Gasaway accuses Habersham Hospital Authority, local newspaper of discrediting his campaign

Habersham County residents recently received a mailer from Georgia’s District 28 State Representative Dan Gasaway with claims that “a plan was in place to give Habersham County Hospital to Northeast Georgia Medical Center for free.”

Stacy Hall, chairman of the Hospital Authority of Habersham County, is cited in a press release, issued by the Habersham Medical Center, saying that “there is no such plan, nor would there ever be.”

Hall adds that the authority “have a significant fiduciary responsibility to the tax payers of Habersham County to make wise [and] prudent decisions.”

Gasaway sat down with WNEG News to dispute the allegations made by Hall and the authority.

“You know I don’t have anything on paper for evidence; but, I’d look at Franklin County and Barrow County,” Gasaway said. “In both counties the tax payers took significant licks when those hospitals were bought by larger hospitals. And I made that clear in mailers that I sent to the citizens in Habersham County, and I used those as examples of a trend that if it continues, it’s going to be unhealthy for Habersham County tax payers in a big way. I have been in meetings where it was said that the Habersham County Hospital Authority should just write off the $38-million debt because they made such a horrible investment. I never said that the hospital authority had a plan, I just said there was a plan. I don’t think the Hospital Authority or the County Commission really know what’s going on.”

Despite the conflicting statements, the Habersham County Hospital will not be given away.

Another concern Gasaway addresses is an article published in the May 18 Edition of The Northeast Georgian.

In the article, titled “Gasaway silent after HMC ‘plan’ proved false,” The Northeast Georgian wrote that it “has disproved many of Gasaway’s claims, for which he’s declined repeatedly to provide evidence;” however, Gasaway says differently.

“This has been a very difficult campaign. There is a lot of money being spent to discredit me, including the full forces of a whole newspaper in Habersham County being poured against me. For them to say I’ve not responded is completely dishonest on their part, ‘cause I have emails that show I responded. The Habersham County newspaper is the closest thing to fake news that we’ve got in Georgia right now,” Gasaway said.

WNEG News reached out to The Northeast Georgian’s Publisher Alan NeSmith for a comment regarding Gasaway’s statment that the newspaper has been dishonest about his integrity.

“Our stories stand,” stated NeSmith. “Rep. Gasaway’s comments are off mark.”

“All information has been sourced and quoted from public officials, including the Office of Attorney General Chris Carr, Hospital Authority of Habersham County Chairman Stacy Hall, Hospital Authority of Habersham County Attorney Allan Ramsay, Habersham Medical Center Interim CEO Lynn Boggs, hospital authority members, Habersham County Commission Chairman Victor Anderson, Northeast Georgia Health System Public Relations & Marketing Director Sean Couch, Habersham County School Superintendent Matthew Cooper, Chris Erwin and Rep. Gasaway himself,” stated The Northeast Georgian Editor Christina Santee. “As stated in our latest edition, Rep. Gasaway failed to address questions specific to the article not once, but twice.”

Despite the opposing arguments, the public will need to decide who to believe before casting ballots in tomorrow’s election.