he primaries still are a month away but at least one local state legislature race is stirring some harsh words. Robert D. Ingram, former president of the State Bar, wrote to members of the bar's Board of Governors recently, asking them to help defeat state Sen. John Wiles, who is facing a Republican primary challenge from west Cobb businessman and former Cobb School Board chair Lindsey Tippins. Ingram wrote that Wiles "has made the State Bar of Georgia and the judiciary his #1 enemy," in part by pushing legislation that would make membership voluntary for lawyers, according to the Fulton Daily Report. Wiles disputed the allegations. ... Betty Gray, a former teacher who began teaching in Cobb in 1957 and who also served many years on the Cobb school board, is now challenging a fellow Democrat, state Rep. Alisha Thomas-Morgan. Gray says she's running because the voices of more teachers need to be heard in the legislature. The race, however, is viewed by many, especially in south Cobb, as more of a grudge match than an issue-driven campaign. Ms. Gray lost to Thomas-Morgan's husband, David Morgan, in the 2008 primaries for the Post 3 south Cobb school board seat she'd held for 16 years. She hinted strongly after the primaries that she had to compete not only against David Morgan, but also his wife, a state representative. "I've had to run against both of them. Had it been the two of us, it might have been a different contest," Ms. Gray said in a begrudging tone.