Republican candidate for governor John Oxendine will name a new campaign manager —- Tim Echols, a conservative Christian organizer who helped U.S. Rep. Paul Broun of Athens win his seat.
This is the first staff shake-up by a candidate in the 2010 race, which has already been under way for more than a year.
"There are some similarities between Oxendine and Broun," Echols said. "When a guy is willing to take on the establishment —- I'm really drawn to people like that."
Echols will replace Kathryn Ballou, who will shift to head a separate Oxendine support group, Transform Georgia. Her husband, Jeff Breedlove, will remain as a chief strategist for Oxendine.
Echols is the founder of TeenPact, an organization that introduces kids —- often home-schooled —- to the workings of government. He'll remain president of the TeenPact board.
Echols, who gave some thought to a run for the state Senate to replace Ralph Hudgens (R-Hull) this year, was a significant player in this year's fight to defeat Sunday sales of beer and wine in the Legislature.
Echols said nothing should be read into his appointment.
"As a campaign ramps up, you need to bring more people to the table. There's nothing about their campaign plan that I'm changing," he said. "I'm going to put a tremendous effort on fund-raising."
Tuesday is the deadline for candidates to disclose their campaign contributions for the first six months of the year.
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