District 6 Candidates Raise Campaign Funds

Hunter Hill, a former Army officer seeking the GOP nomination for the District 6 state Senate seat, raised $145,505 in contributions through Dec. 31, the campaign said.

Also, fellow Republican Josh Belinfante announced Monday that he raised $129,358 in the last four months of 2011 for his District 6 state Senate campaign.

Hill’s campaign's announcement said in its headline that he "outraises the competition" with nearly 270 indivdiual contributions. His campaign's first contribution disclosure report, formally filed with the Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission, showed a total of $130,240.50 in cash on hand. The Atlanta native, who lives in the Smyrna area in unincorporated Cobb,

"I am both honored and excited about the overwhelming support my candidacy has received in such a short period of time," Hill said in a statement. "I have truly enjoyed speaking with great people throughout the district about the issues important to them and look forward to building on this momentum throughout the coming months."

Contributors listed on the report (see accompanying PDF) include some well-known Atlanta names, such as fellow Athletics Hall of Fame members Gordon Beckham Jr., CEO of McCarnish Systems, $2.500, and his son, Gordon, listed as James Beckham III, , $500.

Other names on the report are son of former Atlanta Mayor Ivan Allen, $250; James Cox Kennedy, chairman of Cox Enterprises, $2,500; former Georgia Tech athletics director Homer Rice, $500; James Balkcom, lead director of the Reach Call company, $2,500; and homemaker Linda Balkcom, $2,500.

A graduate of West Point and a former football and baseball standout at Westminster, Hill served three tours in Afghanistan and Iraq as an Airborne Ranger, the campaign said. Hill received two Bronze Stars, the Meritorious Service Medal and two Army Commendation Medals, his campaign said.

for the district, which under 2011 reapportionment stretches from Smyrna through Sandy Springs into Buckhead. The winner of the GOP primary July 31 will face Democratic incumbent Doug Stoner in the general election.

After his retirement from the Army, Hill began a real estate career, and is  now director of security for SecurAmerica. He is married to the former Shannan Reese. who grew up in Brookhaven, graduated from the and is currently director of philanthropy at the Nature Conservancy in Georgia.

The Hills have a son, Hunter Bradley Hill Jr., and a newborn daughter, Annie Christine Hill. They attend the in Buckhead, where Hill grew up playing the drums in the church band.

In an announcement released by the Friends of Josh Belinfante, the candidate said that he had 315 contributors and total cash on hand of $117,812. The figures were on his campaign finance report for the period endinging Dec. 31, 2011, filed with the Georgia Government Transparency and Campaign Finance Commission, formerly the state Ethics Commission.

"As we head toward the July primary, our 2011 fund-raising results demonstrate the broad strength of our support from across the district" said Belinfante, a Sandy Springs attorney and former vice chairman of the Ga. Ethics Commission. "It is humbling to have so many good people investing in our campaign. The residents of the Sixth District need to make up for lost time where we have not had a voice in the state Senate, and the voters here know that I will be ready to get to work representing them on day one."

seeking the GOP nomination to run against incumbent Democrat Doug Stoner. The Republican primary is July 31.

The campaign finance report (see accompanying PDF) shows significant contributions from health-related companies and PACs and insurance firms, some located out of the district and outside Georgia.

He received $1,500 from Aetna of Alpharetta; $2,500 from oral surgeon Louis Belinfante; $1,500 from the Cancer Treatment Centers of America in Schraumburg, Ill.; $500 from pharmacist and state Rep. Buddy Carter of Pooler, Ga.; $1,000 from DOC PAC of Napa, Calif.; $1,500 from the Ga. Health Care Association of Stockbridge; $2,500 from the HCA GA PAC in Tallahassee, Fla.; and $2,500 for the primary election and $1,300 for the runoff from State Mutual Insurance Co. of Rome, Ga. He also received several contributions from other state candidates.

Belinfante's contribution announcement noted that he represents health-care professionals and businesses in litigation and administrative matters.

The announcement said the campaign will receive a fund-raising boost this week when former Gov. Sonny Perdue hosts a reception. Now a partner at the law firm Robbins Ross Alloy Belinfante Littlefield LLC, the Pace Academy graduate previously served as Perceu's executive counsel.

Perdue appointed Belinfante as one of the attorneys "challenging Obamacare on behalf of Georgians," the announcement said. He continues that work with present Gov. Nathan Deal and Attorney General Sam Olens.

Belinfante, an Atlanta native, is a graduate of the University of Georgia School of Law. He and his wife, Dr. Karina Belinfante, have lived in Buckhead and Sandy Springs. Dr. Belinfante is an internist in Smyrna, and the couple has two young sons.