4A I DAWSON COUNTY NEWS I dawsonnews.com
Wednesday, May 11,2022
U.S. DISTRICT 6
GOP candidates vie for voters during May 1 debate
By Julia Fechter
DCN Staff
Of the nine Republicans
vying to become the top
contender for Georgia’s
U.S. House District 6, all
recently agreed that the
2020 elections were stolen
in some form.
During a May 1 debate
hosted by The Atlanta
Press Club, voters had the
opportunity to hear from all
of those candidates about
that and other issues ahead
of the May 24 primary
election.
Following the conclusion
of the U.S. Census, District
6 was redrawn to include
all of Forsyth and Dawson
Counties, as well as parts
of Cobb, Gwinnett and
Fulton counties. These
changes, the multiple law
suits in response and the lit
any of issues facing rural
and north metro Atlanta
areas has made this prima
ry race one of Georgia’s
most interesting to watch.
Though primary election
day isn’t for another two
weeks, voters began casting
advance ballots as early as
May 2.
If no candidate receives
at least 50 percent of the
vote plus one vote in the
primary, the top two vote
recipients will face each
other in a runoff election on
Tuesday, June 21.
The winning Republican
will go on to compete
against the winning
Democrat in the November
general election.
Candidates answered
three rounds of questions,
both from their opponents
and moderators.
Elections
Multiple contenders
highlighted elections integ
rity as voters’ top concern
going into the 2022 voting
season.
“People have lost confi
dence in the sacred right to
vote,” candidate Mallory
Staples said. “When we
have lost that, we are lost...
it’s on the shoulders of state
officials who govern to
answer the cry of the peo
ple.”
As a lawyer, Meagan
Hanson emphasized that
the evidence such as mail-
in ballots and ballot har
vesting give her “pause on
multiple occasions.” She
commended Georgia’s
General Assembly for pass
ing Senate Bill 202, which
she called “an important
step in righting a wrong.”
“As someone who won a
[2020 state] runoff by 27
votes, let me say that every
single vote matters,” she
added, “and I’d encourage
every 6th District person
who can go vote to cast
your vote because it mat
ters.”
Citing her two decades
of experience as a poll
manager, Suzi Voyles reit
erated the importance of
each person’s vote being
counted properly and
emphasized that “no one
else is allowed to impede
upon that in any way.”
She pointed out that “sig
nificant fraud” occurred in
Georgia and beyond in
2020, claiming that the
Secretary of State’s office
is aware but hasn’t fol
lowed up on affidavits
alleging that people regis
tered to vote in the state or
a particular county different
from where they live.
Candidate Eugene Yu
also said that there’s “hard
evidence everywhere” of
large-scale fraud, particu
larly in other states like
Wisconsin, Pennsylvania
and Arizona.
“When it comes to
Georgia, [Gov.] Kemp had
a limited say in what could
be overturned, and with
[Secretary of State Brad]
Raffensperger, he has a lot
of responsibility, and we
don’t want to repeat it
again from now on, in the
future.”
Paulette Smith shared
her belief that election
fraud extended down from
the presidential level to
senators, congresspeople
and local officials, too, cit
ing that she and others in
Cobb County “can’t
believe the results” given
her district’s history of
being almost all
Republican. She also advo
cated for getting rid of
Dominion voting machines
and ousting Brad
Raffensperger, who is run
ning for reelection against
three other people.
Harbin echoed that both
parties’ focus on voting
integrity this time around
and specifically mentioned
concerns about Fulton
County ballots in 2020.
Rich McCormick
explained that “no one was
hurt more by voter fraud at
the end of the night” than
him, explaining that he was
told he was “up 5,000
votes” before learning that
he lost the then-District 7
seat to Democrat Carolyn
Bourdeaux. He qualified
while redistricting maps
were being drawn, so he
said he’s moving to reside
in District 6.
After requesting drop
box videotapes, his cam
paign was told that the
records cost would be
about $15,000, and he
wouldn’t get them back
until after the 15-day stat
ute of limitations to file a
court case.
While adamantly stating
he “never conceded the
election,” he did say that
some of the egregious vot
ing problems have been
corrected and pushed for
the state to block federal
attempts at controlling
elections regulations.
Gatewood summarized
the voting problem as a
“lack of transparency”
because available evidence
won’t be reviewed but criti
cized McCormick’s per
sonalization of the past
election as a
“me-first mentality that
can’t serve somebody in a
servant leader position.”
Attorney Jake Evans said
he was the “only candidate
to have fought to overturn
two races in Georgia histo
ry”
Like others, he called for
the elimination of drop
boxes, scaleback of absen
tee ballots and prosecution
of voter fraud as well as
audits, immunity for law
yers and requirement of
voter ID.
Consistency
Throughout his debate
answers, Jake Evans
emphasized that he would
work with fellow
Republicans to craft bills to
further fundamental
American principles and
protect “the soul of the
country” against “bills that
fold to leftists, the media
and the [Washington] D.C.
establishment.”
As one of the more
prominent candidates, he
also got proverbial shots
from multiple sides.
Evans shrugged off sug
gestions that he hasn’t sup
ported past president
Donald Trump and reaf
firmed his “very vocal”
stance against fraud leading
up to and during the 2020
election cycle.
He clarified that he’s sent
a cease-and-desist letter to
a superPAC supporting
Mallory Staples after alle
gations were made that he
supports “defunding the
police,” and Evans “never
suggested” taking legal
action against Meagan
Hanson.
“Most of us have never
held office, but each of us
does have a background,”
Staples said, doubling
down on what she called
Evans’ “disqualifying story
of flip-flopping and oppor
tunism.”
Hanson mentioned a
2015 paper by Evans pub
lished in the “Social Justice
Law Review” when sug
gesting that he supports
“defunding the police,” and
Evans called the assertion
“blatantly false.”
“I encourage anyone to
read the paper that my des
perate opportunities keep
bringing up over and over
again to make your own
conclusions and conclude
whether I in any way sug
gested law enforcement
shouldn’t have the resourc
es they need,” he said.
McCormick also took
some heat from Evans,
who asked about the for
mer’s “endorsement by the
most liberal faction of the
Republican caucus.”
McCormick said he did
not accept that overall
endorsement and went on
to say that he’s been given
the thumbs up from mem
bers of the U.S. House’s
Freedom Caucus as well as
local leaders and “tens of
thousands of others,” who
all have in common a will
ingness to “fight the left.”
Evans called that differ
ent from what he said a
couple of months ago.
“Politicians that tell peo
ple what they want to hear
are destroying our country,”
Evans later said.
“Politicians that try to play
both sides are destroying
our country.”
“I am absolutely com
pletely fed up, [just] like
the people in District 6,
with people who when it’s
beneficial career-wise say
something and then, when
it comes down to making
hard choices, do something
else,” Staples said.
She said she’s running so
that her children’s futures
will be protected by people
consistently keep to their
word, and she added that
with a teenager approach
ing the age that he could be
drafted, “the thought of a
flip-flopper in Congress
makes my blood run cold.”
Economy and
infrastructure
Paulette Smith, herself a
recording artist and cosme
tologist, shared that she
would want to help small
and mid-sized business
owners qualify for loans
and take advantage of
classes to help teach busi
ness skills to help them
endure economic hardship
and thrive.
“Everyone’s concerned
about things that hit them
in the wallet, such as infla
tion and runaway costs that
are going to cost our chil
dren their future if we’re
not careful,” McCormick
said.
He also commented on
his intent to focus on mili
tary spending, given some
of his children’s interest in
serving and the recent
withdrawal from
Afghanistan.
“I’m worried about our
healthcare and what we’re
doing that has increased the
healthcare costs by 10 per
cent... and the increased
inflation and costs in edu
cation and in general,” he
said.
He also pointed to the
societal need to focus on
healthcare for individuals
once they’re out of the mil
itary and referenced several
local organizations that
connect veterans with solu
tions.
“Not always is the gov
ernment going to be the
solution to our problems.
We as a society, as chuch-
es, as families, as friends...
we have to do our part,
too,” he said.
Hanson was asked about
how she would hold gov
ernment agencies or con
tractors accountable that
fail military service mem
bers by allowing them
access to deficient housing.
She said those people
deserve “nothing less than
our best” and was not able
to specify in-depth steps
without being in the posi
tion but said she’d assist “in
any way allowed.”
Gatewood, himself a vet
eran, clarified that he
wasn’t asking a “gotcha
question” but wanted to
highlight the issue, since
Fort Gordon was men
tioned in the military hous
ing scandal.
“These aren’t the gener
als, colonels or admirals
that are affected by this,” he
said. “These are folks way
down the chain of com
mand who are less likely
and less able to sound the
alarms on their own behalf.
This is something that
deserves America’s and
Georgia’s attention.”
Staples specifically
spoke about education, not
ing her previous experienc
es teaching at a private
school, attending public
school and homeschooling
her children.
She explained her pas
sion involves “believing
that parents are the best fit
to make decisions for their
children” and elaborated
that she’s a “huge propo
nent of school choice.
“Money should follow
the best choice for chil
dren... I look forward to
dismantling the
Department of Education
and returning education
responsibility to the state,”
she added.
Turning to traffic infra
structure, McCormick
acknowledged the rural-
urban distinction through
out different parts of
District 6.
“The people that are
developing their infrastruc
ture such as Forsyth want
to make sure their roads
and infrastructure are built
up quickly because the
amount of congestion is
incredible,” he said.
Evans said it’s key to
ensure infrastructure in the
“suburban-based district” is
at a point “where we can
service the growing com
munities... and maintain
the sustainable growth that
we have.”
Kiwanis hosts forum for Dem. congressional candidates
By DCN Regional Staff
Two Democrats running for Georgia’s
6th Congressional District recently met in
Forsyth County to discuss issues and
answer questions from the community.
The Kiwanis Club of Forsyth County
hosted a candidate forum at Veterans of
Foreign Wars Post 9143 between Bob
Christian and Wayne White, who fill face
off in the May 24 primary for the district,
which includes all of Forsyth and Dawson
counties and portions of Cherokee, Cobb,
Fulton and Gwinnett counties.
In November, the winner of the
Democratic primary will face the winner
of the Republican primary, which includes
candidates Jake Evans, Rich McCormick,
Paulette Smith, Mallory Staples, Byron
Gatewood, Blake Harbin, Suzi Voyles,
Meagan Hanson and Eugene Yu.
Education
In Forsyth County and across the nation,
education, materials taught in schools and
school programming have become a big
topic of debate, and during the forum, the
candidates were asked about teachers leav
ing the profession and the role of the feder
al government in education.
Christian, a combat veteran and busi
nessman, said part of his campaign has
been an outreach program for teachers and
problems discussed at those meetings are
typically different than the national conver
sation on education.
“It was an eye-opening conversation
because the number one concern of the
teachers is that we no longer trust them,”
he said. “They are educated, well-trained
professionals who care about our children
as much if not more than we do and go out
of their way every single day to provide a
safe, comfortable learning environment for
our kids. We send them to those environ
ments eight hours a day, and we no longer
seem to value our teachers for the value
they bring to the classroom.”
White, a consultant in international
development, said he believed top-down
approaches to education from previous
presidential administrations had created
new issues. Instead, he said more focus
should be on empowering teachers to use
their existing skills and returning respect to
teachers.
“They learn so much in their training
about learning styles, individual personali
ty, individual developmental rates of stu
dents, but then they’re placed in a situation
that, because they have to teach to the test,
it’s factory,” White said. “My kids are in
college now; I just went through this with
my kids. There is tremendous pressure for
the kids to meet expectations, one-size-fits-
all at each age up coming up. It’s not
where we need to be.”
Climate change
During the forum, questions were asked
by three moderators, who were students at
Denmark High School.
One question for the candidates was
what market-based solutions would they
support for dealing with climate change.
White said in the coming decades, the
world will see a big increase in the number
of electric vehicles on roadways, which
will also mean investing in the infrastruc
ture to deal with the increase, and the U.S.
needs to be a leader in those changes.
“We’re going to need to be able to gen
erate more clean electricity, but we’re also
going to have to move more electricity,” he
said. “In places, the capacity of the electric
lines is going to have to quadruple, so
we’re about to see a huge reinvestment in
infrastructure, but in this case, energy
infrastructure. It’s going to happen one
way or another.”
Christian said climate change is a big
factor for young voters because they are
more likely to experience the changes and
a market-based way to take on was to sup
port the Energy Innovation and Carbon
Dividend Act, introduced by Rep. Ted
Deutch of Florida’s 22 Congressional
District.
“It puts in place what is proven to be the
most effective market-based plan almost
worldwide, which is a carbon fee and
redistribution system that taxes carbon at a
level that makes it more expensive to use,”
Christian said. “It forces the corporations
to find other methods to produce their
products at a cheaper rate, and to prevent
that impacting from affecting the local citi
zenry, it is refunded to them in the form of
a carbon reimbursement.”
Health care
It has been more than 12 years since the
Affordable Care Act, or ACA, commonly
referred to as Obamacare, was signed into
law.
The candidates were asked whether the
government should have a larger role in
healthcare and what changes need to be
made to the system.
Christian said some changes would be
looking at why certain states do not take
part in the program and what can be done
to bring them in and studying how the pro
gram has worked so far.
“This money that has been set aside, this
is money that has already been put in the
pot, this is money that belongs to those
states, the people in them, but half the
states didn’t participate because there was
an option to not,” he said. “Now, some of
that is sheerly due to red-blue politics,
plain and simple, and we’re not going to
sway the states that make a decision based
purely on that unless we change who is in
charge of the states.
“But we can go back and look at the bill.
We have [12] years of data, and we can
build on what works and try to excise
those things that didn’t.”
White said he was a supporter of the
ACA and, as a self-employed person, was
able to cover his family through the act. He
said he would rather build on the current
act rather than introduce a new single-pay
er system or other changes.
“I look forward to when we go even fur
ther with providing access, then we can put
even more effort into cost containment,”
White said. “When I was a kid, healthcare
was about 5% of the U.S. economy. Now,
it’s about 20% of the U.S. economy and
growing.”
“As a percentage, it should be the same.
It’s just growing,” he said. “It’s very com
plex, but we have smart people, we can
work on cost containment and certainly
joint negotiations with pharmaceutical
companies is only one example of how
that can happen.”
Note: Bob Christian wrote sports con
tent for DCN from 2018 to 2020.
