Barry Fleming wants to become the new 10th District U.S. representative.
The 42-year-old Harlem man, who has served in the Georgia General Assembly as the Majority Whip in the House of Representatives, recently qualified to seek the seat currently held by U.S. Rep. Paul Broun.
Mr. Fleming, like Rep. Broun, will be running on the Republican ticket.
During a recent visit to Thomson, Mr. Fleming talked to a number of local business owners and sought their support in the election slated for later this year.
Mr. Fleming addressed several issues, including his views of the Fair Tax Proposal.
"I support the Fair Tax Proposal, wholeheartedly," Mr. Fleming said. "I think Congress should cut out the Internal Revenue Service."
Mr. Fleming also feels that values among American families has declined and that if elected, he would attempt to bring some of those strong values back into American home life.
"Over the last several years, we have all seen family values decline in our country," Mr. Fleming said. "I believe it has greatly harmed our nation as a whole."
Mr. Fleming said he wants to see such values reinstituted into families and vows to work towards making that happen, if elected to Congress.
Mr. Fleming, who served as an aide for two years to former U.S. Congressman Doug Barnard in Washington, D.C., later finished law school and worked briefly as an assistant district attorney in the Augusta Judicial Circuit District Attorney's Office. Today, he is a lawyer in the Fulcher/Hagler Law Firm in Augusta.
As a candidate for U.S. Congress, Mr. Fleming also said he would strongly support conservation measures involving the escalating fuel costs, as well as having energy-efficient appliances in homes.
Two of his top priorities, if elected to Congress, would be to support a tax initiative, as well as a balanced budget amendment.
