Senator Heath needs a portable escape ladder

Last week Senator Bill Heath made a critical bad turn while dodging WSB reporter Lori Geary. The Senator ducked into the Senate Clerk’s Office, and later sent the Senate Press Secretary out to tell Geary the Senator needed to get to a committee meeting. If you watch WSB’s coverage, it looks like Heath missed that meeting.

It occurred to me that Senator Heath could have used a portable fire escape ladder to rope ladderextricate himself from the Clerk’s Office. While a little bulky, this ladder could easily be tucked under one arm and carried to meetings and hearing rooms for quick escapes from reporters and constituents.

This particular ladder is sold by Home Depot, a Georgia based company. Sales would boost much needed state and local tax revenues while supporting a Georgia owned business.

It is ironic that this ladder will cost about $35.00, which is the same amount of a Georgia Public Broadcasting membership, where Senator Heath’s former colleague Chip Rogers is now working for $150K per year (quick math: Rogers’ salary is equivalent to 4,286 GPB memberships. GPB says Rogers’ salary is covered by taxpayer dollars, not GPB membership funds, as if that provides us with any relief).

Budget watchers might be wise to look for “improvements” to the Capitol like more fire escapes or underground tunnels. It seems if the need is there, the money can be found, unlike Senator Heath last week.

 

 

Senator Bill Heath tells constituents they are “annoying” him

The capacity for Georgia’s elected leaders to dig the Chip Rogers/Gov Deal hole deeper keeps growing. After 3,200 Georgians signed a petition calling for Rogers to be fired from his new $150K state taxpayer-funded job at Georgia Public Broadcast (GPB), Senator Bill Heath of the 31st Senate District responded by sending out his own email telling constituents they are “annoying” him and other legislators.

That’s not all.

Senator Heath thinks being engaged with elected officials by signing a petition is a “childish tactic.”

The senator, who sits on the Senate Appropriations Committee, is now just as duplicitous as Nathan Deal in Rogers’ appointment. As Better Georgia points out, Heath sits on a heath1powerful  committee that could stop Deal and GPB in their tracks by voting against Deal’s proposed budget.

Instead of putting the brakes on spending tax dollars to get disgraced legislators out of the Georgia Republican Party’s way, Heath said the petition signers (i.e. taxpaying constituents)  have been “conned.”

The only con job I can see is the one Governor Deal has tried to pull on Georgia voters. Now Senator Heath is helping by saying taxpayers are “annoying.”

Senator Heath and the 27 other Appropriations Committee Members, led by District 4’s Jack Hill, can put a stop to whatever you want to call it by voting No on Deal’s budget, and then following up with a careful examination of proposed spending.

I just sent Bill Heath a “special for him” email at [email protected]. I asked for a personal response since mine wasn’t one of thousands sent to him via a petition. His office number is 404.656.3943 if you want to call him. I was politely greeted by his staffer when I called to confirm the address.

I’ve asked my representatives under the Gold Dome, Representative Mack Jackson and freshman Senator David Lucas, for their thoughts on Rogers hiring and salary. I have no track record with Lucas but during previous General Assembly sessions Jackson has carved time out to respond to me by phone and email. I look forward to their thoughts on taxpayer dollars being used by the Governor to micro-manage personnel decisions at a state department.

 

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