Atlanta Jewish Times' 2018 Voter's Guide

2018

oter’s Guide

PRESENTS A 24-PAGE PULLOUT TO GUIDE YOU THROUGH THE 2018 ELECTIONS ON NOVEMBER 6

POLITICS

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CONTENTS GOVERNOR'S GA VALUES ��17 GOVERNOR �������������������������� 18 OPINION �������������������������������20 LIEUTENANT GOV �������������� 22 ATTORNEY GENERAL �������� 24 SECRETARY OF STATE ������ 25 6TH DISTRICT ���������������������26 7TH DISTRICT ���������������������28 11TH DISTRICT ��������������������29 4TH & 5TH DISTRICTS ������30 PUBLIC SERVICE COMM. �� 32 JEWS ON THE BALLOT ������34 SCHOOL SUPT. ��������������������36 POLL RESOURCES ��������������36 16 | NOVEMBER 2, 2018 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

Potential Democrat, Female Candidates Have Nation Watching Georgia

By Dave Schechter

T

he pundits – people who prognosticate on politics for pay – think that Georgia, at present bright Republican red, might develop a shade of purple, by mixing in Democratic blue.

Georgia is garnering national attention this election cycle, in large measure because of the gubernatorial contest between Georgia’s current Secretary of State, Republican Brian Kemp, and Democrat Stacey Abrams, former minority leader in the state House. That race is rated a toss-up.

Georgia requires a runoff (on Dec. 4) if no candidate in a general election receives a majority of the vote. This could be an issue in the gubernatorial and secretary of state races, in which there is a Libertarian party candidate in addition to a Democrat and a Republican.

In an Atlanta Journal-Constitution poll conducted in September, 25 percent of respondents said the economy/jobs was their top issue, followed by health care, 16 percent; public schools, 16 percent; immigration, 10 percent; and gun laws, 8 percent.

In what may be a “year of the woman,” 20 women have run this year for Georgia state executive offices and Congress, with 11 advancing from the primary to the general election. Additionally, 121 women (91 Democrats and 30 Republicans) have sought state legislative seats – up from 75 in 2016.

President Donald Trump’s standing is one fault line in the state’s politics.

Trump won Georgia’s 16 Electoral College votes in 2016, garnering 50.4 percent of the state’s vote, compared with 45.3 percent for Democrat Hillary Clinton.

An AJC/WSB-TV poll released Oct. 11 put disapproval of Trump’s job performance at 50 percent, with his approval at 46.6 percent, up 4 percentage points from early September.

Along with the prospect of Abrams becoming the first woman or AfricanAmerican to be elected governor, the state’s Democrats are hoping that a “blue

wave” will wash ashore a couple of other history-making results.

If Democrat Sarah Riggs Amico defeats Republican Geoff Duncan, she will become the state’s first female lieutenant governor.

If Democrat Lindy Miller defeats Republican incumbent Chuck Eaton, she will be the first Jewish woman to win a statewide vote, and thereby represent District 3 on the state’s utility-regulating Public Service Commission.

Major change is less likely under the Gold Dome, where Republicans currently hold 115 out of 180 seats in the state House and 37 out of 56 in the Senate.

Meanwhile, the races in the 6th and 7th Congressional districts are the only ones in Georgia’s 14 congressional districts deemed competitive.

Turnout in so-called “off-year” elections tends to be substantially less than when electing a president. For example, 76.5 percent of registered voters in Georgia cast ballots in 2016, but only 50 percent did so in 2014.

Jewish voters can wield influence beyond their numbers at the polls, given their habit of voting at a much higher rate than the population at large (upwards of 80 percent in presidential elections).

Jews make up an estimated 1.3 percent of Georgians, some 130,000-plus residents. If, in keeping with the state in general, three-quarters are age 18 or older, that would be about 101,000 Jews of voting age. If all were registered and 80 percent turned out to vote (granted, that may be unlikely), that would be more than 81,000 Jewish Georgians casting ballots. Based on the 2014 off-year turnout in Georgia, that would be about 3.1 percent of voters. ■

POLITICS

Abrams and Kemp Define Their “Georgia Values” For AJT A

t its essence, the contest to become Georgia’s next governor rests on this question: What are Georgia values?

Democrat Stacey Abrams and Republican Brian Kemp offer different visions for the future of the state.

The Atlanta Jewish Times asked Abrams and Kemp to answer, as specifically as possible, “What are Georgia values?” Their responses are published here as they were received.

We need to build a Georgia that gives everyone the freedom and opportunity to thrive, ensuring that no one is left out or left behind because of who they are, where they come from, or what they believe. Georgians need a governor who will protect their freedom of religion and freedom of speech; one who will invest in education and health care by expanding Medicaid and keeping public dollars in public schools; who will expand democracy and protect everyone’s right to be included. We must Stacey Abrams: ensure that our schools, My values are GeorSTACEY ABRAMS government buildings and gia’s values: faith, family, service and responsibility. My parents, public spaces are welcoming to everyone both United Methodist ministers, taught – places where everyone can succeed. my five siblings and I that it was our Those are Georgia’s values, those are my responsibility to give back to our com- values, and that is my commitment to munity. If someone was less fortunate, it Georgia.

I have long been an unwavering was up to us to serve that person and lift them up. These same values guide me as ally to the Jewish community. In 2011, I traveled to Israel through Project InI run to become governor of Georgia.

terchange with colleagues on both sides of the aisle, and I’m a proud alumna of Project Understanding. As governor, I will listen to all Georgians of all backgrounds and take the time to understand the issues that impact them, their families and their communities.

buildings serve as a safe haven for local children to play, places of hope for victims to receive care, and centers of change for populations that are struggling to survive.

Family: Family – not government – is what makes our state strong. Families throughBrian Kemp: out our state are charged Georgia Values: Our with raising, protecting, state is strong and prosteaching and inspiring our perous because we have a children. While governcommon set of values that ment provides essential unite us. services, the real work While there are goes on in the household. countless “Georgia valHard Work: I built my first business with a ues” that draw us togethpick-up truck and a shover, faith, family and hard BRIAN KEMP el. Over 30 years later, work are the three I cherwe have created hundreds of jobs for ish the most.

Faith: Georgia is a state that cel- hardworking Georgians throughout our ebrates people of faith and values those state. My story isn’t unique. In Georgia, who work to make the world around anything is possible – if you work hard them a better, safer place. Throughout enough.

As governor, I will fight every day our state, churches and synagogues are not only the buildings where people of to protect our Georgia values and ensure faith congregate. More importantly, these that our best days are ahead. ■

Ellyn Jeager has spent the last 30 years working for non-profits on issues affecting her community and our State.

• All Georgians should have access to the health care system and Medicare and Medicaid accessibility.

• Most Georgians are employed by small business. We need the right legislation to make sure small business can thrive.

• Our schools today are funded by 1985 levels. A strong economy requires a strong public school system.

• Keep discriminatory legislation from interfering with Georgia's competitive economy.

• Gun owners, not the NRA, need to take back the issue on sensible gun policy including universal background checks.

• Addiction and other mental health issues need the attention and funding they deserve.

Paid for By The Campaign to Elect Ellyn Jeager

ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES NOVEMBER 2, 2018 | 17

POLITICS

Georgia Governor’s Race Close Call in Home Stretch

By Dave Schechter

I

n its home stretch, the gubernatorial race between Republican Brian Kemp, the current Secretary of State, and Democrat Stacey Abrams, the former House minority leader, is rated a toss-up.

An Atlanta Journal-Constitution/ WSB-TV poll, surveying 1,232 likely voters between Sept. 30 and Oct. 9, showed Kemp with 47.7 percent to 46.3 percent for Abrams. Libertarian Ted Metz had 2.3 percent and 4 percent were unde-

REPUBLICAN Governor

cided.

A Reuters/Ipsos poll conducted Oct. 4 to Oct. 11, of 1,088 likely voters (from a sample of 1,999 adults), put Kemp at 47 percent to 46 percent for Abrams.

Metz had 2 percent, other 1 percent, and undecided 4 percent.

The election might not be over on Nov. 6.

Georgia is one of two states that requires a runoff if no candidate in a general election wins a majority of the votes cast in a federal or state-level election.

Governor:

Brian Kemp-R

Brian Kemp, the Republican candidate for governor, believes that his Democratic opponent is vulnerable on issues of interest to the Jewish community.

Speaking to the local chapter of the Republican Jewish Coalition, he said of Stacey Abrams, “It’s important, BRIAN KEMP, 55 University of Georgia particularly for people in the Jewish Current Georgia Secretary of State community that traditionally are Democratic voters, to know that this is not your traditional Democratic candidate for governor. This is someone that’s hanging out with Linda Sarsour and is being funded by people like George Soros.”

Abrams was photographed in January at a women’s rally in Atlanta with Sarsour, a Palestinian-American activist and supporter of the Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions (BDS) movement against Israel. Soros, whose support of liberal causes has made him a target of conservatives, made the maximum allowable contributions to Abrams’ campaign.

Kemp, currently secretary of state, said he would build on two-term Republican Gov. Nathan Deal’s expansion of Georgia’s trade relationship with Israel and the purchase of Israel bonds. “I’m going to continue to fight and spread the message that Israel has a right to exist as a state and will not invest in companies that support BDS,” he told the RJC, referencing Abrams’ vote against anti-BDS legislation.

Kemp supported raising the cap on tax credits for donations to private schools through the Student Scholarship Organization program – an important issue for Jewish day schools – from $58 million to $100 million.

He has backed “religious freedom legislation,” which Deal vetoed following opposition by major business interests. But he said that he would veto bills that did not mirror the federal law signed by President Bill Clinton in 1993.

Kemp hopes that his transition from a shotgun-toting primary hopeful to a warmer, friendlier general election candidate will appeal beyond the Republican base.

“Why do you want to go on a different path? Why do you want to go from having a small, efficient government that has us the best state in the country to do business in and go to a big government model that will cause you to raise taxes and will no doubt lower that business ranking?” he asked.

Kemp, who turns 55 four days before the election, received his bachelor’s degree from the University of Georgia. He and his wife, Marty, are the parents of three teenage daughters. The family attends Emmanuel Episcopal Church in Athens.

18 | NOVEMBER 2, 2018 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

Should that happen, the top two finishers – presumably Abrams and Kemp – would advance to a Dec. 4 runoff.

Among likely voters in the Reuters/ Ipsos poll, Kemp ranked higher in his potential handling of the economy/jobs, crime/law and order, and immigration.

Abrams ranked higher on her potential handling of health care, the environment, education, and social issues such as same-sex marriage.

The total votes cast for Republican candidates in the May 22 primaries

DEMOCRAT Governor

exceeded that for Democrats by about 54,000, reinforcing the importance of turnout for both Abrams and Kemp.

The money raised by gubernatorial candidates, going back to the primaries, surpassed the $56 million mark in September. It makes this the most expensive quest ever for the keys to Georgia’s governor’s mansion and an annual salary of $175,000, an increase from $139,339 thanks to a bill signed by outgoing Gov. Nathan Deal.

Governor:

Stacey Abrams-D

Stacey Abrams’ Jewish supporters may feel that they have spent more than enough time vouching for her to their community.

When a controversy arose last year over Abrams’ vote against legislation denying state contracts to businesses that boycott Israel, she wrote STACEY ABRAMS, 44 Spelman College, University of Texas-LBJ an op-ed for the Atlanta Jewish Times School of Public Affairs, Yale Law School in which she explained that it should Former leader of Democratic not be the state’s role to decide what minority in Georgia House boycotts it would support and which it would oppose.

“Let me be clear: I unequivocally support a two-state solution as the path to resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, with Israel as the national homeland for the Jewish people. Moreover, I reject the demonization and delegitimization of Israel represented by the BDS (Boycott, Divestment and Sanctions) narrative and campaign,” she wrote.

Abrams has said she would continue Georgia’s growing trade relationship with Israel and lead a trade mission to Israel.

Jewish backers note that she is an alum of the American Jewish Committee’s Project Understanding program and has visited Israel.

Polls of the Jewish community find Israel not to be the highest priority for most American Jews (some 70 percent of whom identify as Democrats), and Abrams’ campaign is based on other issues.

She has made expanding Medicaid access in the state – as a health care and rural development issue – a priority, along with support of public education, and enhancing opportunities for those not benefitting in an economy hailed by Republicans.

Abrams sees the Student Scholarship Organization program, which provides tax credits for donations to support private school scholarships – including at Jewish day schools – as siphoning away funds that should go to public education. She opposed the measure Deal signed into law that raised the cap on the tax credits to $100 million from its previous $58 million.

Abrams has promised to put “religious freedom” legislation “in the grave a final time,” and to work for enactment of hate crimes legislation.

Her first election to the House was in 2006. In 2011, she was elected leader of the Democratic minority in the House, serving until 2017. Abrams vanquished fellow Democrat Stacey Evans, a former member of the Georgia House, in the May 22 Democratic primary, winning more than three-quarters of the vote and all but six counties statewide.

POLITICS Kemp was the founding director of a community bank, and has had financial interests in construction, manufacturing and agricultural companies. “I just got really frustrated dealing with government regulations, high taxes and not having someone in office that has the common sense of small business owners,” Kemp told the AJT, explaining why he entered politics.

After serving in the state Senate from 2003 to 2007, he was appointed secretary of state by Gov. Sonny Perdue in January 2010 when Karen Handel resigned to run for governor. He won election to the office in November 2010, and again in 2014.

Kemp finished second out of five candidates in the May 22 primary and then – boosted by a late endorsement from President Donald Trump – defeated Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle in the July 24 runoff.

According to his Sept. 30 campaign finance report, Kemp had raised $16.87 million, spent $10.27 million, and had cash on hand of $6.6 million.

As secretary of state, he has been under fire over the security of voter registration information, registrations being questioned weeks before the election, the use of voting machines that do not produce a verifiable paper trail, and rejecting federal assistance when states were notified of Russian attempts to hack into voting machine systems.

Kemp, whose net worth has been placed at $5.2 million, has been attacked by Democrats for an unpaid $500,000 loan guaranteed to a businessman. Kemp is disputing the debt in court, claiming that the money is owed not by him personally, but by an agriculture company in which he has an investment.

Abrams was a teenager when her parents, both ministers, moved the family from Mississippi to Georgia, to attend the Candler School of Theology at Emory University. She went on to earn degrees from Spelman College, the University of Texas Johnson School of Public Affairs, and the Yale Law School. Abrams is a member of Columbia Drive United Methodist Church in Decatur.

The 44-year-old Abrams has developed a national profile and carries Democrats’ hopes that a “blue wave” will lift her into the governor’s office.

Abrams rebuts criticism of the significant percentage of campaign contributions that she has received from outside Georgia. “I have a national presence because I’ve spent the last decade building the reputation of Georgia, rebuilding the capacity of Georgia Democrats to be seen as viable in a national election,” she told the AJT in March.

According to her Sept. 30 campaign finance report, Abrams had raised $16.25 million, spent $11.33 million, and had cash on hand of $4.92 million.

She has been attacked by Republicans over $50,000 she owes in back taxes and some $170,000 in student loan and credit card debt. Abrams has said that she deferred paying taxes to help her parents with expenses. “I could not defer my family’s needs. I could defer paying my taxes and I am paying them. The IRS and I are in good standing,” she told Atlanta television station WXIA in August. ■

Real Leadership.

• Passed legislation enabling a Georgia Holocaust monument.

• Appointed as Senate liaison to Commission on the Holocaust.

• Supports pro-Israel state legislation.

Vote November 6th!

ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES NOVEMBER 2, 2018 | 19

OPINION

Jewish Values and our Election for Governor

By Andrew Feiler

I have known Stacey Abrams for almost 20 years. She is one of the most intelligent, compassionate and pragmatic people I know. She is the clear choice for our Jewish community.

Despite false characterizations by her opponent, Stacey is a strong supporter of Israel and the Jewish community. She is a 2003 alumna of American Jewish Committee’s Project Understanding, and in 2011 she traveled to Israel with AJC’s Project Interchange. She supports a twostate solution, opposes BDS, and supports Georgia’s purchase of Israel Bonds.

Stacey has stood with us on issue after issue, including leading the fight against placing the Ten Commandments on our Capitol grounds. In doing so she helped repulse a dangerous erosion of the sepa-

ration of church and state, a core American principle vital to the Jewish community.

Stacey’s values are Jewish values. Valuing education is bedrock in our community; Stacey is committed to fully funding early childhood education, our state’s commitment to public education and the HOPE scholarship. Preserving life undergirds Jewish law; Stacey is committed to expanding Medicaid in Georgia, thus bringing health insurance to almost half a million uninsured Georgians, saving numerous lives, reducing the tragedy of healthcare bankruptcies, and stabilizing rural hospitals.

Equal protection under law is fundamental to our democracy. Stacey believes that all citizens should be able to easily register to vote, cast verifiable ballots, and reside in electoral districts drawn by nonpartisan means.

THE ENDORSEMENT I AM MOST SEEKING IS YOURS. I HUMBLY ASK FOR YOUR VOTE. – LEAH

Vote November 6th LeahForGeorgia.com 20 | NOVEMBER 2, 2018 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

By sharp contrast, Brian Kemp’s priorities are antagonistic to Jewish values.

Kemp is demonstrably anti-immigrant, recalling early 20th century backlash against our ancestors who had gratefully and optimistically come to America.

Kemp promotes the Religious Freedom Restoration Act, which is a poorly disguised attempt to legalize discrimination against our LGBTQ friends and neighbors. As Ralph McGill wrote after the 1958 Temple bombing, “When the wolves of hate are loosed on one people, then no one is safe.” Kemp advocates un-

fettered access to guns, including assault weapons, a position at odds with the centrality of life in Judaism. Finally, Brian Kemp has shamefully brought back Jim Crow with a gauntlet of practices that make it harder to register and to vote.

And Brian Kemp has never been to Israel.

The choice is clear. We can make Georgia a better place for all by electing Stacey Abrams governor. ■ Andrew Feiler is a civic leader and fifth-generation Jewish Georgian.

Learning and Believing in People

By Rabbi Joshua Lesser

Rabbi Jonathan Sacks’ Jewish view on leadership is that one must be a relentless learner and believe in the people they serve.

I was impressed when I first met Stacey Abrams in 2012, when she served as minority leader of the Georgia House of Representatives. As I became better acquainted with Ms. Abrams, her brilliance was indicative of what a voracious learner she is. Much of what fuels her learning is her desire to fulfill the possibility of what Georgia can be. And she understands that Georgia’s citizens are its greatest assets. She believes in us.

That belief extends to the Jewish community, despite her opponent's false accusations. She is the only candidate who has invested time in knowing our community and our concerns. She is an American Jewish Committee Project Understanding alum and she traveled to Israel with the AJC’s Project Interchange.

She has taken the time to understand the complexities of Israeli policy. For those who criticize her vote on Georgia’s antiBDS legislation, it was not about a lack of support for Israel; rather, it was a vote supporting the First Amendment. Most of these laws that passed in other states, recently in Arizona, are being overturned on the grounds that they violate the First Amendment. She is our loyal friend.

Ms. Abrams is the choice for governor who matches vision with policy and who identifies where issues like health care, education, economic well-being and criminal justice intersect, and how they affect all of us. Where her opponent is still pulling together policy, she continues to refine the policies she presented months ago.

Because she wants the best for Georgians, she will expand Medicaid, secure a living wage responsibly, protect us by supporting a nondiscrimination act, and challenge laws that undermine religious equality. As a small business owner, Ms. Abrams has utilized her own knowledge to fight for greater employment opportunities for Georgia.

It is this know-how that landed her an A rating by the Georgia Chamber of Commerce in the same year she won the Friend of Labor award.

What is rarer in leadership than a thirst for learning and believing in people, is integrity. I have never met a candidate like Stacey Abrams. Her candor, her fearlessness and her pursuit for what is right are girded by her integrity. Not only is she the best gubernatorial choice for our Jewish community, but for all of Georgia. ■ Rabbi Joshua Lesser of Congregation Bet Haverim is the founder of SOJOURN, Southern Jewish Resource Network for gender and sexual diversity.

OPINION

Where the Candidates Stand and Who Supports Them?

By Betsy and Steve Kramer

We decided, as Georgia Jewish citizens, to look at some top issues and see where the candidates stand.

Brian Kemp identifies as a freemarket conservative. He’s received 95 percent of his campaign funding from Georgia residents, 75 percent from small donors. Stacey Abrams is a self-avowed Socialist (speaking at a Democratic Socialists of America event) and received 45 percent from outside Georgia – under 25 percent from small donors – with

Californians and New Yorkers like labor unions, the Soros family and MoveOn. org being her largest contributors. We have to ask to whom the candidates are beholden and what they truly believe.

Georgia residents or power brokers from liberal states? Free market or socialism?

We all prosper better under the free market than under socialism.

In furtherance of Kemp’s free market views, he wants to remove harmful regulations. This is parallel to what’s happening in the federal system, where the reduction of regulations almost single-

Advocate for Jewish Education

By Dan Israel

Brian Kemp and I first met at the 2011 Georgia State Republican Convention, when I was on the state Board of Education and Brian was Secretary of State. Since then, we have become good friends, and conversed about a range of topics, from education to business to the Jewish community.

Brian knows my passion for education and the importance I place on Jewish day school for my children. In most of the world, federal governments cover all education costs K-12, whether it is for a secular school or a Jewish day school. This does not happen in the United States. For those of us seeking Jewish education, we have limited options – pay with after tax income or get help from family.

Then along came the Georgia Student Scholarship Organizations in 2008, which include the ALEF Fund. This allows Jewish children the ability to attend a Jewish school, which their families otherwise may have been unable to afford.

At the same time, contributors to the ALEF Fund receive an 100 percent state tax credit in exchange.

In 2019, SSOs will distribute $100 million to numerous schools in Georgia, including Jewish day schools like Davis, Epstein, AJA, and pre-K synagogue Hebrew schools. Since its inception in 2008, the ALEF Fund has provided over

handedly has caused massive growth in jobs, the economy and the stock market. While we’ve seen a corresponding jump in Georgia’s economy, the further reduction of state regulations should accelerate the Georgia economy, which lifts all boats. Kemp wants to cap state expenses, which the federal government should copy. Conversely, Abrams proposes a litany of costly initiatives without a means of funding. Many of them would force new state regulations and taxes and reverse the very robust economy that we see now.

An issue important to Jews is a religious freedom law, copying – not expanding – the federal one. We have had such problems with local governments, so this is not an esoteric issue with us. Kemp is for a limited law, while Abrams is solidly against it.

Lastly, Kemp wants to strengthen the relationship with Israel with a trade mission next year and is against BDS. Abrams campaigned with BDS supporter Linda Sarsour. ■ Betsy and Steve Kramer are a retired couple living in Fulton County.

$17 million in tuition assistance to allow children the option to attend Jewish schools!

The good news is that even more will go toward Jewish schools if Brian is elected, as he intends to increase the amount to $200 million! However, the same cannot be said of Stacey Abrams. In fact, Abrams has publicly stated her disdain for private schools, be they Jewish or otherwise. Her intent is to do away with the ALEF Fund and all SSOs. This should be a concern for all Jewish Georgians.

Jewish education is one of the most important assets we have to instill a strong Jewish identity in our next generation. With tuition increasing at all Jewish schools and enrollment declining at most of them, we need tools like the ALEF Fund to make it easier for parents to make the decision to go down the Jewish education path.

Of all the issues facing the Jewish community and that can be addressed by the gubernatorial candidates, the ALEF Fund impacts us directly. Know that with Brian Kemp as governor, we will have an advocate for Jewish education in office. ■

Dan Israel has been a Republican activist for several years. Professionally, he is a digital executive with over 25 years of experience.

ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES NOVEMBER 2, 2018 | 21

POLITICS

Ironies of Being State’s Second in Command

By Jan Jaben-Eilon

T

he role of lieutenant governor in Georgia is peculiar.

Unlike many other states, in Georgia the lieutenant governor is elected on a separate ticket from the governor. Yet, those two positions must work in tandem.

The lieutenant governor’s official duties are limited, the primary role being to preside over the state Senate and cast any necessary tie-breaking votes.

No matter whether Democrat Stacey Abrams or Republican Brian Kemp wins

REPUBLICAN Lieutenant Governor

the top job, the person next in line must work with the chief executive.

That means Democrat Sarah Riggs Amico could be elected along with Kemp.

Or, conversely, Republican Geoff Duncan with Abrams.

An Atlanta Journal-Constitution survey of 1,232 likely voters, conducted Sept. 30 to Oct. 9, gave Duncan a lead of 45.4 percent to 39.3 percent for Amico, with 15.3 percent undecided.

How Amico or Duncan would work with a governor from the other party was one of the most revealing questions at the Atlanta Press Club debate.

Lieutenant Governor:

Geoff Duncan-R

Geoff Duncan, the Republican candidate for lieutenant governor, was walking out of his Alpharetta church a few years ago when he felt called “to action” and decided to enter politics.

Duncan was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives in 2012 GEOFF DUNCAN, 43 from the 26th District. He gave up attended Georgia Tech that seat in September 2017 to run for • Former member of Georgia House lieutenant governor.

• Former professional baseball player • Chief Executive Officer, Wellview On the campaign trail, Duncan Health, Incorporated, 2016-present runs as an outsider. His Democratic opponent, Sarah Riggs Amico, claims that Duncan, as a former deputy majority whip in the state House, is more of an insider.

“I’m an outsider in my approach,” he contended in an Atlanta Press Club debate. When he voted in the House, he “looked through the lens of a small business owner,” thinking of the small marketing company that he and wife owned and later sold. The 43-year-old Duncan left Georgia Tech after his junior year when he was drafted as a pitcher by the Florida Marlins. He reached the AAA level before shoulder problems ended his baseball career.

Duncan told the AJT that he sees the role of the lieutenant governor as being independent. “If I don’t agree with what (agenda) the governor is putting forward, I will work against it,” said Duncan, acknowledging the possibility of Democrat Stacey Abrams winning the governor’s seat.

Duncan opposes the Democratic platform for the state. He added that if he were to serve under Abrams and she wanted to increase taxes or open sanctuary cities, he would work against her.

While Abrams and Amico favor the expansion of Medicaid in Georgia, Duncan contends that Medicaid would not increase access to medical care in rural Georgia.

“We need to embrace telemedicine to cut costs,” he said.

On the question of proposed religious freedom legislation, Duncan said, “This nation was founded on freedom of religion, not freedom from religion. Religion drives me. I never want someone to feel threatened in how they worship, but I also don’t want anyone to feel discriminated against. This isn’t a Christian bill, but a faith bill.”

Asked about the issue of separation of church and state, Duncan suggested that “There’s a place for religion everywhere in the world. I take my religion everywhere I go. We should not be pushing faith outside of our lives. I don’t check my religion 22 | NOVEMBER 2, 2018 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

Duncan, who opposes the expansion of Medicaid in the state, was asked how he could work with Abrams – a strong proponent of Medicaid expansion – if she were elected governor. His response suggested no willingness to compromise on this or other issues.

Amico said that, as the executive chairperson of a company employing nearly 4,000, she is accustomed to bringing together people who see a problem from different points of view. “There’s plenty of places to work together,” she said of potentially working with Kemp.

While both candidates have worked

DEMOCRAT Lieutenant Governor

in family-owned businesses, Amico is a first-time candidate. Duncan was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives in 2012. He resigned in 2017 to run for lieutenant governor.

Another anomaly about the number two job is that if the serving governor were to leave office, the lieutenant governor – potentially from the opposite party – would fill the remainder of that person’s term.

The job comes with an annual salary of $135,000, an increase from $91,609, taking effect after the election.

Lieutenant Governor:

Sarah Riggs Amico-D

Democrat Sarah Riggs Amico, a self-described “policy nerd,” calls the office of lieutenant governor “one of the most fascinating roles in government. This role is a tactician’s dream,” SARAH RIGGS AMICO, 39 determining which legislation is moved Washington & Lee, Harvard Business forward for votes in the Georgia SenSchool ate.

• Executive Chair, Jack Cooper Amico is the Democratic candidate Holdings Corporation Board of Directors, 2014-present for the state’s number two job, running • Board member, PAWS Atlanta against Republican Geoff Duncan, a former member of the Georgia House.

The 39-year-old is the executive chairperson of Jack Cooper Holdings Corp., a car-hauling company that her family bought, near bankruptcy, in 2009, and since has grown from 120 employees to more than 3,000.

Amico cites her experience bringing together diverse coalitions such as union and non-union employees, institutional investors, and “Fortune 100” clients as helping her deal with divergent groups in the state legislature.

Amico, who received an MBA degree from Harvard, told the AJT that she chose to seek a statewide office in her first political foray to avoid running in a gerrymandered district and because “I wanted an executive function that fits my skill set.”

She campaigns in tandem with Stacey Abrams, the Democratic candidate for governor, although Georgia law requires them to run separately. “We have complementary skill sets,” Amico said, citing Abrams' resume as a lawyer who has served as House minority leader. “We can speak to all constituencies.”

The issues Abrams promotes, including expansion of Medicaid, funding of public education, and changing the direction of the state government after 14 years of Republican control, are also Amico’s goals.

Amico said that 64 Georgia counties don’t have a single pediatrician and 79 are without an OB-GYN. Georgia ranks 47th in access to healthcare and last in the country in maternal mortality. Healthcare is an “issue that doesn’t matter if you are a minority, young or old, male or female. It touches all of us,” she told the AJT. Amico was a Republican, but changed her political affiliation, first to independent, and then to Democratic, in 2012. “The (President Barrack) Obama era moved me to be a Democrat during the healthcare debate. I can’t get on board with a party that takes away heath care,” she said, referring to Republican efforts to

POLITICS at the door when I enter a public building.”

Duncan believes that “We, the people, are better to solve problems than we, the government,” and cites what he calls the four C’s: churches/ synagogues, charities, corporations and citizens. “Government programs just stabilize people; they don’t help people get out of the cycle,” he told the AJT. If he wins, Duncan would like to take on the title of Georgia’s “business ambassador. I speak their language.” During his campaign, Duncan came up with the concept of BIG: Built in Georgia. “As I travGEOFF DUNCAN eled around rural Georgia, I saw that communities never thrive if they are just being subsidized.” He wants Georgia to become the technology center of the East Coast and rural Georgia to be known as the production capital of the Southeast.

Duncan added that he supports Israel, Gov. Nathan Deal’s efforts to build an economic relationship with Israel, and President Donald Trump’s decision to move the U.S. Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem.

According to Duncan’s September campaign finance report, he has raised $2.21 million, spent $1.08 million, and had cash on hand of $1.12 million.

repeal the Affordable Care Act and actions that have weakened the measure.

Amico was thrilled when Obama recently endorsed her, along with Abrams. “I found out from Twitter like everyone else.”

During an Atlanta Press Club debate with Duncan, the Kennesaw resident and mother of two daughters complained that Republicans had fully funded public schools only once in the past 16 years, and that was this past year.

When Duncan charged that the Democrats were willing to allow “illegal aliens” to receive the HOPE ScholSARAH RIGGS AMICO arship, which helps fund tuition for in-state students, Amico responded by paraphrasing a Jewish biblical belief: “We don’t punish children in this country for the sins of their parents,” referring to undocumented youth.

According to Amico, 626,000 Georgians lack access to high speed Internet, an issue the state must address to promote economic growth. “I’ve met families driving kids to McDonald’s parking lots to get Wi-Fi,” she said.

On the subject of religious freedom legislation, Amico said that the state should not discriminate based on how people look, whom they love, and how or if they pray.

According to her Sept. 30 campaign finance report, Amico has raised $1.43 million, spent $1.09 million, and had cash on hand of $345,068. ■

ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES NOVEMBER 2, 2018 | 23

POLITICS

Attorney General Candidates

By Rachel Fayne REPUBLICAN

Chris Carr-R

Chris Carr has a defined view of his role as Georgia’s top government lawyer.

“My job as the attorney general is to be the managing partner of the law firm that is Georgia,” he said. “I also represent the executive branch of state government. When we’re in court, though, my position is to provide exCHRIS CARR, 46 University of Georgia’s Terry College of cellent representation for the state.”

Business and Lumpkin School of Law Carr, a Republican, is seeking elecFormer chief of staff for Sen. Johnny tion to a full, four-year term, having Isakson and former economic been appointed by Gov. Nathan Deal development director under Gov. Deal in 2016 to fill the remaining two years of Sam Olens’ term when he stepped down to become the president of Kennesaw State University.

That Carr is not an experienced trial attorney has been a point of contention between him and his Democratic opponent, former Fulton County Assistant District Attorney Charles Bailey.

The 46-year-old Carr, who attended the University of Georgia as an undergrad and law student, worked for 11 years with Sen. Johnny Isakson, including as his chief of staff, before serving as the state’s economic development officer under Deal. Carr previously was an attorney at the Atlanta law firm of Alston & Bird and worked with the Georgia Public Policy Foundation on state legislative issues.

“My history across the board qualifies me for the position,” Carr told the AJT. “It takes an incredible amount of experience to win the full four-year term, and I have a record that demonstrates that. People would have a great opportunity to see what I would do for Georgia.”

In public appearances, Carr has listed five priority subjects: human trafficking, elder abuse, cyber crime, opioid abuse, and gang activity.

He also views a stable legal and regulatory environment as necessary for the state to continue its economic growth.

During a debate with Bailey, sponsored by the Atlanta Press Club, Carr said that the state has hired outside counsel to assist any investigation and litigation involving opioids, while also creating a statewide task force bringing together public and private institutions on the issue. Georgia has not, however, joined other states in suing the pharmaceutical companies that manufacture and distribute the drugs.

In September, Carr announced creation of the Georgia Anti-Gang Network, an effort to increase communication between local, state and federal authorities dealing with gang activity. The Georgia Gang Investigators Association has estimated that there are 71,000 gang members and more than 1,500 suspected gang networks in the state.

Asked during the debate about “religious liberty” legislation and the gay community, Carr said, “I believe in the dignity of each human being, and my job is to uphold laws. If the laws need to be changed, that may be a possibility. Whatever laws are signed by the governor and as long as it’s not unconstitutional, I will uphold that.”

Georgia remains one of a handful of states without hate crimes legislation.

“Any violence or threats of violence against religious groups, houses of worship or any individual have no place in Georgia. The Office of the Attorney General will stand with our local and federal partners to protect all Georgians from violence,” he told the AJT. Carr supports a multi-state suit against the Affordable Care Act, arguing that because the provision that the Supreme Court cited in initially ruling the health care law constitutional has since been removed by Congress, the ACA should now be declared unconstitutional.

As of his Sept. 30 campaign finance report, Carr had raised nearly $1.87 million, spent $678,400, and reported $1.91 million in cash on hand.

Attorney General

24 | NOVEMBER 2, 2018 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

DEMOCRAT

Charlie Bailey-D

Charlie Bailey, the Democratic candidate for attorney general, likes to remind audiences that he has experience as a prosecutor that the Republican incumbent, Chris Carr, does not.

Bailey cites his prosecution of gang members as senior district attorney in Fulton County as an example of why he’s more qualified than Carr, CHARLIE BAILEY, 35 University of Georgia (undergrad and who was appointed to the post two law school) years ago by Gov. Nathan Deal to fill Senior Assistant District the remainder of Sam Olens’ term.

Attorney, Fulton County “More than anything, the office is above all intended to protect people.

If the people of Georgia are harmed, the attorney general goes out and gets them justice,” Bailey told the AJT. “The way that plays out with the issues important to Georgians is that right now we don’t have an attorney general working on organized crime, gang activity or human trafficking. There has not been one indictment of a gang leader or trafficker since my opponent has been in office.”

Bailey, who attended the University of Georgia as an undergrad and law student, advocates a hands-on approach.

“It’s part of the reason these things have just stayed the same,” he said. “My opponent has never been a prosecutor. He’s a nice guy, but he doesn’t know what he’s doing. He’s been a staffer and a bureaucrat, and that’s not the job at hand here.

The people of Georgia need to be protected.”

Bailey said that, as attorney general, he would go after special interests, companies, even politicians if they are harming Georgians. “Whether it’s a predatory lender, a debt collector or pharmaceutical companies who have engaged in price fixing, I want to be very aggressive in curbing that conduct, and not with just slaps on the wrists as we’ve had,” he said.

He points to special interests as one of the reasons Georgia hasn’t been tougher on those groups. “We haven’t had an indictment of any corrupt officials the entire time Chris Carr has been in office,” Bailey said. “Do you think there aren’t any politicians who are misusing tax dollars or taking stances to benefit special interest groups for their own gain? I’m not here to protect those political insiders. I’m here for the people.”

Bailey pledged action on the opioid epidemic.

In a debate sponsored by the Atlanta Press Club, Bailey said that Carr had sent out a press release and held a press conference on the subject close to the election. “He’s been in office for two years and hasn’t done anything about it,” Bailey explained. “Chris has held a total of four meetings about the opioid crisis. To date, there are no suits filed.” Bailey advocated a more aggressive stance against companies that manufacture opioids and distribute the drugs knowing their dangers.

“I would be sworn in to defend the people and the constitution,” Bailey said.

“That includes everyone.”

Bailey cited Georgia’s lack of hate crimes legislation. “It obviously hasn’t been a priority in the past. You can judge what someone cares about by what they do,” he said. “I will push for the passage of that civil rights bill, and that legislation will give the tools to people to protect them. As the top lawyer in Georgia, you have people looking to you, and you need to have an opinion about things that matter. People’s civil rights and the prevention of hate crimes matter.”

According to the Sept. 30 campaign finance report, Bailey had raised more than $747,000, spent nearly $200,000 and had cash on hand of about $547,000.

Beginning in 2019, the attorney general’s annual salary will increase from $139,000 to $165,611, thanks to a bill signed by Gov. Nathan Deal. ■ Attorney General

POLITICS

Secretary of State Candidates

By Al Shams

REPUBLICAN

Brad Raffensperger-R

Brad Raffensperger is clear about his priorities if elected secretary of state.

First on his list, according to the Republican nominee, “To ensure that only properly registered U.S. citizens vote in Georgia elections.”

Second, “Georgia has been a great BRAD RAFFENSPERGER, 63 state for job growth and to start a Western University, Georgia State small business, so I want to do all I can University to continue that trend.”

Former member of Georgia state House Raffensperger hopes to succeed fellow Republican Brian Kemp as secretary of state. He is opposed by former Democratic congressman John Barrow and Libertarian Smythe DuVal. An Atlanta Journal-Constitution/WSB-TV survey of 1,232 likely voters, conducted Sept. 30 to Oct. 9, showed Raffensperger with 41.4 percent to 36.8 percent for Barrow, with 6.3 percent for DuVal and about 15 percent undecided.

The 63-year-old Raffensperger served three years on the Johns Creek City Council before winning two terms in the Georgia House, representing the 50th District in Johns Creek. He received a bachelor’s degree in civil engineering from Western University and a Master of Business Administration from Georgia State University.

He is the CEO and owner of Tendon Systems, LLC, a contracting and engineering design firm with nearly 200 employees. He also owns and operates specialty steel manufacturing plants in Columbus, Ga., and in Forsyth County.

Raffensperger cites this experience as making him the better candidate to oversee the myriad activities of the secretary of state’s office. “I’m the only business owner in this race that has run an office the size of the secretary of state’s office,” he said during a debate sponsored by the Atlanta Press Club.

Raffensperger told the AJT that, if elected, he will update the voting and registration process to ensure their integrity. Voter rolls need to be updated annually, as 10 to 15 percent of Georgians move every year and that, combined with district lines being redrawn, can cause confusion for polling officials and voters, he said.

“By keeping the voter rolls updated, we can help safeguard and keep our elections clean so we know that the person who won actually did win,” Raffensperger said during the debate.

Raffensperger previously has said that he favored touchscreen machines that provided a printout of voters’ selections.

On the regulatory side of the job, Raffensperger said he would review the process by which the secretary of state’s office regulates and licenses various occupations and professions, and work with the state House to clean up a patchwork of regulations.

He told the AJT that he would consider some level of self-regulation for industries under the secretary of state’s purview, as well as using fees that are collected to benefit the industries being regulated.

Raffensperger said that military veterans could benefit from the state waving corporate filing fees for opening a business and by the state taking greater advantage of the talents at military bases so that troops transitioning out of the military have reason to remain in Georgia.

When Raffensperger addressed the local Republican Jewish Coalition chapter in August he used the occasion to mention a letter that he received in February 2017 from Ambassador Judith Shorer, the Consul General of Israel to the Southeast in Atlanta. She thanked him for introducing a House resolution promoting ties between Georgia and Israel.

As of his Sept. 30 campaign finance report, Raffesnperger had raised $1.89 million, spent more than $1.73 million, and had more than $152,600 available.

Secretary of State

DEMOCRAT

John Barrow-D

John Barrow’s inspiration for public service came from his parents.

His father was a judge and his mother an educator, both World War II officers and activists who worked to keep public schools open when politicians talked about closing them, rather than integrate.

JOHN BARROW, 62 Barrow, a University of Georgia University of Georgia, Harvard Law and Harvard Law School graduate, School served as an Athens-Clarke County Former member U.S. House commissioner and then represented from Georgia’s 12th District Georgia’s 12th Congressional District for a decade. In Congress, he was considered a “Blue Dog” Democrat, taking positions more centrist than left.

Now the 63-year-old, a descendant of the Barrows for whom Barrow County is named, is the Democratic candidate for secretary of state, running against Republican Brad Raffensperger and Libertarian Smythe DuVal. The winner will succeed Republican Brian Kemp.

An Atlanta Journal-Constitution/WSB-TV survey of 1,232 likely voters, conducted Sept. 30 to Oct. 9, gave Raffensperger 41.4 percent to 36.8 percent for Barrow, with 6.3 percent of DuVal and about 15 percent undecided.

The secretary of state’s office oversees 41 separate boards regulating a wide range of industries that employ some 700,000 Georgians. The office is also responsible for the state’s election system, both its rules and its technology.

That latter responsibility drew the most interest when the candidates for secretary of state participated in a debate sponsored by the Atlanta Press Club.

Barrow supported the immediate use of paper ballots to prevent potential hacking. The direct-recording electronic voting machines Georgia currently uses do not provide a verifiable paper trail. “They’re not good enough for elections because they can be hacked,” Barrow said. “What we need is to decertify these machines and move to the process currently allowed by state law, which is handmarked paper ballots using optical scanners.”

Forced twice to move during his years in Congress after state Republicans redrew the borders of his district, Barrow made clear his distaste for “gerrymandering” during a conversation with the AJT. Too often, district lines are drawn in ways that ensure candidates will take extreme positions, he said.

Barrow decried a lack of civility that he said has resulted in the polarization of the electorate and left moderates in both parties marginalized.

On the industry regulation side of the job, Barrow told the AJT that revenues gathered for licenses by practitioners should be used by the state to benefit those industries, not only the public in general.

He also spoke about “religious freedom” legislation, vetoed by Gov. Nathan Deal after protests from major Georgia businesses such as Delta Airlines and the film industry. He told a June meeting of the Atlanta Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce: “In the marketplace where you hold yourself out as a common carrier of sorts, when you receive a license to engage in business in the marketplace, you assume some responsibilities to the general public. Many of these are fixed by law, but one bedrock principle is that when you’re open for business, you’re open for business.

“And I don’t look at the places of business in the general commerce as being places where folks can practice their religious beliefs in such a way as to discriminate against some customers and in favor of others,” he said.

As of his Sept. 30 campaign finance report, Barrow had raised $1.38 million, spent about $919,000, and had a bit more than $463,000 available.

Beginning in 2019, the secretary of state will be paid an annual salary of $147,128, up from $123,637, thanks to a bill that Gov. Nathan Deal signed earlier this year. ■ Secretary of State

ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES NOVEMBER 2, 2018 | 25

POLITICS

National Attention Not as Strong for 6th District As Last Year

By Dave Schechter

Last year, a spotlight shined on Georgia’s 6th Congressional District, home to roughly two out of every five Jews in metropolitan Atlanta.

Some $55 million in total – the most ever in a U.S. House campaign – was spent by candidates seeking that open seat.

Democrat Jon Ossoff, the darling of liberals from the salons of New York to the shores of San Francisco, emerged atop an 18-candidate “jungle primary,”

REPUBLICAN U.S. House 6th District

nearly winning the majority needed to claim the prize outright. Democrats were hopeful they would “flip” the seat vacated

by Republican Tom Price – who briefly became the U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services – and before him by Republican House Speaker Newt Gingrich and Republican Sen. Johnny Isakson.

But money and enthusiasm could not push Ossoff across the finish line and Republican Karen Handel, who finished second in the primary, won the general election (53 percent to 47 percent) in a district last represented by a Democrat

6th Congressional District:

Karen Handel-R

Over the past 50 years, incumbent members of the U.S. House of Representatives have won re-election at a rate of 85 to 90 percent.

That said, Karen Handel isn’t being complacent about winning re-election to the 6th District seat she won in KAREN HANDEL, 56 a 2017 special election. attended Prince George’s Community The Republican incumbent touts College and attended University of positive economic news – tweeting Maryland University College Seeking election to a full two-year term “lower taxes=better economy=more opportunities for all” – while focusing attention on her efforts on such issues as health care, combatting sex trafficking and the opioid crisis.

Handel serves on the Committee on Education and the Workforce and the Committee on the Judiciary. She mentions with pride her appointment by the GOP leadership to the Joint Economic Committee, comprised of Republicans and Democrats from the House and Senate.

First-term members generally are seen more than heard. But Handel received a measure of 24-hour news cycle attention as she presided over the House on June 22 and cited House rules to stop California Democrat Ted Lieu from playing a recording of crying children separated from their parents under the Trump administration’s policy to deter illegal immigration.

The political blog site FiveThirtyEight listed Handel as voting in line with President Donald Trump’s position 87.5 percent.

“I have worked hard every single day to do my absolute best for the people of the 6th District, and doing that means that sometimes I agree with the president and other times I don’t,” Handel told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution in September.

According to her Sept. 30 campaign finance report, Handel had raised $8.16 million and spent $7.2 million, leaving $978,000 cash on hand.

Following a career in business, Handel served as chairman of the Fulton County board of commissioners from 2003 to 2006, and then was elected Georgia’s Secretary of State, serving from 2007 to 2010, until she resigned to pursue an ultimately unsuccessful bid for governor.

In 2011 she became senior vice president of public policy at Susan G. Komen for the Cure, a breast cancer charity, but left a year later, opposing the organization’s decision to restore (after eliminating) funding for Planned Parenthood.

Handel disagrees with her Democratic opponent, Lucy McBath, a gun control advocate. “We can make sure our schools are safe and our communities are safe without undermining the Second Amendment rights of law-abiding citizens,” Handel told WSB-TV in August.

26 | NOVEMBER 2, 2018 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

in 1978.

This year, the spotlight isn’t quite as bright.

Now-incumbent Handel faces a challenge from Democrat Lucy McBath, who made her name as a gun control advocate after her teenage son was shot to death in 2012.

Online political sites list the race as either “leaning” or “likely” Republican.

The 6th is carved from eastern Cobb County, northern DeKalb County and northern Fulton County, and includes all or parts of Tucker, Brookhaven, Cham-

DEMOCRAT U.S. House 6th District

blee, Dunwoody, Sandy Springs, Johns Creek, Alpharetta, Milton and Roswell.

Based on data compiled in 2013, the Berman Jewish DataBank estimated that 58,000 Jews accounted for 8.38 percent of the district’s population, the highest percentage of Jews in any of the state’s 14 congressional districts.

President Donald Trump received 48 percent of the vote in the 6th District in 2016 and Democrat Hillary Clinton, 47 percent.

U.S. House members are paid a $174,000 annual salary.

6th Congressional District:

Lucy McBath-D

Lucy McBath had planned to seek a seat in the Georgia House, but turned her attention to the 6th Congressional District after the Feb. 14 shootings at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland, Fla., in which 17 people were killed.

LUCY MCBATH, 58 Gun control is personal for McVirginia State University Bath, whose 17-year-old son, Jordan Gun control advocate Davis, was killed in 2012, in a dispute over loud music, while sitting in a car outside a Jacksonville, Fla., gas station.

The shooter, who used Florida’s “Stand Your Ground” law as his defense, was convinced in 2014 of first-degree murder.

The 58-year-old McBath hopes to do what Jon Ossoff could not in last year’s special election – the most expensive congressional race in history – defeat Republican Karen Handel and “flip” the 6th District, which has been in GOP hands since 1979.

McBath advanced to the general election against now-incumbent Handel by defeating Kevin Abel in the July 22 Democratic runoff.

She grew up a witness to activism. Her father, Lucien Holman, a dentist and owner of “The Black Voice,” a newspaper serving the African-American community in Joliet, Ill., was president of the Illinois NAACP (National Association for the Advancement of Colored People) and served on the organization’s national executive board.

Her own public career began after her son was killed.

“Everything I knew about my life changed,” McBath told the Jewish Democratic Women’s Salon in June. “Everything I’ve gone through has prepared me for this moment.”

“What I have is credibility and a reality of experiences that speaks to the crucial and the critical conflicts, and crises and visions that you are making in your own families,” she said.

A 30-year flight attendant with Delta Airlines, McBath became a spokeswoman for Everytown for Gun Safety, which the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported has invested more than $3.7 million in support of her campaign, and Moms Demands Action for Gun Sense in America.

She appeared on stage at the 2016 Democratic national convention in support of Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton, who endorsed McBath, via Twitter, after the July run-off. Clinton reportedly also recorded a telephone message on McBath’s behalf and hosted a fundraiser.

According to her Sept. 30 campaign finance report, McBath had raised $1.26

POLITICS This election is about “the difference between meaningful results for hardworking Georgians and rhetoric and resistance from the left,” Handel told the local Republican Jewish Coalition chapter in September.

Speaking to the RJC, Handel called McBath “your traditional far left Democrat. Already she supports mandating wages. She supports health care for all, universal health care … She tries to walk the line that she’s not going to support [House minority leader] Nancy Pelosi. Give me a break, of course she is.”

KAREN HANDEL Democrats have “taken the largest step possible to the left and there really is a segment among Democrats who are full bore, card-carrying socialists. They really believe in that form of government, which is the antithesis of the government of the United States of America,” Handel said.

Handel supported Trump’s decision to relocate the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem. On May 14, Handel tweeted, “Today marks the 70th anniversary of the founding of Israel. The U.S. Embassy’s move to Jerusalem underscores that our commitment to Israel is as strong today as it was then. Just as the need for Israel remains as strong as when it was founded. Happy birthday Israel!”

million, spent $558,000, and had cash on hand of $706,400.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee in July added McBath to its “Red to Blue” program that provides organization and fundraising support to candidates it thinks can win Republicanheld seats.

McBath told the Jewish women’s forum that she favored the “two-state solution” to resolve Israel’s conflict with the Palestinians, and disagreed with President Donald Trump’s decision to relocate the U.S. Embassy in Israel.

“I oppose, at this time, the LUCY MCBATH moving of the American Embassy from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem, until a deal for peace has been brokered,” McBath said, adding that she considers Jerusalem to be Israel’s capital.

McBath said that her experience as a two-time survivor of breast cancer informs her stance on health care. “When I was diagnosed, not once, but two times, those were very critical times in my life when I was scared to death,” she said.

“I do advocate a robust public option for all of us,” McBath said of the debate over the Affordable Care Act, also known as “Obamacare.”

McBath said that she has the ability to work across party lines because that was her approach as a gun control advocate.

“I am a woman and we are problem solvers,” McBath told the Jewish women’s forum. “We do it every single day.” ■

ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES NOVEMBER 2, 2018 | 27

POLITICS

7th District Race Trends Toward Republican

By David Schechter

Interest in the 7th District Congressional race was evident when 120 audience chairs were set up at the Peachtree Corners City Hall for a candidates’ forum and 300 people packed the room.

Candidates for the state legislature and county offices were on hand, but top billing went to the 7th District’s incumbent Republican congressman, Rob Woodall, and his Democratic challenger, Carolyn Bourdeaux.

Woodall was elected to represent the REPUBLICAN U.S. House 7th District

District in 2010 and has received no less than 60 percent of the vote in each of his four general elections.

The race between Woodall and Bourdeaux is rated as “leaning” or “likely” Republican by several political websites.

The last Democrat to represent the 7th District was George Darden, from 1983 to 1995.

President Donald Trump won 51 percent of the 7th District vote and Hillary Clinton, 45 percent in 2016, though Gwinnett County backed the Democrat

7th Congressional District:

Rob Woodall-R

Rob Woodall has won no less than 60 percent of the vote in four successful races to represent Georgia’s 7th Congressional District.

This time around may be closer, although his contest against Democratic challenger Carolyn Bourdeaux is ROB WOODALL, 48 rated as leaning Republican by various Furman University, University of Georpolitical websites. gia School of Law Gwinnett County, which forms Seeking a fifth term in Congress the bulk of the 7th District (the remainder is southern Forsyth County), has become a “minority-majority” county, and in 2016 voted Democratic in the presidential election for the first time in 40 years.

“This district looks today the way America is going to look in about 10 or 15 years,” Woodall told a September candidates forum in Peachtree Corners.

Woodall, 48, was chief of staff for his predecessor, Republican Rep. John Linder. He holds seats on the House transportation and infrastructure, budget, and rules committees.

According to his Sept. 30 campaign finance report, Woodall had raised $1.01 million, spent $793,800, and had cash on hand of $548,200.

Woodall heralds the economic news coming from the Trump administration and cautions against changing directions.

“Elections have consequences. There are two methods that we can go forward in this country,” by tearing people down or building people up. “Don’t let it be said that the only way to win elections is to tear people down,” Woodall told the Peachtree Corners candidates forum.

Woodall warned about the long-term financial health of the Social Security and Medicare programs. At the candidates’ forum, he denied that House Speaker Paul Ryan wants to slice Social Security and Medicare to pay for recent tax cuts. “Tax receipts have never been higher,” Woodall said. “The problem is over-promising to generations like mine.”

When he and Boudeaux tangled over “dark money” contributions that do not require disclosing the donor, Woodall said, “There is no such thing as an unreported dollar in my campaign,” and reminded the audience that the U.S. Supreme Court ruled in the Citizens United case that “The First Amendment protects campaign donations being shielded.”

Young people must take more responsibility when accumulating college debt, Woodall said. “Repaying [debt] is an important part of the American dream,” he said, adding that financial aid counselors should be permitted to talk students out of borrowing money.

28 | NOVEMBER 2, 2018 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

for the first time in 40 years.

The 7th covers much of Gwinnett County and the southern half of Forsyth County – including the cities of Peachtree Corners, Norcross, Cumming, Lawrenceville, Duluth, Suwanee and Buford.

Gwinnett County, which forms the bulk of the 7th, has become a “minoritymajority” district. The most recent population figures show the 7th to be 45.8 percent white, 21 percent African-American, 18.6 percent Hispanic, 14.3 percent Asian, and 0.1 percent Native American.

DEMOCRAT U.S. House 7th District

Based on 2010 Census data, there are roughly 10,000 Jews in the District, making up 1.45 percent of its population.

Bourdeaux reported slightly less than $98,000 in available campaign funds as of July 4, while Woodall reported nearly $529,000 on hand for the quarter that ended June 30.

U.S. House members are paid an annual salary of $174,000.

7th Congressional District:

Carolyn Bourdeaux-D

Health care is at the heart of Democrat Carolyn Bourdeaux’s campaign to unseat Republican incumbent Rob Woodall in Georgia’s 7th Congressional District.

CAROLYN BOURDEAUX, 48 “This is personal,” she tweeted on Yale University, University of Southern Sept. 5. “My mother struggled to pay California, Syracuse University for my father’s insulin before he passed On leave as associate professor at away. The cost of medicine ate up their Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia State University retirement income. We have hit a point where regular working people cannot afford basic, cheap to make, life-saving medications.”

Two weeks later, in her opening remarks at a candidates’ forum in Peachtree Corners, Bourdeaux said, “I am running for office because I think our health care system is badly broken.”

In her closing, she said, “We have come to a time when certain truths have to be spoken. In this district, there are 110,000 people without health insurance,” as she criticized Woodall for Republican efforts to scrap the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.

Bourdeaux, 48, finished first among six candidates in the May 22 Democratic primary and defeated runner-up David Kim in the July 24 runoff.

She is on leave from her position as associate professor of public management and policy at the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia State University, where she has been on the faculty since 2003. From 2007 to 2010, Bourdeaux was director of Georgia’s Senate Budget and Evaluation Office.

According to a Sept. 30 campaign finance report, Bourdeaux had raised $1.89 million, spent $1.07 million, and had $820,000 on hand.

The Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee was sufficiently hopeful of an upset to add Bourdeaux to its “Red to Blue” program, making available organizational and fundraising support.

Bourdeaux minces no words in discussing President Donald Trump and the influence of money on politics.

“We have a president that is corrupt and a Congress that is in hock to special interest and has been corrupted by them, as well,” she said at the Peachtree Corners forum. “I believe we desperately need campaign finance reform. We’ve got to end Citizens United,” she said, referring to the Supreme Court ruling that gave political spending by corporations and unions protection under the First Amendment.

When challenged by Woodall about PAC (political action committee) donations received by Democrats, Bourdeaux responded, “I understand that people on both sides of the aisle play that game, but it’s not the right game for us. … Our

POLITICS Woodall has backed Republican efforts to repeal the Affordable Care Act (also known as Obamacare), which, he said “has destroyed the American health care system.” The congressman said that GOP proposals would protect coverage of preexisting conditions.

The government’s immigration policy should be “we want the best and brightest to locate in America,” Woodall said. The “Dreamers,” brought to the U.S. as children by parents who entered illegally, should be in that line, he said. But families that have breached the law should not come before those who have adhered to U.S. immigration laws.

In January 2017, Woodall and Rep. Alcee Hastings, D-Fla., introduced a House resolution condemning Palestinian violence against Israeli citizens and reaffirming the friendship between Israel and the United States. The measure was referred to the House Foreign Affairs Subcommittee on Middle East and North Africa, but went no further in the legislative process.

Woodall supported President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (the Iran nuclear weapons deal), writing, “I believed then – as I believe now – that a bad deal is worse than no deal at all, and I’m eager to work with the current administration and our allies around the world to ensure the appropriate steps are taken to prevent a dangerous and untrustworthy Iranian regime from obtaining nuclear weapons and neutralizing Iran’s destabilizing influence in the region.”

system is broken, and it absolutely must be fixed.”

Bourdeaux backs a “quick and clear path to citizenship” for the “Dreamers,” children brought to the United States by parents who entered the country illegally, of whom there are 3,000 in the 7th District. “Yes, we need to deal with the folks who have played by the rules and make sure that they have a quick path to citizenship,” she said.

She also supported expanded use of federal Pell Grants to alleviate the college loan debt crisis.

Bourdeaux’s position paper on Israel calls “for the U.S. to continue to bolster Israel’s security in a region of hostile neighbors, while also encouraging policies to move toward a peaceful resolution of conflict with its Palestinian neighbors.” She supports the two-state solution to be negotiated between Israelis and Palestinians.

She labels Trump’s order relocating the U.S. Embassy in Israel from Tel Aviv to Jerusalem a “needlessly provocative” action that “makes a peaceful resolution more difficult, ultimately undermining Israel’s long-term security.”

Bourdeaux supported the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (the Iran nuclear weapons deal), saying that while “Iran’s efforts to acquire nuclear weapons present an existential threat to Israel and undermine peace and stability in the region and in the world,” the agreement presents “the best opportunity” to prevent Iran from acquiring such weapons. ■

11th District Leans to the Right

By Dave Schechter

Georgia’s 11th Congressional District is considered a “safe” seat for Republicans.

In 2016, President Donald Trump won the 11th District by 25 percentage points, while Barry Loudermilk won reelection to Congress for a second term by 35 percentage points.

As he seeks a third term, Loudermilk is being challenged by Democrat Flynn Broady Jr. The 11th extends northwest from Fulton County, cuts a swath through Cobb County, and includes all of Bartow and Cherokee counties, taking in part of Atlanta, along with Marietta, Woodstock and Cartersville.

An estimated 16,000 Jews make up 2.3 percent of the 11th District’s population, the second-highest percentage in Georgia behind the 6th District, at nearly 8.4 percent.

Neither Loudermilk nor Broady faced a primary challenge.

According to their Sept. 30 campaign finance reports, Loudermilk had raised nearly $768,000 and had cash on hand of $366,000, while Broady had raised $44,000 and had $3,000 available.

Loudermilk, 54, holds seats on three U.S. House committees: Financial Services, House Administration and Space, Science and Technology.

Prior to his election to Congress in 2014, Loudermilk was founder and owner of a data networking and information systems company, and of a flight

REPUBLICAN

DEMOCRAT

U.S. House 11th District

U.S. House 11th District

BARRY LOUDERMILK, 54

Wayland Baptist University Seeking third term in Congress

training business. He also served in the state House and Senate for more than nine years.

An eight-year veteran of the U.S. Air Force, Loudermilk received a bachelor’s degree from Wayland Baptist University.

Broady, 56, also is a veteran. He served three overseas tours during Operation Iraqi Freedom, as an infantry first sergeant in the U.S. Army.

He credits the GI Bill with helping him earn his bachelor’s degree from Austin Peay State University, a graduate degree from Kennesaw State University, and a law degree from Seton Hall University.

He worked as an assistant solicitor general in Cobb County, and then as the veterans treatment court coordinator.

Regarding Israel, Loudermilk supported Trump’s decision to relocate the

FLYNN BROADY JR., 56

Austin Peay University, Kennesaw State University, Seton Hall University Ex-U.S. Army infantry First Sgt., was Cobb County Veterans Treatment Court Coordinator

U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem from Tel Aviv.

“When I visit with members of the Knesset, the Israeli Parliament, I go to Jerusalem. Both times I have met with the Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu we met in Jerusalem. And my meeting with President Reuven Rivlin of Israel was also in Jerusalem. Jerusalem is the seat of the Israeli government; it is the location of their Parliament building and the offices of the prime minister and president,” Loudermilk said last December.

He also backed Trump’s earlier decision to withdraw the U.S. from the Iran nuclear deal, saying, “This bad deal – negotiated and signed by the Obama administration – only emboldened Iran’s posture in the Middle East and further antagonized one of our closest allies, Israel.”

Broady also supported the Embassy move. “However, Israel and the Arab world must still jointly work out a long-term solution to their issues and conflicts. The United States’ position is clear. We support Israel and the need for lasting peace,” he said in a statement to the Atlanta Jewish Times.

“In Congress, I will study the priorities and policy positions of the U.S. and other countries, existing economic aid for Middle East countries, and what effects these are having on long-term peace. I also pledge to consider the opinions and welfare of the people of the 11th District,” Broady said. “In this, as in all matters, I will encourage meaningful dialogue among the parties. If they are not willing to sit at the table with a focus on common ground, very little will be accomplished toward lasting peace.

In the meantime, the United States must remain committed to Israel’s security, which includes protecting it from Iran’s nuclear program.” ■

GEORGIA CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICTS

ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES NOVEMBER 2, 2018 | 29

POLITICS

Lewis Assured 5th, Incumbent Johnson Vying for 7th (Term) in 4th

By Logan C. Ritchie

Georgia’s 4th and 5th Congressional Districts are reliably Democratic.

President Donald Trump received 22 percent of the 4th District vote in 2016 and just 12 percent in the 5th District.

The absence of a Republican opponent assures 78-year-old Democrat and civil rights icon John Lewis a 17th term representing the 5th, which covers central Fulton County – including most of the city of Atlanta – and portions of DeKalb and Clayton counties. An estimated 21,000 Jews make up about 3 percent of the district’s population.

In his quest for a seventh term representing the 4th District, incumbent Democrat Hank Johnson faces Republican challenger Joe Profit, a former Atlanta Falcons football player. The 4th covers Rockdale County and sections of DeKalb,

Gwinnett and Newton counties. An estimated 6,000 Jews make up less than 1 percent of its population.

Johnson, 64, holds seats on the House Judiciary Committee and the Transportation & Infrastructure Committee. He previously was a criminal defense attorney, an associate magistrate judge, and served on the DeKalb County Commission.

A 69-year-old Louisiana native, Profit cites business experience as the first African-American to purchase an International House of Pancakes in Georgia and as an owner of Burger King franchises. He’s also a founder and CEO of Communications International Inc., a telecommunications company, and CEO of Multimedia Digital Broadcast Corp.

Presidents Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush appointed him to various government advisory boards.

“It was time for me to get off the

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REPUBLICAN

DEMOCRAT

U.S. House 4th District

U.S. House 4th District

JOE PROFIT, 69

Alcorn State University, University of Louisiana Monroe Former professional football player, entrepreneur

sidelines and get in the game to make a difference in the 4th district. I got tired of seeing my district suffer from lack of jobs, education . . . you name it,” he told the AJT. “These people have accepted the fact their opportunities are limited.

I hope to bring business experience on both side of the political aisle. I will encourage businesses to come back. My job is to make sure there is plenty of work to do. I hear people talk about bad schools.

Schools are a reflection of the community.”

Johnson told the AJT that if Democrats are in control of the House, he stands to become chairman of the Judiciary subcommittee on Courts, Intellectual Property and the Internet. “I would use that platform to fight for net neutrality, resources to expand broadband, and for policies that will help to bridge the digital divide in our communities,” he said. “As a member of the Transportation & Infrastructure Committee, I will fight for more investments in transit and other infrastructure projects for Georgia.”

Johnson ran afoul of some in the Jewish community in 2016 when talking about the Israeli development in the West Bank. “There has been a steady [stream] … almost like termites can get into a residence and eat before you know that you’ve been eaten up and you fall in on yourself – there has been settlement activity that has marched forward with impunity and at an ever-increasing rate to the point where it has become alarming,” he said.

Sharply criticized by the Anti-Defamation League, Johnson apologized, saying on Twitter, “@ADL_National Poor choice of words – apologies for offense.

Point is settlement activity continues

HANK JOHNSON, 64

Clark Atlanta University, Texas Southern University Seeking a seventh term in Congress

slowly undermine 2-state solution.”

Johnson remains opposed to policies of both Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. “Continued settlement construction inside the Green Line, Trump’s move of the U.S. Embassy to Jerusalem and the undercutting of the Palestinian Authority as the representative of the Palestinians, have severely imperiled the prospects for peace. President Trump has no rational plan to achieve peace, and Netanyahu promised Israeli voters that there would be no Palestinian State under his watch. Nonetheless, I support a two-state solution,” he said.

For his part, Profit said, “I support Israel’s and the United States’ commitment to a two-state solution. I believe this is best achieved through direct talks between the two parties. Unfortunately, the Palestinian Authority pulled out of talks in the spring of 2014. Lasting peace comes from two parties agreeing.”

As of June 30, Johnson reported having raised more than $367,000 in the 2018 election cycle, while Profit reported raising $9,200. Lewis reported raising more than $2.5 million. ■

GEORGIA CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICTS

Getting Results.

Fully funded the U.S.-Israel defense partnership and opposed dangerous Iran deal Led bipartisan initiative condeming Palestinian incitement of violence against Israel Supported establishing U.S. embassy in Jerusalem once and for all Helped enact the Taylor Force Act to halt Palestinian payments to terrorists

I’m asking for your vote on November 6 so we can continue moving America in the right direction!

EARLY VOTING ENDS 11/2

ELECTION DAY IS 11/6 U.S. Rep. Rob Woodall Receiving the 2018 “Friend of Israel” Award at Congregation Beth Israel in Cumming recently.

POLITICS

Plant Vogtle, Female Candidates – One Jewish – Dominate PSC Race

By Jan Jaben-Eilon

There is an inverse relationship between the impact that the Public Service Commission has on the lives of Georgians and the amount of attention Georgians give election contests for seats on the PSC. Which is unfortunate, considering that the PSC determines what Georgians pay for electricity, natural gas and telecommunications.

Two of the five seats on the PSC are on the ballot this year.

Commissioners, who serve six-year

REPUBLICAN

terms, are elected statewide, but represent specific districts. The job pays an annual salary of $116,452.

Its website states that the PSC “must balance Georgia citizens’ need for reliable services and reasonable rates with the need for utilities to earn a reasonable return on investment.”

That sentence can be applied directly to the debate over the Plant Vogtle nuclear power plant. The two-reactor unit under construction in Waynesboro, in east Georgia near Augusta, is billions of dollars over budget and years behind schedule.

Georgia Public Service Commission:

GA Public Service Commission

Chuck Eaton-R

CHUCK EATON, 49

Chuck Eaton has served two, six-year terms on the Public Service Commission, a government agency that receives far less attention than it deserves, considering that it regulates what Georgians pay for electricity, natural gas and telecommunications.

Eaton, a Republican, is the incumbent representative from District 3, which includes Fulton, DeKalb, Clayton and Rockdale counties. He is being challenged by Democrat Lindy Miller

University of Alabama, Georgia State University Incumbent seeking third sixyear term on PSC

and Libertarian Ryan Graham.

PSC members are elected statewide but represent specific districts. Miller is attempting to become the first Jewish woman to win a statewide vote.

The top issue in the PSC race remains the ongoing saga of the billions-overbudget, years-behind-schedule construction of two new reactors at Plant Vogtle, a nuclear power plant in Waynesboro, Ga. Miller faults Eaton for failing “to put in place any budget controls” at Plant Vogtle, causing Georgia families to pay an extra $100 a year on average over the last six years, in addition to what Miller calls the third-highest energy bills in the country.

In a debate sponsored by the Atlanta Press Club, Eaton said, “Our bills haven’t gone up over the last seven years,” while also blaming the weather. “Georgia is in a hot, humid area. I can’t control the weather.”

Eaton agreed with Miller that Georgia should embrace “all forms of energy, including nuclear and solar. Diversity is key.” He notes that Georgia ranks 10th in the country in solar capacity, up from 34th in 2010.

Business has benefited from his position on the PSC, Eaton said, noting that he has received campaign contributions from both labor unions and manufacturers, as well as endorsements from the state AFL-CIO and the Georgia Chamber of Commerce.

Eaton points out that Georgia Power customers have received refunds based on agreements between the utility and the PSC stemming from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017.

32 | NOVEMBER 2, 2018 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

Georgia Power owns 45.7 percent of the project, Oglethorpe Power Corp., 30 percent, the Municipal Electric Authority of Georgia, 22.7 percent, and Dalton Utilities, 1.6 percent.

The past, present and future of Plant Vogtle has become the overriding issue in the elections for PSC seats.

District 3 is comprised of Fulton, DeKalb, Rockdale and Clayton counties.

In that race, Democrat Lindy Miller and Libertarian Ryan Graham are challenging incumbent Republican Chuck Eaton, who was elected in 2006 and re-elected in 2012.

DEMOCRAT GA Public Service Commission

Miller, if elected, would potentially be the first Jewish woman to win a statewide vote. (Former Attorney General Sam Olens was the first Jewish man elected statewide.)

District 5 covers a larger piece of geography and includes Cobb, Douglas, Fayette and Henry counties. In that race, Republican Tricia Pridemore is only the third woman to serve on the PSC, appointed in 2018 by Gov. Nathan Deal to fill a vacancy. She faces Democrat Dawn Randolph.

Georgia Public Service Commission:

Lindy Miller-D

Lindy Miller contends that the seats on the Georgia Public Service Commission have “flown under the radar for too long.”

Since quitting her job at the global business consulting firm Deloitte a LINDY MILLER, 39 year ago to run for the District 3 seat University of Pennsylvania, on the PSC, Miller has worked to raise Harvard Kennedy School • Seeking to become first Jewish the profile of the commission even as woman to win statewide vote she introduces herself as a first-time • Board member, Congregation political candidate.

Shearith Israel “This is the most important seat that most people have never heard of,” she told the AJT. PSC commissioners are elected statewide, but represent specific districts. District 3 is made up of Fulton, DeKalb, Clayton, and Rockdale counties. Commissioners are paid an annual salary of $116,452.

If she prevails, Miller (An AJT “40 Under 40” last year) is believed to be the first Jewish woman to win a statewide race.

As of the Sept. 30 deadline for filing campaign finance reports, Miller had raised more than $1.03 million, more than any other down-ballot candidate. “I’d always said that my goal is between $1 and $2 million,” she said.

By early October, Miller had spent about $600,000, with $500,000 expended on winning the May 22 Democratic primary, in which she captured 157 of 159 counties. She had cash on hand of about $400,000 to carry her the last five weeks of the campaign.

During her fundraising forays, which included about 200 house parties, Miller discovered that “People are thirsty to know what their vote means. It’s personal.

When I decided to run, I was told that if people trust you and know that you will fight for them, they will vote for you. It’s been an incredible experience to meet people and hear their stories. I feel called to serve. It’s amazing to create something out of nothing when people want to come together. It leverages all the things I love.”

A graduate of Woodward Academy, the University of Pennsylvania and the Harvard Kennedy School, Miller co-founded a solar energy company, Cherry Street Energy, about two years ago. She’s a proponent of alternative energy, arguing at an Atlanta Press Club debate that over the past 12 years – Republican incumbent

POLITICS Miller charged that Eaton had received contributions from the public utilities that he’s responsible for regulating and, according to his September campaign finance report, he has received thousands of dollars from executives at the Southern Co. (which owns 45.7 percent of Plant Vogtle), Southern Natural Gas, Gas South, and Ringgold Telephone Co. According to his campaign finance report, Eaton raised $273,921, spent $36,359, and had cash on hand of $237,561.

At a Cobb County Republican event in July, Eaton said, “The Democrats that we’re running against from the top of the ballot to the bottom of the ballot now are the most liberal, radical kind. It’s not traditional Democrats that we’ve had in Georgia. They now wear the socialist banner proudly. You see what’s going on in California and New York. They’re not running from the far-left extreme positions that they have now. They always used to run to the middle. It’s just as far left as it’s ever been. It’s radical ideas. On the energy front, they’re trying to emulate states like California who pay 70 percent more for their electric bills than we do here in Georgia. We don’t want that in Georgia.”

Eaton, 49, supplemented his accounting degree from the University of Alabama with a law degree from Georgia State. He is also an experienced manager of Republican political campaigns. Away from work, Eaton and his wife are proponents of foster parenting and are raising their third foster child. Eaton and his family live in Atlanta and are members of the Northside United Methodist Church.

Chuck Eaton’s two terms – the PSC has missed opportunities to invest in new technologies.

In the debate, Eaton questioned Miller’s ownership of an energy company while running for the PSC. Miller replied that, if elected, she will sell her stake in Cherry Street Energy and “in anything related to the PSC.” Miller charged that during his tenure, Eaton has received more than $300,000 from energy and communications companies. Eaton’s campaign contribution report includes donations from executives from Southern Co., SCANA Energy, Cobb EMC, Southern Natural Gas and AT&T, among others.

Miller complains that Georgia has the third highest energy bills in the country.

Families and small business owners are struggling. Referring to the expensive, incomplete Plant Vogtle nuclear plant, she charged that Eaton “failed to put in place any budget controls. Over the last six years, we have all paid a fee on our bills of an average of $100 per family. He was chairman of the committee when the project began. This is one of the most expensive infrastructure projects in the history of the United States. We need greater accountability.”

Unlike many other states, Georgia doesn’t have a statewide energy plan, Miller said. “We’re behind. The status quo is too expensive.”

Miller, an Atlanta native who lives in Decatur with her husband and three young sons, has been especially gratified by the support received in the Atlanta area.

“It’s rewarding to run for office in your hometown. There’s a strong community of people and I’m a product of this community,” she said. ■

ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES NOVEMBER 2, 2018 | 33

POLITICS

Jews on the Ballot

By Rachel Fayne

45th Senate District:

56th Senate District:

Incumbent State Sen. Renee Unterman appreciates the support she has received from the Jewish community on her priority issues, including child sex trafficking and hunger.

“The Jewish community has helped quite a bit,” the Republican from Loganville told the AJT. “Rabbi [Peter] Berg at The Temple has been great. We’ve done seminars together on social issues, and I’ve been to The Temple for talks several times over the last 10 years.”

Unterman has represented the 45th District in northern Gwinnett County since 2003 after serving in the state House in 1998. She is being challenged for re-election by Democrat Jana Rodgers.

With degrees in nursing from Georgia State University and social work from the University of Georgia, Unterman chairs the Senate Health and Human Services Committee.

Unterman named health care and transportation as key issues for her constituents. She supports the expansion of MARTA into Gwinnett County as well as increasing the capacity of the existing road system, two items in a transportation bill she backed.

In 2016, Unterman described herself as a Jew by choice, telling the AJT that she was raised Catholic, but converted to Judaism according to Orthodox tradition and law, including a year of study, testing by a panel of rabbis and visits to a mikvah.

As she campaigns for re-election this year, Unterman said, “I feel like it’s unusual to be a Republican and Jewish. But because of my background, I can connect with certain social issues I may not have if I wasn’t Jewish.”

Serving in the Georgia House or Senate is a parttime job that pays $17,342 per year, and $173 per diem when the legislature is in session.

Ellyn Jaeger draws a parallel between the historic condition of Jews as outsiders and the stigma that afflicts people needing mental health treatment.

Jaeger wants to bring her professional passion as an advocate for mental health care into the political realm, as a member of the state Senate.

A New York native who has lived in Georgia for 42 years, Jaeger is the Democratic candidate from the 56th District, running against Republican incumbent John Albers, who is seeking a fifth term.

The 56th District includes portions of northern Fulton County and southeastern Cherokee County, taking in the city of Roswell and parts of Sandy Springs, Johns Creek, Alpharetta, Milton and Woodstock.

“We forget what it means to not be a part of the larger group. I don’t understand why Jews forget.

That’s at the center of my campaign and my thoughts,” said Jaeger, a member of Congregation Or Hadash.

Her resume includes serving as director of public policy and advocacy and Southeast regional director of public policy for Mental Health America of Georgia. She also is a past board chair for the Georgia Council on Aging.

“Mental health is important, no matter where you live. If you want a healthy society, people must have access to healthcare. Some counties in Georgia don’t even have a pediatrician or any physician at all.

Our dollars can go a long way in rural areas to help these people,” Jaeger said, explaining her support for expanding Medicaid access in the state.

Renee Unterman-R

34 | NOVEMBER 2, 2018 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

Ellyn Jaeger-D

36th House District:

Jen Slipakoff-D

To replace the longestserving member of the Georgia House of Representatives, Jen Slipakoff must defeat his wife.

Slipakoff is the Democratic candidate in the 36th District, located in Cobb County.

Her Republican opponent, Ginny Ehrhart, is running to succeed her husband, Earl Ehrhart, who represented the

district for 30 years.

“I’m up against Republicans who are running on a platform of preserving Georgia’s conservative values,” Slipakoff told the AJT. “They’ve deemed those values to be family, and faith, and freedom. Those sound an awful lot like my values. Those aren’t conservative values. They’re American values.”

The mother of two children, one a transgender daughter, Slipakoff is a member of the Human Rights Campaign Atlanta and has served as co-president of PFLAG (Parents, Families and Friends of Lesbians and Gays) Atlanta.

“Advocating for the LGBTQ community and working across the aisles with legislators who don’t necessarily share our ideology is so important,” said Slipakoff, whose views on the subject differ markedly from Earl Ehrhart’s.

She also has served on the board of Congregation Shearith Israel.

Other priorities for Slipakoff are transportation, pay equity, access to quality education, and expanding Medicaid in the state.

“There are so many issues to fight for. Things like making sure we can afford health care, if not necessarily for us, our spouses, or our children, then certainly for our aging parents,” she said. “We need to find solutions to transportation because I know we’re all tired of sitting on gridlocked roads. We also need to talk about education and the disparity of the quality of the education that exits in Cobb County,” Slipakoff said.

“We need to figure out how single moms trying to raise their kids can make the same amount of money as a man doing the same job.”

Serving in the Georgia House or Senate is a parttime job that pays $17,342 per year and $173 per diem when the legislature is in session.

POLITICS

51st House District:

79th House District:

86th House District:

Alex Kaufman grew up at Temple Emanuel in Sandy Springs.

He played little league baseball at the Atlanta Jewish Community Center, attended camps at Zaban Park and Camp Isadore Alterman, where he also worked later as a counselor. He still keeps in touch with some of his fellow counselors and campers.

Kaufman and his wife, Kasia, went on the Honeymoon Israel program.

Now 35-years-old, he’s making his first run for public office, as the Republican candidate for the 51st District of the Georgia House of Representatives.

Kaufman and Democrat Josh McLaurin are vying to succeed long-time Republican Rep. Wendell Willard.

The 51st District takes in sections of Sandy Springs, Roswell and Johns Creek.

“I know that District 51 cares about many issues,” Kaufman told the AJT. “That includes growing our economy, providing quality education opportunities, providing health care options, lowering Fulton County property taxes, revitalizing those big-box stores as well as struggling shopping centers, and seeking to alleviate traffic congestion.”

Kaufman, a graduate of the Emory University School of Law, works for the business law firm of Kaufman & Forman, P.C. His resume lists work and volunteer efforts with several federal and local government agencies.

He’s pledged to continue working with community leaders on the opioid crisis and favors tougher sentences for those convicted of distributing drugs to minors.

His interests range from environmental preservation to combatting human trafficking. “In short, we are collectively invested in this community,” Kaufman said. “I was raised that I have a responsibility as a member of the community to make the world a better place, and I want to improve opportunities for all people … through responsible and limited government intervention and policies.”

Serving in the Georgia House or Senate is a parttime job that pays $17,342 a year, and $173 per diem when the legislature is in session.

Mike Wilensky, the Democratic candidate for Georgia House District 79, credits his Jewish upbringing with his belief in equality under the law and equality in society.

“It gives you a different view on the balance of power that exists,” he told the AJT. “There’s that balance between liberty and equality, and it’s important to remember how important it is that we’re all equal to each other.”

Wilensky, an attorney specializing in wrongful death and serious injury cases, is contesting with Republican candidate Ken Wright, Dunwoody’s first mayor, to succeed four-term Republican Rep. Tom Taylor, who is not seeking re-election.

The 79th District is comprised of Dunwoody and a sliver of Doraville.

An active member of Congregation B’nai Torah, Wilensky also lends his legal expertise as a board member of the Anti-Defamation League’s Southeast region, for whom he has lobbied in support of hate crimes legislation.

The Sandy Springs native is a graduate of the University of Georgia and the University of Maryland School of Law. He has been active in various Dunwoody civic associations.

Other priorities in his campaign include what he terms “common sense” gun control and preventing legislation that might hurt the state’s economy by discriminating against any group of Georgians.

“We need leaders who focus on bringing good jobs and don’t create legislation that discriminates,” he told the AJT. “Religious freedom bills, for example, are important. Some churches might want to discriminate against the LGBTQ communities, which hurts us and sends business away. We have a thriving movie industry that brings a very large part of our current economic revenue. We need to make sure they stay in Georgia.”

Michele Henson has no Republican opponent as she runs for a 16th term representing the 86th District in the Georgia House of Representatives.

Henson, a Democrat from Stone Mountain, is the only Jewish lawmaker in the House and also its longestserving female member.

She credits being Jewish as one of the elements that fuels her activism in support of the Anti-Defamation League, the Georgia Commission on the Holocaust and other organizations.

Two years ago, Henson told the AJT, “I think I want to be more inclusive at times. I look at the inclusiveness of all religions. We were all immigrants. I have a more liberal view regarding that, a more liberal view toward people practicing religion and practicing their different religions. I feel that we should accept people, not discriminate against people, but that also extends beyond religion.”

Among the issues most important for Henson are access to affordable healthcare, providing quality education, making sure Georgians have substantive employment, and strengthening DeKalb County as a whole.

In the legislature, she has supported legislation that mandated insurance companies cover mammograms and has continued to advocate medical coverage for women, children and working families. Instituting all the provisions of the Affordable Care Act has also been key to her platform.

Henson voted for the creation of the state-funded pre-kindergarten program and has campaigned to continue its funding. She worked to get dental insurance for children included in the PeachCare for Kids program.

Serving in the Georgia House or Senate is a parttime job that pays $17,342 per year and $173 per diem when the legislature is in session. ■

Alex Kaufman-R

Mike Wilensky-D

Michele Henson-D

ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES NOVEMBER 2, 2018 | 35

POLITICS

Incumbent for Top Education Post Faces Former National PTA Prez

By Leah R. Harrison

Incumbent Republican Richard Woods is seeking a second term as state school superintendent. Otha E. Thornton, Jr., the Democrat challenging Woods for the job, transitioned from a highranking, decorated career in the military and government to education advocacy with the Parent Teacher Association.

Whoever is elected will oversee Georgia’s Department of Education, which monitors school performance and testing, assists schools lagging in meeting performance goals, and in the coming year, will put $9.9 billion in K-12 public education statewide.

The state school superintendent enforces the department’s regulations and laws governing schools that receive state aid and can make recommendations regarding public schools’ “welfare and efficiency,” as outlined in the Georgia Code.

Woods’ career in education began 30 years ago. He worked for two decades in various capacities within the Irwin County School System until his first run for the post in 2010.

He was voted the Irwin County high school teacher of the year by his peers in 1992. After 14 years as an elementary and high school teacher, Woods became an administrator, working in the Irwin County system for the next seven years as a principal, assistant principal, and K-5 curriculum director.

Thornton graduated from Morehouse College and achieved a master’s and honorary doctorate from Michigan Technological University before enlisting in the U.S. Army. During a 20-year

REPUBLICAN

DEMOCRAT

Supt. of Public Instruction

Supt. of Public Instruction

RICHARD WOODS

Kennesaw State University, Valdosta State University Incumbent seeking second term as state Supt. of Public Instruction

military career, Thornton served as a presidential communications officer and with the White House Communications Agency under both Republican and Democratic administrations. He received a Bronze Star for his logistics and communication work in combat operations during Operation Iraqi Freedom from 2009 to 2010.

After retiring as a lieutenant colonel, Thornton served on the Georgia Parent Teacher Association board from 2010 to 2015, and became the first male AfricanAmerican president of the National Parent Teacher Association from 2013 to 2015. From the state level to the U.S. Department of Education, Thornton has shaped education policy, including passage of Every Student Succeeds Act. Woods and Thornton appeared at a recent debate sponsored by the Atlanta Press Club. While they differed on sources for funding public education, they generally agreed on increasing pay for

OTHA THORNTON

Morehouse College First African American male President of the National Parent Teacher Association; Lt. Col., U.S. Army (ret.)

teachers, reducing the emphasis on standardized testing, and providing additional social and emotional support – known as “wrap-around services” – particularly for low-income students.

Woods and Thornton diverged on a couple of notable issues.

On the subject of school safety, Woods said that the decision whether to arm teachers should be made at the local level. Thornton considers arming teachers to be a bad idea.

They disagreed on the effect of the Student Scholarship Organization, which accepts and manages tax-credit donations funding scholarships for students to attend private school. The state legislature recently increased the cap on the tax breaks to $100 million from the previous $58 million.

At a Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education forum in August, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported that Woods voiced no opinion on the

increased cap for SSOs, while Thornton said that the program takes money out of the public schools and he would work to reverse the decision.

The AJC also reported that Thornton opposed the Republican-backed Opportunity Schools District amendment that was defeated by voters in the 2016 election. The program would have transferred oversight of “largely failing schools” to a new state agency, whose head would be appointed by, and answerable to the governor.

According to his Sept. 30 campaign finance report, Woods had raised about $24,000 in his re-election campaign, spent $17,700, and had about $6,300 available.

In his Sept. 30 report, Thornton reported raising more than $129,600 and spending more than $118,400, leaving about $11,470 on hand. ■

Got a Problem at the Polls?

If you experience a problem at the polls, here are a variety of contacts:

■ U.S. Justice Department voting rights hotline: 800-253-3931; TTY line, 877-

267-8971)

■ Georgia Secretary of State office: local, 404-656-2871; toll free, 844-753-7825 ■ Georgia Secretary of State voter fraud hotline: 877-725-9797 ■ Georgia Democrats voter protection hotline: 888-730-5816

■ Lawyers’ Committee for Civil Rights Under Law: 866-OUR-VOTE 36 | NOVEMBER 2, 2018 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution is partnering with Electionland, which describes itself as “a coalition of newsrooms around the country that are covering problems that prevent eligible voters from casting their ballots during the 2018 elections.”

Contact information for Electionland:

■ SMS: Send the word VOTE, VOTA (for Spanish) to 81380 (standard text

message rates apply).

■ WhatsApp: Send the word VOTE, VOTA (for Spanish) to 1-850-909-8683.

■ Facebook Messenger: Go to m.me/electionland.

I have been proud to serve as your State Senator for District 6 for the past year.

This month, I was honored to march alongside The Temple and the greater Jewish community in the Atlanta Pride Parade.

As a person of faith, I am committed to protecting the rights of all Georgians no matter their religion, sexuality, or race.

Proud to stand with you, and honored to serve you.

- Jen

Paid for by Friends of Jen, Inc.

OCTOBER 26, 2018 ATLANTA JEWISH TIMES