We are pleased to announce that Stacey Abram, Minority Leader of the Georgia House of Representatives will be the speaker at the June 18, 2011 meeting of MGDWC at Ryan’s Steakhouse at 1922 Watson Blvd. Ms. Abrams is a dynamic speaker and will inspire us as she shares her insights on the recent legislative session. Come for breakfast at 9:30 a.m. The program will start at 10:00 a.m. Rep. Abrams is the first woman to lead either party in the Georgia General Assembly and is the first African-American to lead the House of Representatives. Stacey serves on the following committees: Appropriations, Ethics, Judiciary Non-Civil, Rules and Ways & Means.
Kathy Bird, Ann MacKay, Fenika Miller and Kristina Simms
Four MGDWC members attended the GFDW Spring meeting in Conyers, GA hosted by the Democratic Divas of Rockdale-Newton counties. Two of our members were honored at the event. Kristina Simms, the outgoing president of GFDW, received the new Burlene Morris Leadership Award for her years of service to the state and chapter level. Three women nominated her for the award so all read part of the nomination submission.
Fenika Miller, past chair of the Houston County Democratic Committee and current Secretary, received the GFDW Businesswomen of the Year Award. As you can see from the photos, we were encouraged to wear hats to represent our “diva” side. Gail Buckner, the new President of GFDW, also recognized Ann MacKay with a True Blue pin as well as all the Chapter presidents with flowers.
Fenika Miller completed her day with another award at the Houston County NAACP banquet where she was honored with the 2011 Community Service Award.
The Houston County Democratic Committee members will join us on March 19 at 10:00 a.m. at Ryan’s when Jerry Gonzalez will be the speaker. Mr. Gonzalez is the first executive director of the Georgia Association of Elected Latino Officials based in Atlanta.
Gonzalez is a founder and the immediate past president of the Georgia Hispanic Network, Inc., a 501(c) 6 nonprofit professional development and networking organization initiated in 2001 for Hispanic professionals. Gonzalez, a Laredo, TX native, moved to Atlanta in 1996 for a position as a Field Support Engineer for Rockwell Automation of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. During that time, he was a member of the Human Rights Campaign, a national gay and lesbian civil rights organization. Through that involvement, he played a critical role in implementing a corporate non-discrimination policy at Rockwell that included sexual orientation.
Gonzalez’s other civil rights advocacy has included presenting lectures on “The State of the Workplace for Gay and Lesbian Americans” at the National Society of Hispanic Professional Engineers’ Symposium in Washington D.C. and Fresno, California. He is also a member of Georgia Equality.
Gonzalez has a history of political activism. As a previous member of the DeKalb County Democratic Party, he was the 2nd Vice Chair overseeing the Election Procedures, Campaign Research, and Voter Registration Committees. For his dedication to these committees, he was honored with the party’s Chairman’s Award in 2001. In addition, he was the only Hispanic to represent the Georgia delegation at the 2000 Democratic National Convention in Los Angeles, CA.
Gonzalez received his B.S. in Mechanical Engineering from Texas A&M University in 1995. In May 2005, he completed his Master of Public Administration with a Nonprofit Administration emphasis at the Andrew Young School of Public Policy at Georgia State University. On March 11th, 2003, the Andrew Young School recognized Gonzalez’s outstanding academic achievement by inducting him into the Pi Alpha Alpha National Honor Society for Public Affairs and Administration. While at Texas A&M, he was actively involved with the Society of Mexican American Engineers and Scientists (MAES), where he initiated a community outreach program, which contacted more than 1,600 pre-college students to promote careers in science and engineering. Upon graduation, Gonzalez served on the MAES National Board of Directors as a Regional Vice President from 1995 until 1999. At Texas A&M University, he was a member of the Fightin’ Texas Aggie Band (clarinet) and the Corps of Cadets. He was also a member of the Ross Volunteer Company, which served as the Honor Guard for the Governor of Texas, Ann Richards.
This is information from the Georgia Coalition Against Domestic Violence. Nicole Poss, Intervention Coordinator at HODAC , talked about the coalition effort to get funds restored to the 2012 Georgia budget when she spoke at the MGDWC meeting last week.
Because of YOUR phone calls last week, there are moves in the Georgia Legislature to restore a substantial portion of the state funds to domestic violence and sexual assault programs in the Fiscal Year 2011 Amended budget. This is FANTASTIC news!
However, the key legislators in the budget process need to hear from you THIS WEEK in order to ensure the restoration of these funds!
Please call each of the following State Senators, regardless of whether they serve your district. Thank them for restoring 2.5 million dollars in state funds to domestic violence and sexual assault programs in the Fiscal Year 2011 Amended budget, and urge them to adhere to this position in their budget negotiations.
Senator Jack Hill, Chair of Senate Appropriations – (404) 656-5038
Senator Chip Rogers, Senate Majority Leader – (404) 463-1378
Senator Tommie Williams, President Pro Tempore – (404) 656-0089
Please call each of the following State Representatives, regardless of whether they serve your district, and urge them to adopt the Senate position for the restoration of 2.5 million dollars in state funds to domestic violence and sexual assault programs in the Fiscal Year 2011 Amended budget.
Representative Terry England, Chair of House Appropriations – (404) 463-2245
Representative Jan Jones, Speaker Pro-Tempore – (404) 656-5072
Representative Larry O’Neal, House Majority Leader – (404) 656-5052 [NOTE: He is the representative for a good part of Houston County.]
Background: The Georgia Senate and the Georgia House of Representatives are currently considering the Governor’s budget proposals for Amended FY 2011 and FY 2012. Included in each of these proposals is the elimination of all $4.5 million in state funds for domestic violence and sexual assault centers. In its deliberations, the Senate Appropriations Committee restored $2.5 million of those state funds. Unfortunately, the House Appropriations Committee did NOT recommend the restoration of these funds. Now, key legislators in the budget process are scheduled to come together early next week to make their final decisions about the FY 2011 Amended budget, based on the recommendations from the Senate and House. In order for this partial restoration of funds to become a reality, these six legislators must adopt the Senate position.
For additional information on how important it is to ensure that state funding be restored, please click here: http://www.gcadv.org/what-we-do/public-policy/gcadv-2010-2011-public-policy-agenda/issue-funding-for-domestic-violence-programs/
Thank you for your support on this very important issue! YOU make the difference!
Immigration reform is on the agenda this legislative session. A Special Committee on Immigration and Georgia’s Economy led by Democratic Senators met in Warner Robins January 19 to listen to people in the community discuss the impact of immigration on the business sector. One of the speakers, Jerry Gonzalez, Executive Director of GALEO highlighted issues with the proposed Arizona copycat legislation.
The Georgia Lt. Governor and House Speaker have appointed a Joint Legislative Committee on Immigration Reform to consider bringing an Arizona-style law to Georgia. The committee has met three times already and seems intent on introducing an Arizona-style legislation which would be devastating to Georgia’s economy, especially within the rural and agricultural communities.
Jerry Gonzalez will be the speaker at the March 19 meeting of the MGDWC. He will provide a summary of what has been discussed and proposed and where the Georgia Legislature is going from there. In addition, he will provide an opportunity for people to take action and work to voice their opinions on these proposed legislative considerations. Be sure and mark your calendar for the March meeting at Ryan’s Steakhouse, 1992 Watson Blvd., Warner Robins at 10:00 AM.
Sharon Howard, MGDWC member, is the Democratic candidate for House District 136. The election will be held February 15 for the seat held by Tony Sellier until his death in December. She needs your help with phone banking and with donations. Contact her with your offer to help. SharonHoward2010@yahoo.com.
Our job as voters is not over. There are important positions that will be decided in the run off election November 30. Here are the candidates and information that was available doing Google searches. Keep reading to get the early voting information.
Age: 63
Occupation: Land surveyor for city of Warner Robins
Political experience: Serving on the Houston County Board of Education since 2003
Education: Graduate of Lanier High School in Macon, has taken courses at Middle Georgia College, Southern Tech, Mercer University, Georgia Tech
Family: Wife, Linda; three children: Claudia, Walter Jr., Elizabeth; seven grandchildren
Jim Maddox
Age: 50
Occupation: Owner of Sphinx Inc.
Political experience: None
Education: Bachelor’s in industrial engineering at Georgia Tech
Family: Wife, Melinda; three children: Christopher, 17; twins Anna and Austin, 15
Justice, Georgia Supreme Court (Non-Partisan)
Tammy Lynn Adkins
Age: 47
Address: Not released
Education: Meredith College; law degree from University of Bridgeport
Profession: Adkins Law, a family law practice in Lawrenceville
Campaign website: http://www.adkins4justice.com/
Editor’s Note: Tammy Adkins, a family lawyer, did not campaign, did not have a web site, did not accept donations, did not respond to surveys, did not advertise, had no published profile, did not register phone or Email contact data and refused all media requests. Despite running for another judgeship two years ago, she was unknown among politically active voters including those in her Lawrenceville hometown. Georgians had no way to even see her picture. But the voting machines and optical scanners still recorded 733,770 votes for her. 11/19/2010 Ms. Adkins now has a website with a photo, bio and donate button.
David Nahmias
Age: 46
Address: Atlanta
Education: Duke University; law degree from Harvard University
Profession: Georgia Supreme Court justice
Experience: Former law clerk for U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia; lawyer with Hogan & Hartson in Washington; assistant U.S. attorney in Atlanta; U.S. Justice Department in Washington; U.S. attorney in Atlanta, 2004-09 http:// www.justicenahmias.com
The MGDWC hosted the fall meeting of the GFDW at Creekwood Park in Perry. When the business meeting concluded, club members and Democratic supporters enjoyed an old-fashioned candidate rally with candidates, hot dogs and music by DJ Terry. The weather was perfect and the crowd was enthusiastic.
The November meeting of the MGDWC will be held November 20, 2010 at Ryan’s, 1992 Watson Blvd, Warner Robins, Ga. This is a new location for meetings.
J.D. Hardin, Democratic Political Consultant, will be the speaker. The topic: After the Elections: Lessons Learned.
We invite members and non-members to arrive at 9:30 a.m. for breakfast. The meeting will start at 10:00 a.m. If you are not planning on eating breakfast, please purchase a beverage and leave a gratuity. We will use the meeting room on the right side of the restaurant.
The new WRWR TV 38 on Cox 112 is having candidate debates for three nights, October. 21, October 25 and October 26. Paul Rea, Managing Editor and Anchor will moderate. Here is the schedule:
October 21
6:30-7:00 pm — Keith Moffit vs. Tim Echols PCS (Both Confirmed)
7:00-7:30 pm — Joe Martin vs. John Barge (coming) State School Sup (Barge confirmed/ Martin not coming)
7:30- 8:00 pm —Darryl Hicks vs. Mark Butler Labor Comm (Hicks confirmed/ Butler not coming)
October 25
6:30-7:00 pm —Mary Squires vs. Ralph Hudgens for Insurance Commissioner (Both confirmed)
7:00-7:30 pm — JB Powell vs. Gary Black Ag Comm (Both confirmed)
7:30-8:00 pm — Brian Kemp vs. Georgiana Sinkfield Sec of State (Both confirmed)
October 26
6:30-7:00 p.m. — Attorney General Candidates Hodges/ Olens (Hodges confirmed/ Olens not coming)
