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Screenshot 2017-11-28 at 12.00.30 PM - Edited

Hide and Seek with Sen. Bill Heath

Elected officials in Georgia on far too many occasions say and do outrageous things, sometimes with no consequence. But one state Sen. Bill Heath not only sent a condescending email to thousands of concerned Georgians, he hid from a reporter when she approached him to ask about his email.

He literally ducked into the nearest office and hid behind a printer. He was willing to send an email to taxpayers, describing petition signing as “childish tactics,” that “wastes the limited time and resources,” of his office. But he wasn’t willing to defend this email on camera. So he hid.

Watch for yourself in the video below.

Rather than defend his condescending remarks, this elected official literally ducked behind an office printer and sent out staff to run interference.

“He’s basically telling Georgia taxpayers that he doesn’t care about what they say,” Better Georgia’s own Bryan Long told Raw Story at the time.

Thousands of taxpayers were rightfully upset that former state Sen. Chip Rogers had been given a sweetheart deal: a $150,000 job at Georgia Public Broadcasting. If that name rings a bell it’s because this is the same Chip Rogers that held a three hour meeting at the Capitol about a brainwashing conspiracy involving the United Nations. He resigned only month after winning re-election, after video of the meeting — obtained by Better Georgia — went public.

This is exactly the sort of cronyism that been endemic to Gov. Nathan Deal’s administration, and it absolutely deserved to be investigated. But Bill Heath — a Republican from Bremen, Ga. about an hour due west of Atlanta — chose to mock these concerns and then hide when asked about his response.

Rogers was ultimately forced out of his Georgia Public Broadcasting gig, after it came to light that he never produced a radio show and that he worked full time at another organization during his nearly year long tenure. While Bill Heath and his comrades at the state capitol never bothered to investigate the taxpayer funded position created for Rogers, there was ultimately a just outcome thanks to consistent public pressure.

And, even if Heath refused to take the concerns of petitioners seriously, there is nothing quite like making an elected official hide when they know there is no way to defend their actions.

Heath may have been able to hide from one camera, but these elected officials cannot keep hiding from their responsibilities to Georgians.

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