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Atkinson beats Fahey Voters choose conservative over moderate By DANI DODGE Conservative Republican legislator Jason Atkinson tromped his more moderate rival Pat Fahey to become the likely state senator for District 25. "I knew we had momentum out there," Atkinson said Tuesday. "But I didn't know it was as big as it has proven to be." Because there is no Democrat running in November in the heavily Republican district, as the winner of the GOP primary Atkinson is a shoe-in for the seat. Atkinson is currently a representative in House District 51. In unofficial early results, Atkinson beat Fahey by more than 3-to-2, with strong showings in both Jackson and Josephine counties. As of late last night, Atkinson had 9,660 votes to Fahey's 5,943. The district covers southwest Jackson County and most of Josephine County. The current District 25 senator, Senate President Brady Adams, is prevented from running by term limits. He endorsed both Atkinson and Fahey. Fahey, 42, manages Southern Oregon Sanitation and lives in Grants Pass. During the campaign he touted his community involvement, good business sense and experience as attributes. But Atkinson, a 29-year-old business consultant from Jacksonville, showed voters that he could get results in Salem as a representative from House District 51. And he did it with an innovative ad campaign that proved his creativity and youthful zeal -- including a television ad that showed him mowing a lawn for an elderly constituent. During the 1999 legislative session, Atkinson pushed passage of bills to reorganize the membership of the state Land Conservation and Development Commission along regional lines, integrate tribal hatchery programs with state salmon-recovery plans, boost aid for state universities, and provide property tax rebates for seniors. The latter bill was vetoed. Fahey, who has no experience in elective office, is a fifth-generation Oregonian and son of the founder of Southern Oregon Sanitation, the family business he now manages with his siblings. He's the founder of Our Community Bank and helped develop a retirement home and Alzheimer's Center. Fahey declined comment at press time because he wanted to wait for more conclusive results from Jackson County. Atkinson said he hammered home his message with the help of an army of volunteers in a grass roots campaign. "We had four issues we kept going on over and over: private property and water rights, senior citizen issues, small business, and affordable higher ed," he said. Grants Pass resident Cheri Adkins was one of the many volunteers who helped Atkinson rise to victory. "I'm so happy he cleaned Pat Fahey's clock," she said at a victory party that featured chocolate-dipped strawberries. "I wanted Jason to win because of his integrity, and honesty and straightforwardness." Today's Edition : News | Sports | Business | Weather | Tempo | Classifieds Mail Tribune Copyright � The Mail Tribune 2000, Medford, Oregon USA