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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.