Democrat Mary Squires Fires a Broadside at republican Ralph Hudgens New BFF, John Oxendine

Things are heating up in the dullest race in Georgia.


Democrat Mary Squires put out a press release back on the 19th taking republican Ralph Hudgens to task on deciding to hang out with soon to be Ex-Commissioner of Insurance John Oxendine. 


Evidently the Hudgens campaign decided that any baggage associated with Oxendine would not affect Ralph's race and John's rolodex is chock-a-block full of insurance industry types with a proven track record of tossing campaign dough at compliant republicans. Looks like a match made in heaven to me.


Here's Mary's press release:

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
10/20/2010
Contact: Brandon Thorn
678-262-6765
brandon@marysquires.com

Oxendine puts his money machine to work for Ralph Hudgens

(Atlanta, GA) John Oxendine may not understand his duty to protect Georgia consumers or follow the state's campaign ethics laws, but if there's one thing he does understand, it's how to raise money. In Macon on October 27 th , Oxendine will be putting his money machine into high gear to raise money for his hand-picked successor, Ralph Hudgens.

Mary Squires, Hudgens' Democratic opponent, said, "From his repeated brushes with the Ethics Commission , we learned that John Oxendine doesn't think Georgia's campaign finance laws apply to him. Maybe that's why he was cited numerous times for taking illegal campaign contributions. Now, he's going to help Ralph Hudgens rake in campaign dollars from the same insurance interests that controlled the Insurance Commissioner's office under Oxendine.”

The similarities between Ralph Hudgens and John Oxendine are frightening.  Like Oxendine, Hudgens was sanctioned by the Ethics Commission for accepting over $106k in illegal contributions.  Insurance interests have bank-rolled his campaign, contributing nearly half of his total contributions.  Since becoming the Chair of the Senate Insurance Committee 6 years ago, Hudgens has accepted over $20,000 in gifts from lobbyists.  What would you expect from someone who decided to run because insurance lobbyists asked him to?

"Ralph Hudgens is bought and paid for by insurance lobbyists.  While Ralph is downing shrimp cocktails with John Oxendine, traveling the country to attend football games, eating at five star restaurants, and staying in swanky hotels, I'll continue to talk to the people of Georgia about protecting their families and their pocketbooks. When you lay down with dogs, you wake up with fleas," said Squires .

Squires was elected to the Georgia General Assembly in 1998. Squires served two terms in the Georgia State House (1999-2003) and one term in the Georgia State Senate (2003-2005).  In addition to her legislative experience, Squires served ten years in the Georgia Army National Guard . Mary Squires currently is the Executive Director of the Georgia Society of Professional Benefit Administrators, Inc., a self-insured health care trade association. Squires and her husband Tom West of Augusta currently reside in Atlanta, Georgia and have four children.

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