With one week to go before next Tuesday’s runoff for Georgia’s 9th District congressional seat, candidates Tom Graves and Lee Hawkins clashed in Dalton on Tuesday over whether a trip to Missouri counts as traveling across the country.

The dispute started when the two, both Republicans, addressed some of Dalton’s top business leaders at a board meeting of the Carpet and Rug Institute (CRI). One person asked if they support the Fair Tax, a proposal to replace virtually all federal taxes with a national sales tax. Both men said they back the idea.

“I’ve actually advocated for it not only here in the state of Georgia but across the country with John Linder, Herman Cain and Neal Boortz, regardless of their lack of recollection of my attendance with them,” said Graves, a former state representative from Ranger.

That was an apparent reference to a recent automated phone call recorded by U.S. Rep. John Linder, R-Duluth, on behalf of Hawkins. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, in the message Linder accused Graves of lying about traveling the nation with him to support the Fair Tax. Graves made a trip to Missouri with Linder for a Fair Tax rally.

But in the message Linder said, “I didn’t know who he was, or why he was there,” according to the Journal-Constitution. Hawkins returned to that subject later, stating Graves may have gone to Missouri with Linder.

“But that does not constitute traveling across the nation to support the Fair Tax. There’s a difference between going to Missouri and traveling across the nation,” said Hawkins, a former state senator from Gainesville.

The two also clashed over a jobs bill, authored by Graves, that the Legislature passed earlier this year.

Graves noted that Hawkins was just one of two Republicans who voted against the bill, which provides tax incentives to businesses to expand and add jobs.

But Hawkins said the bill wouldn’t do what it promised because the incentives are too small and fine print keeps some of the provisions from taking effect until the state has $1 billion in reserves.

“I don’t know when the state will have a billion dollars in reserves,” he said. “I don’t think we are going to be able to put this into action for another five or 10 years.”

Both men outlined a generally fiscally conservative approach to economics, opposing the health care bill recently passed by Congress and supporting spending cuts and efforts to reduce the federal debt.

Both also asked those present to look at their records in the Legislature to see that they stood by that philosophy.

However, Dalton-Whitfield Chamber of Commerce President Brian Anderson pushed them on that point.

He noted that the Legislature has failed to fully fund transportation, that the tax code — which many business leaders believe makes the state less competitive than some of its neighbors — hasn’t been overhauled in years, and that the state has been cutting education spending for years.

“How do you advocate what you’ve been about for the last three or four years, given that we’ve got real issues in Georgia about being competitive?” Anderson said.

Hawkins acknowledged that having a state sales tax makes it more difficult to compete with states that don’t have one. But he said in Georgia, tax legislation must start in the House of Representatives, not the Senate where he has served. He said the Legislature has tried to increase transportation funding by allowing voters to approve regional 1 percent sales taxes to fund projects. That law, passed in the most recent session, still awaits Gov. Perdue’s signature.

Graves said he thought Georgia has much to offer, including the fourth busiest port in the nation, a top flight university system and numerous Fortune 500 companies that call the state home. But he said there may be a perception problem that makes it seem like the state isn’t remaining as competitive as it once was.

After the meeting, Anderson said he didn’t think either man really addressed his question.

“I applaud the Legislature. This year they at least put a study committee together (to look at taxes). But we’ve known for at least five years the tax code is inadequate. We have seen expenses growing much faster than revenue for five to six years, and it’s just now in dire times that we want to study the tax code,” he said.

Frank Hurd, the CRI’s director of government relations, said after the meeting that members appreciated the chance to ask questions of the candidates.

“From our perspective they were very open and engaging and we feel whoever is elected will be a great representative for the 9th District,” he said.

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There will be a Special Election Runoff on Tuesday, June 8, for US Representative in the 111th Congress From the 9th Congressional District of Georgia.

Two Republicans, Tom Graves and Lee Hawkins, are vying to fill the unexpired Congressional term of Rep. Nathan Deal, R-Gainesville, who resigned to run for Georgia governor.

The 9th Congressional District includes the eastern* portion of Gordon County, and only those voters who reside within 9th District will be eligible to vote in this runoff, said Shea Hicks, chair of the Gordon County Board of Elections and Registration..

The following voting precincts will be open on Tuesday, June 8, from 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. for eligible voters to cast their ballot in this special election runoff:

 1057 Ranger

Ranger Community Center

157 Church Street

Ranger, GA 30734

 1235 Oakman

Oakman Community Center

135 Hanes Rd NE

Oakman, GA 30732

 874 Fairmount

Fairmount Community Center

11921 Fairmount Hwy

Fairmount, GA 30139

 1056 Sonoraville

Sonoraville Recreation Department

7494 Fairmount Hwy SE

Calhoun, GA 30701

 1063 Pine Chapel

Nickelsville Vol. Fire Department

3058 Pine Chapel Rd NE

Resaca, GA 30735

 973 Red Bud

Pleasant Valley Baptist Church

3882 Red Bud Rd NE

Calhoun, GA 30701

(A small portion of Red Bud is “not” eligible to vote in this Special Election Runoff.)

 980 Resaca

Resaca Community and Recreation Center

330 Walker Street

Resaca, GA 30735

(A small portion of Resaca is not eligible to vote in this runoff.)

To view a map of the 9th Congressional District please go to www.gordoncounty.org or if you have any questions, call the Gordon County Board of Elections and Registration Office at 706 629-7781 or you can visit the secretary of state website to check your eligibility to vote in this runoff at www.sos.ga.gov/mvp .

* A story in the June 2 edition of the Calhoun Times falsely identified this area as the western portion of the county. It is the eastern portion, as stated here.

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