paid for by Friends of Dr. Bob Whitelaw

I will be an elected representative who puts people ahead of politics. A representative with common sense positions on the issues. Someone who can speak for everyone and someone who cares about making a positive difference for the district and our state.

Health care is one of the most critical issues facing each of our families. As a retired orthopedic surgeon, I understand the importance of quality, affordable health care, particularly for the elderly, the chronically ill, and children.

I believe we must continue to strengthen our schools to provide our children with the world-class education they will need to meet the challenges of a quickly changing world. As the father of three children and as an expectant grandfather, I will work to ensure that our children have safe schools that provide quality education through accountability, responsibility, and mutual respect.

I am committed to a clean and healthy environment that balances the needs of Georgia's economy with the needs of its people. Through coordinated growth and traffic planning we can ensure that our children continue to have the quality of life that Georgians have come to expect.

I am committed to fighting for equality for all of Georgia's citizens and will support employment nondiscrimination legislation (ENDA), stronger hate crime laws and expansion of domestic partner benefits. Because I have worked extensively with many community groups including Labor, African-Americans and Women: I know how to work with others to build consensus.

Bob Whitelaw is a native Georgian, originally from Decatur. He and his partner, Ken Hornbeck, live in Morningside with their dog, Gus. Bob is the father of three sons and a daughter-in-law (Robert III & Michelle, Christopher, and Benjamin) and is a new grandfather of a baby girl, Maggie. He is a Certified Lay Speaker for the United Methodist Church and a member of Saint Mark United Methodist Church where he serves on the Restoration Finance Committee.

Bob Whitelaw is a product of the Georgia public education system having attended Winnonah Park Elementary School and graduating from Southwest DeKalb High School. His higher education includes graduation from Duke University-AB, the Medical College of Georgia-MD, the Baylor University Medical Center- Internship, the Medical College of Georgia-Orthopedic Surgery Residency, and Oxford University (England)-Orthopedic Surgery. After completing his medical studies, Bob served his country in the United States Air Force from 1977 to 1981.

Bob has worked to be an active member of the community by volunteering and serving in many local and national organizations. His organizational affiliations and services include the AARP, the ACLU, the Atlanta Labor Council, various labor locals, the Medical Association of Georgia, the Georgia Association of Physicians for Human Rights, the Coalition of Concerned Black Clergy and Citizens of Atlanta, the Martin Luther King March Committee, the National Organization for Women (NOW), the Sierra Club, the Grady Coalition, and The Mautner Project for Female Cancer. He is a member of the Human Rights Campaign, the Victory Fund, and the Gay & Lesbian Task Force. Bob is also a member of the Board of the North Georgia United Methodist AIDS Outreach Ministry. Bob's political service includes the Governor's Roundtable, the Fulton County Democratic Committee, the DNC Voting Rights Institute, Executive Vice-President of the Georgia Stonewall Democrats, and Vice-Chair of the Board of Directors of the National Stonewall Democrats.

No one likes to pay taxes, including me; but I understand that the various levels of government require money to fund the services that we need as a society. I have learned from listening to you, the voters of the 47th District, that you understand this as well. All that you ask is that your elected officials spend your taxes wisely and efficiently. As your Representative, I pledge that I will be a good steward of the money you entrust to me and that I will work to see that you get full value in return. I will work to continue increasing the homestead exemption, to promote tax rebates, and to reduce income tax rates.

Safe Schools Which Provide Quality Education

Quality education is largely dependent on a partnership of parents, teachers, students, and the community. This partnership is strong in the 47th District. We have involved parents, dedicated teachers, and motivated students. Our community is supportive. That is why our public schools in the 47th District are among the best in Georgia. This partnership is weak or nonexistent in many areas of our state. If Georgia is to continue its spectacular economic growth, we must provide our children with a world-class education. I believe that the vast majority of our teachers are dedicated professionals whose goal is to help all students reach their full potential. But without involved parents, motivating their children to excellence, we cannot succeed. Working together, we can strengthen this essential partnership so that all children, not only our own, will excel.

A safe school environment is essential for quality education. Georgia has an anti-bullying law, but it is not uniformly enforced. Secondly, the law only addresses physical bullying. I think that we all understand the devastating effects that verbal abuse has. When children are afraid at school, they cannot learn. The problems related to bullying can be greatly reduced by teaching children tolerance and empowering them with the skills necessary to handle conflict and anger in a non-violent manner.

You have told me that you are willing to invest in public education, but you want positive results. A world-class education for all of Georgia's children is in everyone's best interest. As your Representative, I will work for safe schools and quality education for all of Georgia's children.

Coordinated Growth and Traffic Planning

The population density of intown Atlanta is going to continue to increase. Thus far, much of the development has consisted of building suburban-type developments in the heart of Atlanta. These are the same ideas that have made the suburbs a traffic nightmare. Building new roads and adding more lanes has reached its limits in the suburbs. Gridlock has become the norm. Now, people want to move into the city to avoid hours of commuting. If we continue to have automobile-dependent development, we will destroy the quality of life that attracted us to intown in the first place. I have not come to this conclusion alone. I have spent hours in neighborhood association and NPU meetings listening to you grapple with zoning and permit requests. You have told me that you are intensely concerned about development, traffic and quality of life. I am also deeply concerned. You have also told me about your ideas for accommodating growth while protecting and even improving our quality of life. You want a pedestrian-friendly environment. You want to be able to shop or go to dinner or go to work without having to use your car. And how do you think we can accomplish these things? You say it can be accomplished with mixed-use development and a convenient, reliable public transportation system that will move us within the inner city but also connect to the current train system. You ask that this system move us efficiently and quickly within and between our neighborhoods. I agree with you. I could say that these are city government problems, but I will not. They are problems which require consensus and cooperation. As your State Representative, I will work with you, our neighborhood associations and NPU's to help make your vision of intown Atlanta a reality. I will work to make sure that we get our fair share of transportation tax dollars to build this public transit system. I will work to protect the greenspace we have and add more. I pledge to work with you to make the 47th District an even better place to live and work.

Environmental Protection

I am a native Georgian who grew up in Decatur when it was the suburbs. The air was clean, and the water clean and plentiful. It seemed that it would always be that way. We now know that that was an illusion. Our air is polluted, and too many of our lakes and rivers are as well. Our environmental mess will lead to serious economic consequences if we do not commit ourselves to sound, comprehensive solutions. There has been enough finger pointing. There is enough blame to go around. Is the culprit the cars on Atlanta's Interstates or electric power plants? The truth is that both contribute about equally to our air quality problem. It will cost money to fix, but health problems, especially respiratory diseases, cost us huge amounts of money in lost workdays, decreased worker efficiency, increased school absences and increased healthcare costs. The situation is much the same for water. Pollution will lead to decreased rates of economic growth if something is not done. The question should not be "Can we afford to clean things up?" but it should rather be "Can we afford not to?" These problems negatively impact the entire state. As your Representative, I will work to build consensus within the General Assembly and among the numerous governmental entities to solve these problems.

Reliable, Affordable Healthcare

As a doctor, I feel very strongly about our healthcare system and the importance of keeping it the best in the world. Doctors should provide and patients should receive health care in an environment where quality of care is the primary concern and where the patient and the doctor make the decisions. Most insurers understand and accept these two principles, but a few do not. This is why it is necessary that Georgia have a stronger Patient's Bill of Rights, which mandates that these principles be followed. As your Representative, I will work to improve the present law. I will work with small business to devise an incentive plan that will make it financially possible to provide health insurance for those who need it. These are ambitious goals, but I believe that by working together, in good faith, we can achieve all of them.