COVINGTON, Ga. - Democratic Secretary of State candidate John Barrow will attend a fundraiser in his honor on Sunday, Sept. 23, in Covington at the historic Zachary-Echols home.

Hosts for the John Barrow fundraiser are Linda and Bradd Shore, Barbara Morgan and Bob Furnad.  Anyone wishing to attend should email Shore at braddshore@gmail.com (770-784-3923) or Morgan at barbm2158@gmail.com (770-385-8811).

Barrow was a widely respected Democratic congressman who represented Georgia’s 12th District from 2005-2015. Describing himself now as a country lawyer, Barrow is a graduate of the University of Georgia and Harvard Law School. His first foray into elected office was as a commissioner on the Athens-Clarke County Commission from 1990-2004.  He followed seven generations of family members into public service. He and his wife Angele’ have five children.

“The Secretary of State is charged with maintaining the integrity of Georgia’s voting records and process, and nothing has become clearer this year than that the right to vote, voter access and voter records have been under assault,” Barrow said.  “The current secretary of state has failed miserably to ensure fair and safe elections during his term in office.  I understand the job.  He doesn’t. We have to clean up and clean out that office.”

Georgians across a wide swath of the eastern and southern parts of the state learned to trust Barrow’s commitment to their best interests while he served in Congress.  He was especially focused on veterans and worked closely with both President George W. Bush and President Barack Obama, winning respect for his bi-partisan approach. He played a key role in obtaining funds to deepen the Port of Savannah and bring the Army’s Cyber Command to Fort Gordon in August.

 “My belief in bi-partisanship will be critical to running the Secretary of State’s office in in tandem with a new governor and General Assembly,” he said.

A second major priority of the Secretary of State is to maintain professional licensing boards and standards, make it simple to get into business and prevent professional fraud.

“I am intent on making the Secretary of State’s office work for all Georgians and ensuring boards and licensing registrations are not burdensome to people in business.”