Democratic U.S. Senate hopeful R.J. Hadley introduced himself to the Spalding County Democratic Party at Margo’s Thursday evening.

Spalding County Democratic Party Chairman Jesse Maddox said he has been impressed by Hadley.

Hadley has no fear of going into Republican areas and introducing himself as a Democrat, Maddox said.

Hadley said he enjoyed socializing with party members prior to the meeting. He said talking about what works and what doesn’t is important.

“I believe you should try to be a public servant,” Hadley said.

He said this involves staying close to the people who elected you, something he said U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., has failed to do. He also said Isakson does not have any constructive ideas of his own but simply wants to oppose anything U.S. President Barack Obama does.

However, he said he intends to focus on what he wants to do rather than what Isakson is not doing.

Then he began discussing policy proposals. He said “green jobs” have become a cliche and asked what steps can be taken to bring them to Georgia.

He said Georgia has 25 million acres of forest, which can be used to generate power. Plant Mitchell in Albany could become a biomass-burning facility but Georgia’s current senators are not working to push this forward in the face of federal regulations. He said if the conversion takes place, that will generate 200 jobs instantly and encourage industrial development.

He also said there are opportunities for offshore wind power, something he supported as an alternative to offshore drilling even before the Gulf of Mexico disaster.

Hadley also spoke in support of rural broadband. He said there are parts of the South where only dial-up is available. Thanks to a grant from the United States Department of Agriculture, the city of Milledgeville has set up a WiFi area and programs like this should be encouraged. He said this will lead to entrepreneurial innovation, greater access to information and improved education for children and adults.

He also spoke about his own record. He lives in Rockdale County, a heavily Republican area. In 2008, he and some others registered 10,000 new voters and managed to get Democrats elected to important positions, despite people saying it could not be done.