Tim Riley, who is gay, is running to unseat Republican incumbent state Sen. Ralph Hudgens. (Photo by Matt Schafer)
MORE INFO Georgia Equality endorsements State legislature Incumbents • Senate District 42: Sen. David Adelman (D-Atlanta) • House District 39: Rep. Alisha Morgan (D-Austell) District 44: Rep. Sheila Jones (D-Atlanta) District 80: Rep. Mike Jacobs (R-Atlanta) + District 81: Rep. Jill Chambers (R-Atlanta) + District 85: Rep. Stephanie Stuckey Benfield (D-Atlanta) * District 96: Rep. Pedro “Pete” Marin (D-Decatur) * District 132: Rep. Calvin Smyre (D-Columbus) Challengers • Senate District 7: Tim Riley (D-Athens) * • House District 35: Jason Adams (D-Kennesaw) * District 45: RuthE Levy (D-Marietta) * * Endorsed by Atlanta Stonewall Democrats + Endorsed by Georgia Log Cabin Republicans Judicial races Cobb Superior Court (seat currently held by Tain Kell): Joan Davis DeKalb Superior Court (open seat): Tangela Barrie DeKalb Superior Court (seat currently held by Linda Hunter): Linda Hunter Fulton State Court (seat currently held by Susan Edlein): Susan Edlein Fulton Superior Court (currently held by Jackson Bedford): Jackson Bedford Fulton Superior Court (open seat): Karlise Grier Ocmulgee Judicial Circuit Superior Court (seat currently held by John Lee Parrott): Jack Nebl Court of Appeals (open seat): Sara Doyle Additional endorsements by Atlanta Stonewall Democrats • State House District 2: Sadie Morgan (D-Rossville) District 34: Earl Giddins (D-Smyrna) District 103: Allan Burns (D-Lilburn)
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Oct 31, 2008  |  By: MATT SCHAFER  | COMMENTS |   |  

Twenty years after he ran his first campaign, Tim Riley believes he has a chance to unseat state Sen. Ralph Hudgens (R-Hull) and become the first openly gay man elected to the Georgia Senate.

In 1988 Riley knew he was running a losing race. As a Democrat challenging one-term state senator and future U.S. Sen. Paul Coverdell, Riley said he was taking one for the team.

“Back in ’88 I knew I didn’t really have a shot,” Riley said. “I was standing up for everybody who needed that voice, there is another opinion, there is another side, and we need to be heard as well.”

According to his own polling, Riley says he is competitive with Hudgens in areas including Barrow and parts of Clarke counties, and is hoping that a last week push can find him the 4,500 to 7,000 he believes will carry him to a win. Unlike 1988, no one in 2008 has made a campaign issue out of his relationship with another man.

“I’ve been kind of surprised by it,” Riley said. “To think that it was an issue 20 years ago in a metro district, and now in a rural seat it’s not.”

Although Senate District 47 is traditionally a Republican district, Riley hopes to win and hold the Athens area seat by focusing on issues important to his constituents like hunting licenses and education. While gay issues are important to him, he hasn’t made it a part of his campaign and will focus on other areas.

“I think I’ll just follow [state Rep.] Karla Drenner’s pattern, that it’s business as usual,” Riley said, referring to the first, and only, openly gay person to win a state-level office in Georgia. “It doesn’t define who I am, it is a component of who I am.”

While Riley is optimistic about his chances of winning, the Athens Banner-Herald recently endorsed incumbent Hudgens, saying Riley has no detailed plans for what he hopes to accomplish.

Once a Democratic stronghold, Athens has been split into two largely Republican districts and Democrats hope they can pick up a neighboring district as well. Sherry Jackson, an attorney and pastor’s wife, is trying to unseat Sen. Bill Cowsert (R-Athens).

Cowsert chaired a study committee on creating a hate crimes law in Georgia this summer, but Jackson blames Cowsert for not bringing the bill out of the community.

Jackson supports an inclusive hate crimes bill and would like to see civil unions in Georgia.

“I wouldn’t go as far as gay marriage,” she said. “I think civil unions are fine.”

OTHER STATE LEGISLATIVE RACES

Among the other Georgia General Assembly races gay politicos will be watching on Election Day:

• House District 34: Atlanta Stonewall Democrats officials said Earl Giddins sought out the gay group’s endorsement early in his attempt to defeat Rep. Rich Golick (R-Smyrna). Golick is a floor leader for Gov. Sonny Perdue and voted for the 2004 state constitutional amendment banning gay marriage.

• House District 35: Teacher Jason Adams hopes to unseat Rep. Ed Setzler (R-Acworth). Adams is endorsed by Stonewall Democrats

• House District 38: Former state Rep. Pat Dooley is trying to regain her seat from state Rep. Steve “Thunder” Tumlin (R-Marietta). Although she did not seek endorsements from any gay groups, Dooley opposed the 2004 constitutional amendment banning gay marriage.

• House District 39: Georgia Equality endorsed Rep. Alisha Thomas Morgan (D-Austell) who endeared herself to many gay voters for an impassioned speech on the House floor against the 2004 constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage. She is facing Republican businessman Chris Cooper.

• House District 45: Air Force veteran RuthE Levy, endorsed by Georgia Equality, is challenging Rep. Matt Dollar (R-Marietta) in a highly Republican district in East Cobb County. Dollar supported the 2004 constitutional amendment to ban gay marriage.

• House District 80: Although Michelle Conlon is running as an Independent, her campaign has received donations from House Democrats. Rep. Mike Jacobs (R-Atlanta) has received the support of both the Log Cabin Republicans and Georgia Equality in his first campaign as a Republican after switching parties in 2007. Georgia Equality and the Atlanta Stonewall Democrats both endorsed Jacobs in 2006. In an interview with Southern Voice during his first run for office in 2004, Jacobs said he supported gay-inclusive anti-discrimination and hate crimes legislation, and opposed any attempt to implement a gay adoption ban.

• House District 81: The race between Rep. Jill Chambers (R-Atlanta) and Democrat Chris Hutton has taken a nasty turn as both campaigns have accused the other of various ethical violations. Both Log Cabin and Georgia Equality endorse ...