Residents in south metro Atlanta

now have one of their own as House minority leader in the Georgia General

Assembly.

Rep. Lynn Westmoreland, R-Sharpsburg,

won election on the second ballot to lead this year's session as House

Minority Leader.

"It's just been a whirlwind

this week," he said.

Westmoreland was picked for

his strong conservative values.

"Well, sometimes the makeup

of the team changes. Our team has changed to more of a conservative team,"

he said.

Today, Westmoreland is meeting

with the 74 House Republicans to set strategy for the upcoming session

and said the group needs to focus on truly working as a team.

"Although it takes 91

votes, we believe that we can get some things accomplished as long as

we act like a team," he said.

Westmoreland said residents

can expect a strong focus on lower taxes, less government and strong family

values coming from his leadership this term.

The leadership switched to

Westmoreland after some House Republicans grumbled about election results

that did not see the Republicans gain control of the House.

"I hope to lead us forward

to become the majority party," he said.

Westmoreland was elected as

a representative from Tyrone, but moved to Sharpsburg last year.

After he meets with the Republicans

Friday, he said he will have a better idea on which issues the group will

work toward passing this year.