For immediate release                                   

Contact:  Chuck Eaton  404-513-4566

                                                                        Bob Shaw – 770-594-0999, Ext 242

FULTON GOP LEADER CHUCK EATON ENTERS

GEORGIA PUBLIC SERVICE COMMISSION RACE

Burgess’ Inattentiveness to Responsibilities and Natural Gas Prices 25% Higher than National Average To be Prime Issues in Campaign.

Declaring that the incumbent has been inattentive to his duties and with residential natural gas costs now 25 percent above the national average, Fulton County Republican leader Chuck Eaton today announced his campaign for the seat on the Georgia Public Service Commission currently held by David Burgess.

Several top GOP leaders recruited Eaton to challenge the lone remaining Democrat on the PSC and former state Republican Chairman and Fulton County GOP Chairman emeritus Bob Shaw will serve as Eaton’s campaign chair.

“This race will focus on David Burgess’ neglect of his responsibilities and the fact that Georgia homeowners re now paying natural gas prices 25% above the national average at a time when many Georgians are struggling to pay record high gas bills,” said Eaton.

According to Eaton, the Public Service Commission not only has an obligation to regulate the state’s natural gas providers, but to ensure that the state has adequate supplies of affordable energy.  

“For example, with its vast agricultural and forestry resources, Georgia should be a leader in the development of emerging fuels like biodiesel, ethanol and other biofuels,” Eaton said.  “Instead, Georgia ranks near the bottom of states in the production of these exciting, renewable sources of energy made from peanuts, corn, timber and soybeans – all key Georgia crops.”

According to Eaton, Georgia ranks near the bottom – behind states like Wyoming and New Mexico with little agricultural base – in production capacity for these new fuels.  “While Governor Perdue is leading a major effort to boost biofuel productive capacity, the PSC needs also to lead in production and in converting industrial users and electric utilities to these newer, cleaner, renewable sources of energy,” Eaton said.

“Unfortunately, David Burgess is a life-long PSC bureaucrat with an inability to think outside the box and understand that in today’s world, the public service commission needs to more than a regulator.  It needs an entrepreneurial focus to help Georgia capitalize on the development of new fuel sources for industrial and residential applications.”

The emergence of Georgia as a bio-fuels source would not only create thousands of new jobs in the state, it would give the state a degree of energy independence from foreign sources of oil and natural gas.  “In addition, the PSC could lead the process of helping industrial customers adapt to these new fuels,” Eaton said.  “That would reduce demand, make gas more affordable and allow the state to reserve its natural gas supplies for home heating.”

Chuck Eaton is the Past President of the Buckhead Forest Civic Association and currently serves as a representative for Atlanta Neighborhood Planning Unit “B” (a citizen group which makes recommendations on zoning, land use, public safety and community issues).  In 2004 he was a Republican candidate for the Georgia House of Representatives.

A 1992 graduate from the University of Alabama, Eaton served as Republican Congressman Phil Crane's Deputy Campaign Manager.

In Troup County Georgia, Chuck was Representative Jeff Brown's Campaign Manager in 1994 - defeating a five-term Democrat incumbent. Two years later, in 1996, Chuck again served as Rep. Brown's Campaign Manager as they held the seat against a Democrat challenger.

He was a Troup County Chairman of the Barr for Congress Campaign in 1994.  Chuck worked with the campaign all the way through the defeat of Democrat Buddy Darden and the Republican takeover of the US House of Representatives.

Chuck was a Delegate to Georgia Republican Conventions in 1993, 1995, 1997, and 2005 and the Fulton County Republican Convention in 2001, 2004, and 2005.  He Chaired the Troup County Republican Conventions in 1995 and 1997.

Eaton lives in Atlanta with his wife Erika and their three dogs. A realtor Eaton also works in the investments/venture capital field.  A member of the Buckhead 50 Club, Woodruff Arts Center Friends, and the Atlanta History Center, he is a graduate of the Coverdell Leadership Institute (a statewide organization founded by late U.S. Senator Paul D. Coverdell to strengthen leadership and political skills).  The Eatons are members of North Avenue Presbyterian Church.

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