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Smith to challenge Mays for state seat
Former NAACP bead will run as a Republican for Benjamin Allen’s House District
By Rhonda Jones
AUGUSTA FOCUS Staff Writer
AUGUSTA
Theßeverend OtisSmithsays
he’s going to run against Com
missioner Willie Mays for state
Representative Ben Allen’scon
gressional seat “come hell or
high water.”
It’s not official, he says, in
the sense that he has yet to pay
his qualifyingfee. That doesn’t
happen until June. Butit’sdefi
nite, he says. He has already
begun campaigning, though he
hasn’t built a firm platform.
“I have a large district, in
cludingwest Augustaand south
Augusta,” he said. “I am mak
ing visits in those districts to
make sure when I put my com
mittee together it will be inclu
sive. I'm in the process of ex
ploring,” hesaid. “I’mtryingto
find out what’s going on with
the people.”
Hankerson juggles dual role
From page one
he baptized patients in the
therapeutic pool. Some of
those patients now visit him
at Hammond Grove.
“I've seen the lame walk,”
he said.
When asked what would
make Augusta walk, he ut
tered those two little words:
“Economicdevelopment.”
“Weneed that, and we need
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Rev. Otis Smith
He says it doesn’t worry him
a bit to step into the ring with
Mays, a longtime favorite of
Augusta voters.
“Nervous? No, no.”
He said the constituents he
will be trying to win over were
carved out of Representative
Sue Burmeister’s old district,
he said of himself and his
colleagues on the commission.
“That’s not a big thing. We
can do that.”
Hankerson has been con
cerned lately about the Recre
ation Department’s senior
nutritional program, which
has been in danger of losing
fundingduringrecent budget
cuts. “Senior citizens and
youth are two groups that I
have deep concerns about,”
he said. “Because the youth
are trying to find out where
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andincludesome west Augusta
precincts. “She is a conserva
tive,” hesaid, “andifthey voted
forher,l’'mratherassured they
will vote for me.”
Smith says he is a moderate.
This will not be the first time
he’s run for office. He tried for
a state seat just after the last
census, hesaid, but did not win.
The closest he’s come to hold
ing office so far, he said, is
serving a four-year term as
chair of the Human Relations
Commission, in which he was
engaged in the diplomatic posi
tion of smoothing race rela
tions in Augusta.
His duty was two-fold — ad
vocating for employees whohad
been dismissed for racial rea
sons, and helping others to see
that other causeshad comeinto
play so that they could moye on
and find more suitable employ
ment.
“It (termination) is often per
they’re going and the senior
citizens already know where
they’re going. I hope one day
that we all get to be senior
citizens.”
He said he has worked with
the elderly all his life, adding
that compassion is a neces
sary ingredient in making a
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ceived toberacial,” Smith said.
“And initially what a person
perceives, it is true for that
individual.”
Politics is like that too, he
said.
“What I think is happening
is, there are two factions down
in city government, and they
cannot do what political people
are supposed to do,” he said.
“Political people are supposed
to compromise for the good of
the community.”
Hesaid that, though thewhite
commissionersoftenbutt heads
with the black commissioners,
there is no racial divide, either
in the government or in the
county at large.
“Ithink that wejust havenot
found a way to talk and to deal
with each other, and when
people don’t understand an
other people, it is often classi-
See HOUSE SEAT, page 9A
man of God.
One thingthat worries him,
though, is what he considers
over-criticism of the local gov
ernment by the press. “It’s
like a dog,” he said. “It can be
good, butifyou keep throwing
rocks at it, it’ll end up biting
you. It gets stubborn.”
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Walker praises MLK
From page one
we also must use it wisely.
We must learn the art of
transmittingwealth. Wemust
create a legacy so that our
children will understand
wealth and power.”
Thesenator explained that
thereis need for equality but
there is a greater need to
havean absence of prejudice.
The education of African-
American children was a
rather weighty issue of the
evening. Mr. Walker used Dr.
King as an example to ex
plain the importance of an
education.
“When Martin Luther King
wasarrestedin Birmingham,
they locked him up in jail.
They gave him only a pencil
to write with. He used the
corners of newspapers to
write some of the greatest
letters, the letters from Bir
mingham, that were ever
written. They locked hisbody
up, but they could not lock up
hismind,” Walker explained.
“We need to find a way to
make sure that they never
lock up our minds. We need
to make sure that we put
emphasis on educating our
¢hildren. Education is still
thegreatequalizer. The great
est investment we make in
our childrenisin their educa
tion.”
TheSenator went on tosay
that African Americans spend
toomuch timedebating small
issues such as racial divide,
racial profiling, and the state
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AMERICAN GREETINGS
JANUARY 24, 2002
flag. He argued that the real
issues range from economic
well-being of the children to
equal access to the American
dream.
“We need to stop worrying
about these small “non-conse
quential” issues. It’snot about
racial divide, it’s about digital
dividein this country. It’scre
ating opportunities to learn.
The debate is about distribu
tion of power in this country.
Thereis always talk about the
Black commissioners being
racial when they vote together;
when the white commission
ers vote together, they are be
ing statesmen. The debate is
not about racial divide, it’s
about creating and maintain
ing wealth in this country.”
Mr. Walker closed with a
challenge to the audience.
“My challenge is this: Talk
to your children, not at them.
Understand thedifferencebe
tween affirmative action and
confirmative action. Under
stand that there is a need to
deal with the economicstruggle
in this society. Education is
the equalizer. You can lose
your money in the stock mar
ket, you can lose your freedom
in the jails as Dr. King; but if
you get something in your
head, nobody can take it from
you.”
Greetings weregiven by Rev.
Donald R. Jordan, pastor of
Trinity C.M.E Church, Dr.
Shirley A.R. Lewis, president
of Paine College, and Mr.
Harold Petteway, chairperson
of Freedom Fund Banquet.
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...says it best™
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