BURKE, MOORE CONTINUE TO FIRE POLITICAL ROUNDS

Campaign Disclosures, Grant Money, Drug Offenders among Contested Topics

WARNER ROBINS - The candidates for Houston County district attorney traded
political jabs Wednesday on campaign disclosures, use of grant money and
punishment for drug offenders.

Republican Kelly Burke, the eight-year incumbent, fired off a news release
challenging Democratic opponent and Warner Robins attorney Michael Moore to
release his latest financial disclosure statement.

The deadline for the most recent report was Monday, though there's a grace
period for the disclosures to be filed on Nov. 1, the day before Tuesday's
election. Noting that Moore received substantial funding from trial lawyers
in a previous state Senate campaign, Burke said the public ought to know
before the election who is contributing to Moore's campaign. Burke took
issue with trial lawyer contributions to Moore's campaign because, he said,
those are the same lawyers he faces in court.

Moore said Wednesday he doesn't have anything to hide, though he questioned
why Burke thought he has authority to change the state law that provides
for the grace period.

Nonetheless, Wednesday night Moore released his disclosure statement to The
Telegraph. Moore reported that he has received contributions from local
attorneys, but he said he's also received contributions from all kinds of
people.

Of $15,374 in total contributions for the latest reporting period, Moore
reported $9,950 in contributions from attorneys, but mostly from himself
($6,000) and his law partner, Arthur Clark and Clark's wife, Nancy
($2,000). Burke's statement, dated Tuesday, indicates he received total
contributions for the period of $9,950, with the largest being $2,000 from
Greg and Stephanie Crosby, Warner Robins building contractors.

Moore said he thinks Burke is raising a non-issue, and if the contributions
say anything it's that local attorneys think he is a better attorney than
Burke. Moore said he finds it laughable Burke is questioning his campaign
disclosures when Burke has been taken to task about what Moore
characterized as the misuse of public funds.

Moore, who held a news conference Wednesday about Burke's alleged misuse of
public funds, said later in the day that Burke reported to the Project Safe
Neighborhood grant authority that he had used PSN grant money to buy
computers, when Burke actually used county funds to purchase the computers.

Moore produced a Houston County purchase requisition that he said indicated
the county has purchased the computers for slightly more than $7,000. Moore
accused Burke of "cooking the books."

But Burke said Moore is off base. Burke said the county initially purchased
the computers, and that the computers were paid for by grant funds. "What
we're talking about is a line-item transfer that he (Moore) doesn't
understand," Burke said.

On probation time for drug offenders, Burke characterized Moore as being
"disingenuous" for accusing him at a public forum Oct. 18 of not being
tough on drug offenders. At the forum, Moore took Burke to task for several
drug cases in which the offenders received lengthy probation periods but no
jail times.

Burke told Moore that he was being unreasonable in his allegation and that
when Moore was an assistant Houston County district attorney he also had
several cases in which drug offenders received probation instead of jail time.

Burke promised to disclose on his campaign Web site cases that Moore
prosecuted in which drug offenders received probation and no jail time. And
Burke did that, as well as posting numerous other cases in which drug
offenders received jail time for drug offenses by the district attorney's
office under Burke's helm.

Moore said most of his cases disclosed by Burke dealt with marijuana and
not methamphetamine-related charges. Regardless, Moore said he was only an
assistant district attorney at the time. But if elected district attorney,
Moore said drug offenders would do jail time.

Burke noted that there are reasonable times when drug offenders should get
probation instead of jail time. For first and even second offenders, Burke
said, it's more practical, especially in light of crowded prisons, to
require probation.

Probation requires the offender to get treatment while being monitored for
drug use.

Burke said it's also appropriate to give a lighter sentence to "snitches"
on some drug offenses in order to get their cooperation in convicting major
drug dealers.

Burke and Moore are scheduled to go head-to-head again today on a radio
forum on WNNG-AM 1350 from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m., hosted by Buyer's Guide editor
David Cranshaw.