Underwood says experience in fighting government makes him best candidate
Business, News June 6, 2020
ELLIJAY, Ga. – Ethan Underwood, one of nine Republican candidates running to replace Doug Collins as Georgia’s Ninth District Congressman, said conservatives will lose one of the most articulate fighters we have when Congressman Doug Collins leaves to run for Senate.
A guest on FYNTV.COM’s Good Morning From the Office Thursday, Underwood told host Brian Pritchard, “We can’t lose that. We’ve got to replace that with somebody with energy who can articulate the conservative message and I’m the right candidate for this time.”
Underwood, a property rights attorney, has built his campaign around the fact that he is an effective fighter for conservative values.
“I’m an attorney. I’m one who fights government. It’s what I do for a living and I’m pretty darn good at it,” he said. “I’m good at wading into hostile situations and getting good results. That is the skill set for this time with the hostile situation in D.C.”
Underwood, 42, has worked for Republican causes for 25 years and has served as chairman of the Forsyth County Republican Party and as a district officer for the Republican Party.
As an attorney, Underwood said he is good at understanding procedure. “The first thing I’m going to do is learn the procedures and study the budget when I get up there to see what we can do to reduce spending and make sure I can act effectively for the people of the Ninth District. We need somebody who can go to D.C. and understand how the procedures work. You can get things done or you can stop bad legislation if you understand how the procedures work.”
On the subject of the protests going on throughout the country, Underwood said, “George Floyd should not have been killed. He was murdered. I hope they throw the people who did it under the jail. I’m glad to have friendly discussions about how we can get over the racial tension in this country. I’m excited about people saying, ‘We’re tired of racism. We want to end it.’ But when that devolves into destroying personal property and rioting that has got to be stopped immediately.”
Underwood said it is imperative that Republicans win back the House, lower taxes and reduce spending.
“That is where Republicans always drop the ball. They lower taxes but they don’t reduce spending. We also need to change the CARES Act.” Underwood said he hears from employers who say they want to hire their employees back and they can’t get them back because they’re getting more money going on unemployment than they are if they come back to work.”
He also said if Democrat governors are keeping their states shut down in hopes of winning the November election. “We need to be pounding that (message) to the media. Show the Democrats for what they are doing, which is manipulating the crisis in order to win the election.”
Fetch Your News is a hyper local news outlet that covers Dawson, Lumpkin, White, Fannin, Gilmer, Pickens, Union, Towns and Murray counties as well as Cherokee County in N.C. FYN attracts 300,000+ page views per month, 3.5 million impressions per month and approximately 15,000 viewers per week on FYNTV.com and up to 60,000 Facebook page reach. If you would like to follow up-to-date local events in any of those counties, please visit us at FetchYourNews.com
Wilkinson campaign for U.S. Congress focused on Georgia’s agribusiness
News June 6, 2020
ELLIJAY, Ga. – State Senator John Wilkinson (R-Toccoa) understands the importance of agriculture and agribusiness to the state of Georgia so it’s no surprise he has based his campaign for Ninth District Congress on his knowledge of and service to that industry.
A graduate of the University of Georgia with degrees in Agriculture and Education, Wilkinson was a guest on FYNTVCOM’s Good Morning From the Office on Thursday (June 4).
“If you really look at America and what makes us great, one of the reasons we’re great is we have the most abundant food, the safest food at the lowest price in the world,” he said. “That makes a big difference. I heard someone say one time, ‘we couldn’t have planned a space shot and a moon walk if the people planning it had been concerned about where their next meal was coming from.’”
Wilkinson was raised on a farm in Stephens County. He has experience as a classroom teacher and served on the State Agricultural Education staff for 26 years. He has served as State Advisor to the Georgia Future Farmers of America Association, as well as the Georgia Young Farmer Association. He was recognized as the Outstanding Member of the National Association of Supervisors of Agricultural Education in 2006.
“Agriculture, agribusiness is the biggest business in our state,” Wilkins told host Brian Pritchard. “It has a $72 billion impact on our economy. A lot of people think agriculture is focused in south Georgia. Peanuts and cotton and those kind of things are but out of that $72 billion, $32 billion of it is from the poultry industry and the poultry industry is concentrated in north Georgia in my senate district. Sen. District 50 for instance, four of those counties are in the top 10 in Georgia in farm income.”
About one of every seven jobs in Georgia is directly linked to agriculture. “So, for Georgia to remain strong, for our country to remain strong, we’ve got to continue to be a leader in food production,” he said.
Wilkinson has strong ties to U.S. Agriculture Secretary and former Georgia Gov. Sonny Perdue.
“I’ve known Secretary Perdue since he was a state senator from Houston County. When I began this campaign — when you could still get on an airplane in Atlanta and fly — I visited with Sect. Perdue in his office in D.C.,” he said.
In 2016, then presidential candidate Donald Trump asked Wilkinson, Perdue and State Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black to serve on an agriculture and rural America advisory committee if he was elected.
Said Wilkinson, “I have served in that capacity with President Trump since that time. So I feel like my background in the industry of agriculture is beneficial to me and I think it will be a benefit to constituents in the Ninth District.”
Asked about the current racial tension following the death of George Floyd at the hands of Minnesota police and the riots and protests that have followed, Wilkinson said, “I think it was very much a tragedy that turned my stomach to see the video and to think that could happen. Obviously, that was a tragedy and I don’t think any reasonable person can be happy with that. I don’t think we can just sit by and not take action. I think we have to be proactive. I think there are a lot of good people from all races and all nationalities in our country.”
But, he said Americans should not lose sight of the fact that they live in the greatest country in the world. “If we travel to other countries and look at how they handle protests and those things, we realize how blessed we are to live in America.”
He added that one of the greatest rights people have is the right to peacefully assembly and protest something they believe is not right. But, he, added, “The people who have come in with nightfall with violence and with guns and taken innocent lives of all races and done those kinds of things. I don’t think we can afford to tolerate that kind of activity.”
In closing, Wilkinson said, “You can tell a lot about a person by how the people they have grown up with and known all their life feel about them. Every race I’ve run in my home county, I’ve always gotten over 80 percent of the vote.”
The Ninth Congressional District includes all of Banks, Dawson, Elbert, Fannin, Franklin, Gilmer, Habersham, Hall, Hart, Jackson, Lumpkin, Madison, Rabun, Stephens, Towns, Union, White and parts of Clarke, Forsyth and Pickens counties.
Fetch Your News is a hyper local news outlet that covers Dawson, Lumpkin, White, Fannin, Gilmer, Pickens, Union, Towns and Murray counties as well as Cherokee County in N.C. FYN attracts 300,000+ page views per month, 3.5 million impressions per month and approximately 15,000 viewers per week on FYNTV.com and up to 60,000 Facebook page reach. If you would like to follow up-to-date local events in any of those counties, please visit us at FetchYourNews.com
Forsyth County attorney will run for U.S. Congress
News February 20, 2020
CUMMING, GA – Ethan Underwood, a successful property rights attorney who previously served as Chairman of Forsyth County Republican Party and 2nd Vice Chair of the 9th Congressional District Republican Party, has announced his campaign for U.S. Congress. Current GA09 Representative Doug Collins recently announced his decision to run for U.S. Senate.
“I am running for U.S. Congress in Georgia’s 9th District because we need a battle-ready Republican leader who can make decisions and take action day-one on the issues that are in the best interest of our district and our state,” said Underwood. “While Washington, DC is embroiled in a hostile, philosophical fight, Northeast Georgia communities care about problems and solutions in real life. I will work relentlessly to clear the path for our citizens to make a living and pursue happiness.”
Biography of Ethan Underwood
Ethan has family roots in Northeast Georgia that date back to the 1830s. Growing up in Ringgold, and later just over the border in TN, Ethan settled in north Forsyth County in 2003 where he has pursued his legal career and continues to rear his family of four with his wife, Tiffany, of 22 years. The Underwood family attends Mountain Lake Church.
Ethan’s parents met in high school and took turns supporting each other as they each pursued higher education and became the first in their families to finish college. His father served in the U.S. Air Force and then spent his career as a pharmaceutical representative. His mother ultimately earned her Masters Degree and became a biology teacher. His parents set a true example for Ethan and his brother, instilling a strong work ethic and the importance of conservative, family values.
During high school, Ethan had a teacher who encouraged his interest in government and connected him with a political campaign as a volunteer at age 15. Since then, Ethan has worked to elect conservative candidates at all levels of government.
In college at UT-Chattanooga, Ethan met and married his wife, Tiffany. With the addition of their son to the Underwood family, Ethan and Tiffany moved to Knoxville. Living in a modular home in a floodplain, Tiffany took a job as middle school teacher while Ethan completed the JD-MBA program at UT-Knoxville with a J.D. concentration in business transactions and an M.B.A. concentration in finance.
Their daughter Elise was born during this time and she was diagnosed with Down Syndrome. As Ethan completed law school and sought a full-time job in Georgia, he and his family were also navigating the healthcare system with Elise facing open-heart surgery. Followed their move to Georgia, Elise underwent chemotherapy treatments for AML-leukemia at Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta. With a strong faith and family support system, Ethan and Tiffany took charge of their new journey and thankfully, Elise has been cancer-free for 15 years. For this reason, Ethan is passionate about making certain Georgians have access to quality, privately-funded healthcare options – and fighting against a single-payer healthcare system.
Ethan and his family settled in Forsyth County and welcomed two more daughters, Amelia and Charlotte. As supporters of educational choice, Ethan and Tiffany know that a one-size-fits-all educational system does not work for all children, and have worked with public, private, and homeschooling options for their children’s needs. Their girls are still in school, and recently, their son, Gabriel, completed a term in the U.S. Army.
Ethan has spent the last 17 years as a lawyer with a focus on representing private property owners against government in land use, condemnation, and tax appeal cases. As a partner at Miles, Hansford & Tallant, LLC in Forsyth County, his success has come from being an advocate for private property owners as they navigate the political process and government systems. Ethan is active in the community, having served on numerous boards for local civic and charitable organizations, including the Forsyth County Chamber of Commerce, the Bald Ridge Lodge, Inc., and Rewarding Minds, Inc. He is also a member of the Rotary Club of Alpharetta.
A proven conservative, Ethan served as Chairman of the Forsyth County Republican Party from 2009-2013, and 2nd Vice Chair of the 9th Congressional District Republican Party until April 2015. He is currently a member of the GOP State Committee.
Fetch Your News is a hyper local news outlet that covers Dawson, Lumpkin, White, Fannin, Gilmer, Pickens, Union, Towns and Murray counties as well as Cherokee County in N.C. FYN attracts 300,000+ page views per month, 3.5 million impressions per month and approximately 15,000 viewers per week on FYNTV.com and up to 60,000 Facebook page reach. If you would like to follow up-to-date local events in any of those counties, please visit us at FetchYourNews.com