11th Hour - the final countdown: Commissioner of Labor

Not gonna lie...I'm not looking forward to looking over the remaining candidates, but I am excited that election day is nearly here. This is the most prepared I have EVER been to vote. It's taken several hours to complete my research on all of the candidates. It makes me really question who our elected officials really represent because I don't think the majority of voters do this kind of research before making their choices. Do you?

First up, Commissioner of Labor! Woot! I visited the Department of Labor website in hopes of finding out what they actually do. The landing page has lots of information, but not necessarily anything about what this office does.

I found an opinion article from the AJC that describes the position of commissioner of labor as the person who "provides services to job seekers and employers, including running Georgia's unemployment insurance program and overseeing child labor issues." 

There are two candidates for the position: Mark Butler and Richard Keatley. An interesting note...I had to scroll and scroll to get to his political homepage. Google amazes me. 

Ya'll. In the aforementioned AJC article it explains that Keatley was a French professor and had run for another political position. He decided that he'd give this position a shot since he'd lost his previous bid at a political office. :/ THIS IS THE PROBLEM WITH POLITICS. The guy he beat out in the primary appears to have been a better candidate based on his degrees and work experience (i.e. bachelor's degree in history, master's degree in business administration, and an internship with the Labor Department in Augusta!!!). So what happened in the primary?? I guess that ship has sailed, but daggone. 

There are noticeable differences in philosophy between the Butler and Keatley. Although skeptical of Keatley's qualifications and interest in the position, I am intrigued by his emphasis on education including working to "transform prisons into colleges." He sees education as the key to improving life in Georgia. I whole-heartedly agree with this. 

Butler's "issues" leave me wanting more information and ideas. For example, he says that his "team will continue to improve our state's technology for even better customer service." What does this mean? The information on his website leads me to believe that he's fine maintaining the status quo. 

I have more candidates to research so my blogs aren't going to be as lengthy...my choice for Labor Commissioner is made.

Georgia's PSC - 2 seats up for grabs!

Another exciting post about an overlooked, yet important government office: public service commissioner. The PSC covers telecommunications and utilities - in other words, they influence our lives every day. Additionally, these positions are perfect stepping stones for bigger and better things down the road so we must choose wisely. 

We have two seats to fill this year. Apparently there are 5 elected officials who represent the five different districts in Georgia. And even though the commissioner who covers district 2 (where I live) is not up for election, Georgia voters are able to vote for commissioners in other districts. This seems a little odd to me. Looking at the district map, I don't know if I'm the best person to decide what people in other districts in Georgia need. I have to wonder who drew the map and how they rationalized cobbling together the different districts.

As the article in Atlanta magazine points out, "if you care about the environment, keep a close eye on the PSC." I recommend reading the article and the questions & answers from the various candidates. Apparently there's a huge nuclear power plant project that's way over-budget and very overdue that is a hot topic for these candidates. Two of the candidates Eaton and Pridemore, both incumbents in their districts, have been accused of accepting donations from companies involved with the construction of the project. I read an article that explained these accusations more in depth - click here.  

Here are the candidates up for election this year:

District 3: Chuck Eaton, Lindy Miller, and Ryan Graham

In reading through Chuck Eaton's blog, I was disheartened to see inflammatory language (i.e. "radical liberals" and referring to California's ideology negatively). I was on board reading through his bio, but the issues page turned me off. I'm realizing more and more as I research the candidates that I truly oppose negative rhetoric. Some may say both sides are guilty and that's true, but when you get down to the individual candidate level there are differences. I'm choosing to vote for individuals and not parties. 

Lindy Miller is a graduate of Harvard Kennedy School which focuses on public policy and public administration. She is into lowering utility bills and investing in solar energy. She believes in carrying on with the nuclear plant, but only if we can shift the cost back onto the shareholders constructing it rather than ratepayers. Overall she's looking like a strong candidate.

Information is rather sparse on Graham's website which is troubling to me. I found the interview questions from the Atlanta magazine article to be more enlightening. Graham is in favor of creating open markets for all of our utilities to increase competitive rates. He is opposed to the nuclear power plant project, but doesn't suggest what to do about it. I doubt we can just leave a nuclear power plant half built. 

District 5: Tricia Pridemore, Dawn Randolph, and John Turpish

To put it bluntly, I don't like any of these candidates. Pridemore is super conservative and we do not see eye to eye on issues like gun control and abortion. I was thinking to myself that why should it matter that a public service commissioner thinks about guns and babies, but then I remembered this is one of those stepping stone positions. If she moves up in her political career, Pridemore could end up in political positions where she will have the power to influence decisions related to her personal beliefs. So, nope to Pridemore.

Randolph's website had a negative impact on my opinion of her. I agreed with her answers in the Atlanta magazine article, but then when I went to her website I felt that the pictures were odd (some looked like selfies from Instagram) and the language was not polished. I'm struggling to get on board with Randolph.

Turpish's site is like Graham's from district 3. Information is sparse on his website, but it's also sparse in his answers to the questions from Atlanta magazine. It's hard to get behind someone who doesn't provide much information about themselves and their beliefs. 

For me, deciding on who to vote for in District 5 comes down to thinking about who would do less damage should they decide to move up the political ladder. 

Good luck on your research of these candidates! I urge you to go to their websites and think about who represents you and your beliefs. 

Commissioner of Agriculture - Georgia's 2018 Candidates

I'm not sure if there is a position that I'm less excited to research than this one...but here goes nothing. 

The Commissioner of Agriculture is in charge of a whole laundry list of things including gas pumps and grocery stores. It is no doubt an important job that touches each of our lives daily in some way. 

Our two candidates are Gary Black and Fred Swann. Both candidates have informative websites and I also read the questions & answers with both candidates published by Atlanta Magazine. 

Gary Black has held the position since 2010. He was re-elected in 2014. He was raised by a family of farmers and currently manages a farm where he raises beef cattle in Commerce. I'm all about people actually having experience in the field that they're seeking an office (see my post on the state school superintendent candidates). 

Fred Swann also has farming experience, albeit less extensive than Black's. Reading through Swann's biography on his website, I am led to believe that he may be a career politician although I do not doubt his genuine interest in the position.

Reading through the aforementioned article from Atlanta Magazine's website, I noticed some distinct differences between candidates on several issues. Swann speaks directly about puppy mills along with animal welfare for farm animals. We have rescued several dogs through DREAM rescue in Atlanta and they seem to be taking in dogs that have been rescued from puppy mills with alarming frequency. Black makes no mention of this issue on his site, although he does seem hopeful that the spay/neuter license plate sales will make more money to support local animal control measures. 

Another issue on which the candidates differ is on cannabis and hemp production in Georgia. Black does not mention it on his website, but does address the issue in the Atlanta magazine article. He's against it in a nutshell. He mentions that we need to put standards and controls in place before we're ready to begin production in Georgia. Here's what Swann has on his website:

While I understand Black's call for regulation and standards to be in place, I also sense that Georgia is going to miss the boat and Black doesn't convey any urgency in addressing the issue. 

One of these candidates comes across as very formal, traditional, while the other is definitely more progressive. I get the sense that Black drives the speed limit exactly everywhere he goes and he's happy with that life. However, I'm very intrigued by the angle that Swann brings to the position as a person with autism. He comments on his website and in the article on how working in agriculture was therapeutic for him. Overall, I get the impression that Swann cares about the people (local farmers, school children, migrant workers) involved in agriculture as well as the animals. 

There are many more issues related to these candidates that I urge you to read about. I have only touched on a couple issues that make sense to me.