Earlier this week state Rep. Bob Smith (R-Watkinsville) announced that he would not seek re-election this year after 12 years representing Oconee and surrounding counties in the Georgia General Assembly. I've known Rep. Smith for around 15 years and thank him for helping to spur my interest in campaigning.  I'd always been interested in politics and had enjoyed wearing t-shirts and buttons for my favorite candidates at an early age but never had actually participated in a grassroots ground game campaign until Rep. Smith's first campaign in 1998. From tagging mailboxes at all hours of the night to sign waving twice a day on Election Days, we did it all.

Bob Smith was and is a public servant in the true sense of the word and he never forgot where he came from and who he represented. Whether he agreed or disagreed with your opinion, he always took the time to listen to folks' concerns.  I'll miss his presence in the legislature but look forward to seeing him in town a lot more in winter and early spring. 

I ask that the candidates seeking to succeed him (as no one in my mind can ever replace him) look to Bob Smith as an example of a very fine representative.