Dear PV,

I keep hearing on the radio how the state flag is supposedly the number one issue for the new governor. Anyone who suggests this was not paying much attention to his campaign.

The number one issue on the campaign trail became education. It was King Roy's hat-hanging issue, and it's the one which ultimately hung the noose around his neck. Given the lion's share of time that was devoted to schools and to DFACs, it would be highly unlikely that our new governor will jump into the fire at the start of his administration with something as controversial as restoring the old state flag. More likely he will start by trying to establish the ever-elusive majority the Republicans have been seeking in the state senate, so that his reforms will have some traction.

With or without that majority, I'd expect to see him weighing in heavily on education reform. He will also likely begin to reform the processes of the state government and attempt to cut the mounds of fat that have built up there over a century of Democrat rule.

Will we eventually deal with redistricting and the state flag? I believe so, but those certainly aren't the top two items on the agenda. Redistricting doesn't have to be completed until before the next election cycle, and Sonny has stated that he'd like to see a flag referendum on a regular ballot. We probably wouldn't see it until the 2004 ballot, and even then, it likely won't be an issue of keeping this one or returning to the previous flag. More likely, it will be a question of whether we should keep this flag or begin a process of choosing a new state flag. Eyesore that it is, the current icon-laden flag will be with us for at least two more years.

The biggest difference between this governor and King Roy is that he listens well to people. During the campaign he asked us for our ideas. That won't change when he takes office in January. Imagine that -- a governor in Georgia who listens to someone other than himself and campaign donors...

Doug D.
Marietta, Ga.