Walton Tribune - Dious Ready to Challenge Hice

News Article

By Stephen Milligan

With the election less than a month away, races are heating up in Walton County and the rest of the state.

One race drawing national attention as well as local interest is the race for the District 10 seat in the U.S. House of Representatives, as Republican Jody Hice and Democrat Ken Dious face off to replace departing Rep. Paul Broun, R-Athens.

Hice, a Walton County native, already won a runoff in a seven-person field earlier this year to make it this far, but Dious, an Athens attorney, is less familiar to Waltonians.
Dious, 68, was born and raised in Athens, graduating from the University of Georgia Law School as one of the earliest black men to attend the college after desegregation.

Married, with one adult son, Dious said he felt he was the best choice in the race as someone who was both familiar with the district and willing to make decisions to help the area.

"I know this area," Dious said. "I know Walton County very well and felt the need to run because the people needed better representation.

"Paul Broun never did anything for the district. And I looked at the people running for the Republican ticket in the primary and felt they wouldn't do anything for the district, either. I wanted to give the people a better choice."

As a Democrat in a heavily conservative area, Dious knows he has more ground to make up with voters than his opponent, but said he would do more for the 10th District than give speeches and grandstand on issues.

"My biggest issue is jobs and economic development," Dious said. "I want to bring federal money, grants and more, to the district. This is a great place for business and to create jobs if we just give people the step up they need."

Dious also pointed to education as a major issue in the race.

"I believe we should have a national standard in education, particularly in science and math," he said. "But the local school boards need more say in this. I don't think a PhD in Washington can better run a school than locals can."

Hice, who's been campaigning for months already, said he's satisfied with the race and his progress to date.

"I am very excited about where we are heading into the final stretch," Hice said. "I am so encouraged by all of our volunteers on the ground. They have made tens of thousands of phone calls as well as hundreds of door knocks to reach out and let the voters in the district know my message.

"In the last few weeks of the campaign, we plan on running full steam ahead and taking every opportunity to encourage our supporters to get out and vote. Walton County knows that my top priorities are to repeal and replace Obamacare, repeal the 16th Amendment and pass the FairTax and pass a Balanced Budget Amendment to the Constitution."

Dious, however, said it's too early to talk of balancing the budget.

"We do need to balance the budget," Dious said. "But we can't make a lot of cuts now because of the economy. We need to focus on creating jobs and improving the economy before we try to balance the budget, which could take several more years."

As they prepare to spar for the final stretch of the campaign, Dious said he feels new voter registration and interest from various corners give him more than a fair chance to take the seat for the Democrats.

"I think my chances are excellent," he said. "I carry a better message than Mr. Hice does and I'm ready to prove it in Washington."

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