Newspaper Page Text
Page 6B
October 12, 2022
JL ihc Monroe County J
Reporter
Ga. Senate District 18
Benton advocates for
By Diane Glidewell
news@mymcr.net
Chris Benton is running
against John F. Kennedy to
represent District 18 in the
Georgia senate in an elec
tion that will be decided by
the Nov. 8 ballot. District
18 encompasses Monroe,
Upson, Crawford, Peach,
western Bibb and northern
Houston counties. Benton
said, unlike many Georgia
House and Senate districts,
#18 changed little with the
re-districting that followed
the 2020 census.
He noted that Kennedy
was chair of the redistrict
ing committee, which may
have influenced the stability
of the lines in the incum
bent’s district. One of the
bullet-points in Benton’s
campaign is to eliminate
gerrymandering, the draw
ing of political boundaries
so as to favor the election of
candidates from a certain
political party.
Benton said that having
the lines drawn by an entity
without any interest in the
outcome of the elections
instead of by politicians
would go a long way to
ward correcting a long
standing unethical practice.
He said the accuracy and
availability of data to draw
fair districts has increased
greatly.
Benton said pollsters
have declared that 80 per
cent of political races are
noncompetitive after the
primaries that decide party
candidates. He believes that
although the legislature
should be the body that
accepts the maps, it should
have no input in drawing
them.
“I think now is a good
time to have the gerryman
dering talk so that what
matters is the candidate
and not the party’ said
Benton. “We need fair
maps. The only way to
change is to continue to
have the conversation. I
think we can do better.”
The impact of re-drawn
lines has been an issue in
Georgia this year, particu
larly in Districts 6 and 7,
where Lucy McBath and
Carolyn Bordeaux were
incumbents, and in the
public service commis
sioner race.
Benton said he had
previously run for his
district’s house seat and had
considered himself done
with seeking elected office
because of the commit
ment it was for himself
and his family. He works
full time in management
at Physicians Plus and his
wife teaches 7th grade in
Chris Benton
the Upson County school
system.
“We’re not rich,” he said.
“It’s tough.”
However, he is passionate
that working class people,
who are by far the majority
of the people in his district,
need to have their interests
better represented in state
government. Benton said
that while what Kennedy
has done professionally is
admirable, his background
of earning a private school
degree and being a law firm
partner doesn’t reflect the
needs, interests and field of
reference of most people in
the district, where less than
25 percent of residents have
a college degree and the
average income is less than
$40,000/year.
“I want to bring the work
ing class perspective,” he
said. “I didn’t go to college,
but I worked my tail off at
every job and moved into
management. We need to
represent the working man.
We live a different life. I feel
like I can take the issues
and fight for us.”
Benton said he felt com
pelled to seek state office
because most of the things
that matter to him and his
neighbors are handled pri
marily at the state level.
Born in Riverdale,
Benton’s family moved
about frequently as he was
growing up, mostly in the
South Metro Atlanta area.
As a working adult, he lived
in various places in Florida,
the Carolinas and Geor
gia. In 2017 he moved to
Thomaston, the hometown
of his wife, Jolee.
He is happy to call Thom
aston home and plans to
stay. Benton said his family
has found a supportive
community and a good
church home. He and his
wife have a son, 22, and
a daughter, 18. His son
graduated from Whitewa
ter High School in Fayette
County, and his daughter
graduated from Upson-Lee
High School.
Seeing the inequities in
the resources of the two
school systems has caused
him to emphasize educa
tion issues in his campaign.
This branches into other is
sues, like legalizing canna
bis and organized gambling
to bring more revenue
into the state for education
and continuing to increase
access to internet in rural
communities.
Benton said he is not a
proponent of education
money following the stu
dent into charter or private
schools because he thinks it
is a better spend in improv
ing the quality of public
schools. He said that teach
ers and support staff are
second to none in the effort
and care they put forth
for students. His personal
experience includes know
ing that his wife works
about 60 hours/week as a
teacher. He said there needs
to be less micromanaging
in public education and less
time spent on state testing.
Benton believes that
legalizing cannabis/mari
juana would result in rev
enue the state could direct
toward education and other
state priorities. The money
saved from prosecuting
possession of marijuana
cases would be huge, as
it currently costs about
$29,000/year to house an
inmate, and the individual
isn’t a productive member
of the community while
he or she is in jail. There
would be revenue from
licensing marijuana farms
as well as the revenue from
taxing retail sales.
Although he agreed that
making cannabis available
for medical use is priority,
he said the least complicat
ed way to do that is to legal-
Leaf<#FiIter
J GUTl
J PRO!
BACKED BY A YEAR-ROUND
CLOG-FREE GUARANTEE
EXCLUSIVE LIMITED TIME OFFER!
20“i+10?S
FINANCING THAT FITS YOUR BUDGET!'
FREE GUTTER ALIGNMENT + FREE GUTTER CLEANING*
CALL US TODAY FOR
A FREE ESTIMATE
1-877-735-0477
Mon-Thurs: 8am-11pm, Fri-Sat: 8am-5pm,
Sun: 2pm-8pm EST
*For those who qualify. One coupon per household. No obligation estimate valid for 1 year. “Offer valid at time of estimate only. 2The leading consumer reporting agency
conducted a 16 month outdoor test of gutter guards in 2010 and recognized LeafFilter as the "#1 rated professionally installed gutter guard system in America." Manufactured
in Plainwell, Michigan and processed at LMT Mercer Group in Ohio. See Representative for full warranty details. Registration# 0366920922 CSLB# 1035795 Registradon#
HIC.0649905 License# CBC056678 License# RCE-51604 Registration# C127230 License# 559544 Suffolk HIC License# 52229-H License# 2102212986 License# 262000022
License# 262000403 License# 2106212946 License# MHIC111225 Registration# 176447 License# 423330 Registration# IR731804 License# 50145 License# 408693 Regis
tration# 13VH09953900 Registration# H-19114 Ucense# 218294 Registration# PA069383 Ucense# 41354 License# 7656 DOPL #10783658-5501 License# 423330 Ucense#
2705169445 License# LEAFFNW822JZ License# WV056912
Quality Forest Products
JORDAN FOREST PRODUCTS
Jordan Forest Products, LLC. located at 752 Grove Street, Barnesville, GA
30204 is seeking applicants to fill positions in
Operations, Mechanics/Electrical
Departments & Programmers.
We are seeking to hire a minimum of 40 associates to our growing team
where our motto is “OUR PEOPLE MAKE THE DIFFERENCE.”
Work schedules will be 1 st & 2 nd shift Monday - Friday adding a 3rd shift.
Starting Salaries:
Operations $33,500 - $37,000
Mechanical $52,000 - $73,000
Electrical $59,000 - $75,000
Automation Control Tech $104,000 - $120,000
Supervisors/Managers $75,000 - $125,000
Including Weekly Production Bonuses
Paid Holidays, Paid Vacation, 401-K, Profit Sharing,
Medical/Dental Insurance, Disability/Cancer Insurance, Life Insurance
Send resume to DDouglas@jordanforestproducts.com.
working class
ize marijuana for recre
ational use as well. Benton
said he doesn’t use cannabis
and doesn’t intend to use it
when it is legalized. How
ever, he said he has talked
with many individuals
who attest to the benefits
of cannabis in physical and
other health issues, such as
veterans with PTSD.
“Stigma is half the battle,”
he said. “Legislators should
at least be willing to listen,
to talk with other states that
have legalized cannabis.”
Benton said it has been
eight years since Georgia
legalized medical mari
juana but legal roadblocks
have delayed the opening
of any farms, and people
who need cannabis are
still forced to move out of
Georgia to get it legally, be
coming medical refugees.
Regarding legalized gam
bling, Benton said that if
people want to bet they will
find a way to do so, online
or otherwise, and Georgia
should cash in on the rev
enue available from taxing
it and the entrainment
businesses that comes with
it. He said it is best that the
state regulate it; he said he
prays that people will make
the right personal decisions
about gambling.
Another issue of prime
importance to Benton is
the cost of prescriptions
and affordable healthcare.
He has talked with con
stituents who tell him they
are spending 25 percent of
their income each month
on prescriptions. His family
is caring for his mother,
who is battling breast
cancer. He feels there are
things the state can do to
ease the burden of health
care costs.
“It’s affecting us every
day’ he said.
Benton attends city and
county government meet
ing and listens to local
government officials who
don’t want to raise taxes
but feel they have no choice
but to do so to keep their
governments running.
As he campaigns to get
his messages out, Benton
thinks of the saying, “If you
don’t do politics, politics
will do you.”
“I never want to be
looked at as a politician,
but I’m glad God gave the
passion to me,” he said.
Fowler Flemister
Concrete
STARR
Heating & A/C, Inc.
We Service All Brands of Heating
& Air Conditioning Units
Serving Monroe County &
Surrounding Areas for over 40 years
Free Estimates
Financing Available
Juliette Rd. • Forsyth, GA
478-994-6127
Ga.Reg.CU 401419
Sand - Stone - Block
Septic Tanks - Rebar
Metal & Bagged Goods
401 College St.
Forsyth, GA 31029
478-394-4875
info@fowlerflemister.com
www.fowlerflemister.com
MORGAN VIEW
FARM
Horseback Riding
• Camps
•Lessons
•Showing
•Sales/Lease
o m
.MorganViewFarm.com
^st annual
Saturday, November 12
9 a.m. to 6 p.m.
5047 High Falls State Park Rd.
in High Falls, GA
For vendor info text Kelly Dunn at 678-977-8050