State Sen.

Greg Hecht made it official Tuesday ... he is running for Congress.

The new 13th

District that Hecht will court includes a small portion of northeast Fayette

County, the Europe and Kenwood precincts. His current 34th District state

Senate seat also includes part of Fayette.

Running with

the theme "Give 'em Hecht in the U.S. House," Hecht announced

his candidacy on the state Capitol steps Tuesday afternoon, four days

after the state Legislature finished redrawing the congressional districts

to accommodate two new districts in keeping with the 2000 U.S. Census.

He is the first candidate to formally announce, having filed the necessary

paperwork to begin fund-raising earlier this year.

He also has

already conducted one fund-raising event, bringing in more than $100,000.

Approximately

36 percent of the new district is in Hecht's home county, Clayton. The

district also includes parts of south Fulton, Spalding, Henry, Rockdale,

Newton, Walton, Gwinnett, Butts and DeKalb counties.

"It's

a great map," Hecht said of the new district.

With 11 counties

to cover, though, Hecht said he believes he can give people in north Fayette

adequate representation. "Europe and Kenwood will always get a lot

of my attention," he said.

In his announcement,

Hecht said he will focus on six major issues in his campaign:

National security

He said he will propose measures to increase the numbers of intelligence

agents adn airport security agents, plus preventive measures against chemical/biological

terrorism.

Senior citizens

He will work for secure social security benefits and prescription drug

coverage, he said.

Economic development

Hecht promised to work to entice quality and large employers to the nine

counties in the 13th District.

Energy Incentives

for clean energy technology and "a heightened supply of energy to

lower prices" are among his proposals, Hecht said.

Education Measures

he will propose include safe school measures, transfer of designated felony

records, and programs to attract and keep high level teachers in low performing

schools.

Equal opportunity

protections Hecht did not specify proposals in this area.

Hecht, who

is finishing his second term in the state Senate after serving two terms

in the state House, is chairman of the Senate Corrections Committee, vice

chairman of the Judiciary Committee, chairman of an Appropriations subcommittee

and a member of the Insurance and Labor Committee.

Among bills

Hecht has authored in the House and Senate, he points with pride to the

Elder Georgian and Disabled Adult Abuse Prevention Act, a bill requiring

criminal background checks for day care employees, natural gas billing

relief legislation, domestic violence prevention, more than $2 billion

in tax cuts, DUI and child abuse prevention bills, and safe schools and

ethics legislation, among others.

In 2000, Georgia's

counties gave Hecht their Legislative Service Award, adn Georgie Trend

magazine recognized him as one of the Top 40 Georgians under 40. The Georgia

Council on Aging named him one of two Legislators of the Year in 1999,

and in 1998 he received the Speak up for a Child Legislative Awrad from

a children's organization.

Hecht also

points with pride to a $350,000 grant he secured for Fayette County's

McCurry Park, and $150,000 for Tyrone's recreation programs.

A native of

Columbus, Ga., Hecht is a lawyer living in Jonesboro with his wife, Cherie,

and daughter.

A graduate

of the University of Georgia School of Law, he served four years as an

assistant district attorney and two years as a county attorney before

being elected to a seat in the state House of Representatives. he served

one term in the House and was elected to the Senate in 1998.