Tammy Anderson provides candidate overview from missing League of Woman Voters survey.

On June 10th, I published the League of Woman Votes candidate overview but the information on Ms. Tammy Anderson (R) candidate for House District 79 was missing and I have since received an update from Ms. Anderson asking me to update the information on my blog.  As I stated in my original post, I am happy to do so and in fairness to candidate Tom Taylor the Republican primary challenger to Ms. Anderson, I will also rerun his information below hers.

Tammy Thorn Anderson (R)

Age (as of June 10): 45

Education: Bachelor of Science in Communications from The University of Texas at Austin

Previous Occupations: Nationally Award winning Art Director working on Multimillion Dollar accounts and then decided to switch focus to my Family and Community Volunteerism. Worked for Texas School for the deaf in Austin Texas.

Citizens for Dunwoody- Original Executive Committee, Citizens for Dunwoody- Chair for Charter Task Force, Citizens for Dunwoody- PR and Educational task force. DES PTO and elected to DES school Council. Austin PTA and Yearbook editor.

Family: Married 12 years to Brian Anderson (The City Attorney for Dunwoody). My greatest achievement is our four amazing children: Riley (11) rising 6th grader at Peachtree MS, Austin (9) rising 4th grader at Dunwoody Elementary School, Ethan (7) rising 2nd grader at Austin Elementary School and Gavin (3) Dunwoody Methodist Pre-School.

Blog site: http://tammyfordunwoody.blogspot.com
E-mail: Thornanderson@netscape.net

Why are you running for office?: Control of our schools! I am angry about the total lack of voice we have in both DeKalb County and in what’s happening to our schools. Never forget, we pay for both with our taxes. No one on the DeKalb County Board even lives in Dunwoody. The legislation our next State Representative introduces and votes for is crucial to all of our children and their children to come.

The 2010 General Assembly has received significant criticism for failing to resolve critical financial issues of the state. If elected, what will you do to ensure better success in 2011 and future legislative sessions? Work for smaller Class Size and giving parents a voice in their children’s education. Adopt Zero-based budgeting and Jobs bill. Work to build a Southern by-pass and Northern arc to reduce gridlock (conservative estimates are 20% of traffic removed from Highways).

How will you engage voters in your district in identifying issues that are important to them, and how will you ensure progress is made on these issues?
I will listen and represent them. Luckily, Dunwoodians are not afraid to express their opinions and are a highly educated group of people. I will continue to be involved in the schools and City.

What specific changes, if any, to property tax policy would you like to see?
Continue freeze of property assessments. Research making Assessment challenges easier and less biased. Create State standard for property assessments that include neighborhood comps. I’m a proponent of replacing State income tax with a sales tax.

If elected, what would be your three (3) top policy priorities and how would you work to achieve results? 1) Education. Gain local control of Schools by any means possible. Start by implementing Senator Weber’s Charter Cluster model and working to pass the (EID) Educational Improvement District tax. Encourage and support the City of Dunwoody stepping up to start its own charter schools. Establish independent oversight of all large educational spending and contracting. Move to representation by population. Have Counties and/or School Boards split upon meeting specific maximum population. 2)Budget. Initially, implement zero based budgeting and research benefits of replacing state income tax with a Fair Tax. 3) Transportation and Environment. Create alternative outer toll arc and by-pass to reduce traffic and emissions. Implement timed lights and incentives to employers who create satellite offices and work from home practices for employees. Explore searching for and use of underground aquifers along with equitable comprehensive, regional water planning. We need more Parks and Green space and we need to vigorously protect our existing resources.

Do you think that Georgia should adopt an independent redistricting commission, that should be put into law in time for 2011 redistricting?
No, a commission will still be political. I favor a computer generated model where once the criteria are fixed; the politics are removed from the process.


What else needs to be done to resolve Georgia’s transportation problems?
In addition to the previous transportation solutions, build a second major independent Airport to the North of the City. Review periodically and eliminate unprofitable mass transit routes (replace buses with vans where feasible) and add routes where a need exists. Time lights throughout Georgian cities to cut down on wasted gas and emissions.

What further changes, if any, does Georgia need in terms of ethics reform?
Make prosecution faster, easier and more rigorous. Further, make fraud restitution a mandatory component of the process including prosecution costs. Apply standards across the board to cover any government entity, position and/or agency including schools and school boards who receive state funding.

Tom Taylor (R)

Occupation: Manage all aspects of defense programs for major industry contractor.
Age (as of June 10): 48
Education: Georgia State University BA, International Relations & Economics, and MBA, International Business
Family: Wendi Taylor, wife of 26 years & Son Keith Taylor, 18,recent Wesleyan grad
Web site: TomGetsResults.com
E-mail: TomGetsResults@gmail.com

Why are you running for office?: My conservative leadership experience provides proof of my dedication to Dunwoody & North DeKalb County and evidence I get desired results. •Founded Citizens for Dunwoody & Dunwoody Action Committee PAC •Led legislation & referendum effort to incorporate Dunwoody •Provided blueprint for Dunwoody Police as Police Task Force Chair •Ramped up city services achieving 1st year surplus without raising taxes as City Councilman •Orchestrated Parks & Property bill passage, transferring parks & $7M bonds ..

The 2010 General Assembly has received significant criticism for failing to resolve critical financial issues of the state. If elected, what will you do to ensure better success in 2011 and future legislative sessions?
Tom Taylor: Run state government more like a business model. Adopt Zero-based budgeting and have government function with as few employees as possible. As an inaugural City Councilman in Dunwoody, we established a government where there are very few employees with the exception of Police, allowing us to run a surplus in year one of operations without raising taxes. This same model could be applied to some state functions, outsourcing and using public/private partnerships to be better stewards of tax $.

How will you engage voters in your district in identifying issues that are important to them, and how will you ensure progress is made on these issues?
Tom Taylor: In leadership positions in advocacy groups and as a City Council member, I know that open and transparent discussions and exchange of information and ideas is critical to resolving issues. As councilman in a brand-new municipality, there were a plethora of issues, much akin to starting a business. While not all can be resolved to everyone's satisfaction, staying engaged and being a listener are key factors. The most important item to ensure progress is perseverance, some issues need time.

What specific changes, if any, to property tax policy would you like to see?
Tom Taylor: The most important item regarding property tax policy is to set a statewide standard for assessments. Having a piecemeal system that varies by county. It is also important to link assessments with actual market values, which in may instances is not the case.

If elected, what would be your three (3) top policy priorities and how would you work to achieve results?
Tom Taylor: 1. Reduce state spending. Adopt strict Zero-based budgeting and hold people accountable. To balance the budget the first priority is to identify non-essential or non-performing programs and eliminate them. 2. Settle the water dispute. This problem is not going away and will effect jobs and growth for the future. Engage the issue rather than in just rhetoric. 3. Education policy. Quality education is critical to the future, must be coupled with accountability both in classrooms and admin.

Do you think that Georgia should adopt an independent redistricting commission, that should be put into law in time for 2011 redistricting?
Tom Taylor: Although this sounds like an equitable process, my firm belief is that neither party would ever agree to implement this. As a practical matter, neither party wants to give up the power of the majority in the process.

What else needs to be done to resolve Georgia’s transportation problems?
Tom Taylor: This is an answer that requires more than 500 words, but the bottom line is to implement, rather than discuss to death, transportation solutions. As an example, more public/private partnerships to leverage dollars and advance projects. A very clear and successful example of an innovative solution is the success of the CID's in Atlanta. The other critical element is to bring MARTA and the jigsaw puzzle of other metro area transportation authorities under a unified management structure.

What further changes, if any, does Georgia need in terms of ethics reform?
Tom Taylor: Ethics should be a simple issue that any 2nd grader should know. Don't lie, don't steal, don't cheat or allow others to do so. As a candidate that has had frivolous ethics charge filed against him, the one change that I think is critical is to have a provision for recourse. As a an observer of the State Assembly over the past 5 years, I would also push to have ethical lapses enforced uniformly. This has not been the case over the past few years.