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4A I DAWSON COUNTY NEWS I dawsonnews.com
Wednesday, October 31,2018
Photos by Austin Steele DCN Regional Staff
Sarah Riggs Amico, a Democratic candidate for Lieutenant Governor of Georgia, speaks to a crowd at
Brenau University's Pearce Auditorium on Friday, Oct. 26.
Judy Smith, from right to left, Carla Salaam, and Celestine Winters cheer on
Stacey Abrams during a "We ARE Georgia" bus tour event at Brenau
University's Pearce Auditorium on Friday, Oct. 26.
FROM 1A
Abrams
Abrams vowed to be
“the public education
governor,” saying that
fully funding Georgia’s
schools for just one year
was not enough. The
state’s Quality Basic
Education formula, which
determines state funding
for public schools, was
fully funded for the first
time this year since its
inception in 1985.
What happens in a stu
dent’s life outside the
classroom determines
how successful they can
be in school, she said, so
wraparound services are
needed to help Georgia
students.
“The children who
come to school hungry on
Monday because they last
ate Friday at lunch cannot
learn with even the best
teacher,” Abrams said. “A
child who saw someone
get hit in his household
but does not have the lan
guage to describe it needs
a counselor.”
Abrams also said she
hopes to create jobs, but
she also wants those jobs
to provide living wages.
“You shouldn’t have to
move to make a living. ...
The current governor has
done a good job of bring
ing jobs to Georgia,”
Abrams said. “The prob
lem is too many of us
have too many of those
jobs. You should only
have to have one job to
make a living in the state
of Georgia.”
Abrams said she hopes
to create a $10 million
small business financing
fund because the state has
attracted large businesses,
but she also wants to sup
port “Main Street busi
nesses.”
Renewable energy can
also be a job creator, she
said.
But at the root of the
other issues is health care,
Abrams said, so she
vowed to improve health
care access for Georgians.
Abrams said her first pri
ority as governor would
be Medicaid expansion.
Abrams stressed the
importance of not just
physical health but men
tal health, noting that the
state’s prison system is a
major provider of mental
health services.
“We ask our law
enforcement to act as
doctors,” she said. “They
arrest folks not because
they’re dangerous,
because they’re sick. We
know that a lot of folks
who have substance abuse
issues have them because
they’re self-medicating
mental health challeng
es.”
Abrams said her broth
er, Walter, has been in
and out of prison and
rehab due to a heroin
addiction. Walter was
diagnosed with bipolar
disorder and was able to
get the medication he
needed while he was in
prison. He became stable
and sober when he was
able to get medication,
Abrams said, but lost that
health care access when
he left prison.
He struggled to find
employment or housing
because of his criminal
record, she said.
Riggs Amico, the lieu
tenant governor candidate
and a business owner
from Marietta, who spoke
before Abrams at the
event at Brenau, said she
had many of the same pri
orities, including school
funding and Medicaid
expansion.
Riggs Amico told sup
porters to encourage peo
ple they know to vote.
“I need you to talk to
every friend, family
member, neighbor, col
league. ... You tell them
their vote matters,” she
said.
Myrtle Figueras, a for
mer Gainesville mayor
and councilwoman, said
people in Hall County are
excited about the Abrams
campaign. Figueras said
she has followed Abrams’
career in the state legisla
ture and trusts her leader
ship.
“She is invested in
human beings. She
believes in service to all,”
Figueras said. “She feels
the pulse of the nation
and of this state.”
Sisters Audrey
Simmons of Gainesville
and Val Coley of Flowery
Branch also attended
Friday’s rally to show
their support.
“She’s verbal, she’s sin
cere. It’s not just politics
with her. She cares,”
Simmons said.
Abrams is honest,
Simmons said, and has
been forthcoming in
explaining controversies
such as her involvement in
the burning of a state flag
that featured a
Confederate symbol while
she was in college.
Simmons said she likes
how Abrams has reached
across the aisle to work
with Republicans.
Coley said she appreci
ates that Abrams is fami
ly-oriented.
“When someone cares
about their family, they
care about everyone,”
Coley said.
Democratic Attorney
General candidate Charlie
Bailey and Josh McCall,
who is running for the
U.S. House of
Representatives District
9, also spoke at Friday’s
rally.
Kyle Feineweber, presi
dent of Brenau College
Democrats, which orga
nized the event, also
addressed the crowd
before Abrams spoke.
Abrams was introduced
by Margie Gill, assistant
director of Brenau’s
counseling center and
founder of Tabitha’s
House, an organization
for trafficking victims.
p .
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