Sam Olens is one of the guys in a white hat.

He is now devoting full time to running for the Republican nomination for state attorney general, having stepped down as chairman of the Cobb Board of Commissioners last week after nearly eight years of exemplary leadership in that post.

Olens leaves a legacy of public service marked by conservative budgeting that has kept Cobb on a solid fiscal footing and with a surplus every year - while boasting the lowest tax rate in the metro area.

And at the same time significant major projects have been completed or initiated, none more important than the new Hickory Log Reservoir in Cherokee County to ensure future water supplies - the result of uncommon foresight by Cobb's outstanding water officials and the commissioners.

Olens has been a bridge builder within the county and in the metro area as chairman of the Atlanta Regional Commission for the past five years.

His style is to work quietly with people, eschewing confrontation and political jockeying. Instead he focuses on getting the job done, never mind the horn-blowing and demagoguery of which Cobb saw far too much in the previous administration.

Communication is his strong suit, key to the success of Cobb's government.

Communication is also essential among the board of commissioners, Olens said. He told MDJ's editors that he and the county manager spent a lot of time with the district commissioners "keeping them apprised of issues so that there aren't surprises at meetings and asking them for their input, and revising the agenda items before it ever comes to the board so that we're more efficient."

Imagine what that approach could do for the Cobb school superintendent and the board. In his bid for attorney general, Olens has the right priorities. He says he will give priority to open records laws and more transparency for Georgia legislators.

At a campaign stop in Moultrie, he said: "One of the first things I'd like to do is work with journalists and with the legislature to strengthen those (open records) laws." Cobb had an "A-plus" grade in complying with Georgia's Open Records Act, he said.

He told MDJ editors: "Ethics is going to be front and center, along with public corruption. For instance, when the Cobb School District acknowledged having 50 some-odd illegal votes in executive session, I can't imagine that there wouldn't be a consent order at a minimum following that acknowledgement, rather than nothing."

The people of Georgia are looking for ethics reform in the wake of former House Speaker Glenn Richardson's downfall as the result of trysting with a female lobbyist while pushing legislation for her employer.

Ethics reform might be well served by another Olens principle. He told the MDJ: "I would support eight-year term limits for everyone." He said the time comes when "you get too comfortable in a position, and the public deserves more than that."

Hang on to the white hat, Sam.

dmckee9613@aol.com