(5 of 9)
QUOTE OF NOTE: "I have worked hard all my life...if you ask me a question you'll get a straight answer. We may not always agree, but we can discuss any issue, and I'll do what I say. If I don't, I hope the voters will throw me out in two years."
JOHN LEWIS (D) District 5 (Parts of Atlanta)
BORN: Feb. 21, 1940, Troy, Ala. EDUCATION: American Baptist Theological Seminary, B.A., 1961; Fisk U, B.A., 1963 FAMILY: Wife, Lillian; one child RELIGION: Baptist MILITARY: None OCCUPATION: Civil-rights activist political career: Atlanta city council, 1982-86; U.S. House, 1986- ADDRESS: P.O. Box 2323, Atlanta 30301. Tel.: 202-966-8338
Lewis was the first in his family to graduate from high school. He had to sue for the right to go to college. In the '60s he rode the freedom buses, was beaten in Montgomery, Alabama, and led the Selma-to-Montgomery march for voting rights. In the House, the five-term incumbent serves as one of four deputy whips, and he speaks out for programs to protect the quality of health care and education for the working poor. It is no wonder Lewis is running unopposed.
THE ISSUES
Budget NO Medicare NO Defense YES Abortion NO Guns YES Gays NO Bosnia NO NAFTA NO Welfare NO Medical Leave YES (For an explanation of these issues, see the front of this guide.)
QUOTE OF NOTE: "Republicans help the rich and hurt the rest of us."
MICHAEL COLES (D) District 6 (Atlanta suburbs--Roswell; part of Marietta)
BORN: Feb. 9, 1944, Brooklyn, N.Y. EDUCATION: Rockport High School, graduated, 1963 FAMILY: Wife, Donna; three children RELIGION: Jewish MILITARY: None OCCUPATION: Cookie-company owner/executive POLITICAL CAREER: None ADDRESS: 2617 Sandy Plains Road, Suite C, Marietta 30066. Tel.: 770-509-1790
Going after the Speaker of the House, Coles is attempting what amounts to a coup in Georgia's Sixth. In a Republican district that has gone for button-down Democrats like Governor Zell Miller and Senator Sam Nunn, Coles sells himself as a crime-fighting deficit hawk. Though he built his $100 million cookie company from virtually nothing and recovered from a motorcycle accident after doctors told him he would never walk again, can he silence the Speaker?
THE ISSUES
Budget NR Medicare NR Defense NR Abortion NR Guns NR Gays NR Bosnia NR NAFTA NR Welfare NR Medical Leave NR (For an explanation of these issues, see the front of this guide.)
QUOTE OF NOTE: "I think Newt is so divisive that it outweighs anything about him that I might admire in him. He continues to amaze me in the way he polarizes people."
NEWT GINGRICH (R) District 6
BORN: June 17, 1943, Harrisburg, Pa. EDUCATION: Emory U, B.A., 1965; Tulane U, M.A., 1968, Ph.D., 1971 FAMILY: Wife, Marianne Ginther; two children RELIGION: Baptist MILITARY: None OCCUPATION: Professor POLITICAL CAREER: Republican nominee for U.S. House, 1974, 1976; U.S. House 1978- ADDRESS: P.O. Box 1399, Roswell 30077. Tel.: 770-587-2330