Newton County's new state senator, Ronald B. Ramsey (D-Decatur), will have a meet and greet from 3 to 5 p.m., Friday at Oxford City Hall, 110 W. Clark St.

Ramsey, 51, has represented the majority of Rockdale County and the southeastern portion of DeKalb County since 2006. During this year's redistricting he saw his district grow as he lost a small portion of DeKalb and southern Rockdale, while grabbing the northwest chunk of Newton, including Oxford, Porterdale and the western half of Covington.

The meet and greet is being sponsored by the Newton County Citizens for Better Government, a group that seeks to be a local watch-dog organization by preventing waste and unethical practices in local government. The group is profit-making and donations are not tax deductible.

Attendees are asked to RSVP by Wednesday by contacting Vivian Harris by email at vahalh@aol.com or by phone at (770) 786-5897.

Ramsey has been a lawyer for nearly 20 years, including a stint as a municipal court judge in Stone Mountain for seven years. He was also previously an investigator and attorney for the federal government.

"I love people. I've been married for 26 years. I have two kids in college. I'm a Christian. I am a strong democrat, but I do have very conservative principles and values," Ramsey said previously when asked to describe himself.

He said his key issues are improving the quality of education and improving living standards for senior citizens and the disabled community.

He serves on five senate committees, including being vice chairman of the special judiciary committee and chairman of the urban affairs committee.

Ramsey earned his bachelor's degree from North Carolina Central University in 1981 and received his law degree from John Marshall Law School in 1992, according to the law school's website.

To learn more about Ramsey, residents can email him at ronald.ramsey@senate.ga.gov, call him at (404) 463-2598 or visit his website ronaldramsey.org.