Forty-eight

Fayette County Republicans joined Republicans

from all over Georgia Friday and Saturday for the

Georgia Republican State Convention in Savannah.

While

the business of selecting delegates for the

National Convention and passing amendments for

recommendation to the national GOP are the main

reasons for the convention, it is also a way for

local Republicans to meet their elected officials

and to get information first-hand.

Numerous

speakers took the podium throughout the two-day

event. U.S. Rep. Mac Collins, U.S. Sen. Paul

Coverdell, state school superintendent Linda

Schrenko, U.S. Rep. Bob Barr, Johnny Isakson and

Jack Kingston were just a few of the elected

officials who attended and spoke to the

2,000-plus crowd. There were a total of 1,460

delegates.

Various

officials hosted receptions in the Savannah

International Trade and Convention Center and the

adjoining Westin Savannah Harbour Resort. A

well-attended reception was hosted Friday night

for Public Service Commissioner Stan Wise,

Georgia's only statewide Republican incumbent in

the 2000 election.

luncheon reception for Ginger Collins, who is

running as an independent for state

representative, House District 29, attracted not

only a large crowd, but a large number of

donations. Collins, a Republican, has stepped in

to run as an independent for the seat vacated by

Randy Sauders whose last-minute switch from

Republican to Democrat was a topic of

conversation throughout the weekend.

Incumbent

Sauders filed as a Republican for reelection,

then switched minutes before the filing deadline

to run as a Democrat, leaving Republicans without

a candidate in the race. A number of local

Fayette County Republicans showed their support

for Collins' willingness to jump in at the last

minute by making a donation to her campaign.

Another

topic of discussion was a lawsuit filed by the

state Democratic Party which contended that

numerous Republican candidates had missed the

recent Friday qualifying deadline by a few

minutes. They were asking that the candidates

involved be disqualified from running. Monday

morning after the convention, all but one of the

suits were thrown out by the courts.

Ambassador

Alan Keyes was the keynote speaker at the

convention breakfast and the first guest speaker

Saturday. Keyes is reported to have stated he

will leave the Republican Party and join the

Constitution Party if George W. Bush chooses a

vice presidential running mate who does not

oppose abortion, or if the GOP softens its stance

against abortion.

Keyes

received numerous standing ovations during his

talk, which focused on standing firm for

integrity of principles, commitment to moral

principles and what he titled "American

truth."

State

Rep. Sharon Cooper was honored as the Republican

"Legislator of the Year" by the state

party.

Twenty-three

resolutions were passed by convention attendees.

The resolutions will be submitted to the National

Republican Party for consideration to be included

in the national party platform. The resolutions

included a recommendation to oppose hate crime

legislation, to support the display of the 10

Commandments in public places, to ban partial

birth abortions and to support the Fair Tax Act

as introduced by U.S. Rep. John Linder.

Twenty-one

delegates and 21 alternates were selected to

attend and represent Georgia at the 2000

Republican National Convention in Philadelphia,

July 31 - Aug. 3. Other delegates were elected in

April at district conventions throughout the

state. Two from Fayette County were selected at

the district level to attend the National

Convention, Jean Stoddard and Kathy Chamberlain.

Barbara Scruggs from Coweta County also was

selected to represent the 3rd congressional

District.

The

two-day convention wrapped up Saturday afternoon.

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