, we have too many of our citizens out of work. The state of Georgia ranks 2nd in the nation for unemployment. Our labor department has failed. It is unprepared to retrain individuals for high paying jobs. Tell me, do you know of anybody that has ever received a job from the state labor department? I don't. What I propose is to give every un-employed person a grant for job training. These grants could be used to buy re-employment services from State Labor Departments or private companies. Competition is needed to improve the system.
My agenda is straightforward. I'm not holding back any punches. This campaign is going to cost at least 1 million dollars. That’s a lot of money. I need your support and money in order to change the moral integrity of the people we send to Washington, D.C. Please vote for me on August 20, 2002 and for more information about my 8 point empowerment plan, my book; Corporate Welfare Reform: Saving American Taxpayers $125 Billion Dollars, and my stand on 65 top issues before congress, go to my web site at http://www.williamcoit.com. Thank-you.
We've made it easy for you to contribute online by clicking the link. We accept Visa, Mastercard, Discover, and American Express.
https://contributionprocessors.com/cgi-bin/send_contribution.cgi?cid=11
Also, you can catch William speaking at the following events:
Clayton County NAACP
Thursday, February 28, 2002 7:30 pm
7720 Fielder Rd.
Jonesboro, GaGwinnett County Republican Party
Thursday, March 14, 2002 7:30 pm
Gwinnett County Justice Center
Lawrenceville, GaGwinnett County Republican Party
Saturday, June 1, 2002 8:00 am Breakfast
Golden Corral Riverside Pkwy.
Lawrenceville, Ga
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