LAFAYETTE — Greg Hecht, a Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor, says education and health care are among the top needs he will address if elected.

Hecht campaigned in Northwest Georgia Wednesday with stops in Walker, Catoosa and Whitfield counties.

“What we like to talk about is opportunities for all Georgians to succeed,” Hecht said. “It starts, obviously, with education and it ends with independent living opportunities for our seniors.”

Five points top Hecht’s campaign agenda: gas prices, jobs, health care, education, and independent opportunities for seniors.

Pay incentives for teachers to work in lower-performing schools could help state school systems meet the federal standards set by the No Child Left Behind Act, he said. The best teachers in the state can be penalized if they are in a tough school.

“We consider (No Child Left Behind) a disincentive,” Hecht said. “We think a 5 to 10 percent raise for really great educators to go to the toughest schools could make a really big difference. It’s about a $25 million program in a $18 billion (education) budget.”

Hecht said he also has plans to help get parents more involved in schools and to fund class size reduction. Life doesn’t end with graduation though.

“When kids get out of school we want to make sure there’s a good job waiting for them,” he said. “Right here in North Georgia we think there is great opportunities to start a biofuels initiative which we think would bring thousands of jobs to Georgians and would also compete with high gasoline prices. We think (high gas prices) have been impeding business and employment opportunities around the state as well. It’s really killing farmers.”

The candidate also questions the direction of the current administration.

“We’ve got to treat our seniors much better,” Hecht said. “The present administration’s policy seems to be taking assets from seniors and making sure that they have no alternative but to go into long-term nursing care facilities.”

Preventative health care, rather than reactive health care, is another plank in Hecht’s platform.

“If you’re going to serve populations in need it’s primary and preventative care you should be working on,” he said. “Not crisis mode.”

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