Columbus Democratic leaders start ‘Out for Themselves Tour.’ Who they’re talking about
Muscgoee County Democratic leaders spoke in Columbus against Gov. Brian Kemp’s call for a special legislative session for redistricting and blasted Republican gubernatorial candidates during Monday’s launch of the political party’s “Out For Themselves Tour” across Georgia.
State Rep. Carolyn Hugley (D-Columbus), who is the Georgia House of Representatives minority leader, state Rep. Teddy Reese (D-Columbus) and Georgia House District 140 candidate Marquese Averett particiapted in the news conference. They were joined by Columbus Councilor Simi Barnes of District 1 and community activist Gloria Tyson.
Lt. Gov. Burt Jones and healthcare executive Rick Jackson, who are the Republican gubernatorial runoff election candidates, are fighting for themselves, not Georgia, Hugley said during the news conference.
“They spent the last few months attacking one another,” she said. “And, while we may be tired of the constant ads, they’ve made one thing clear: Both of them are out of touch with Georgia voters and have a record of self-enrichment, and that’s disqualifying for Georgia.”
Jones campaign spokesperson Kayla Lott said the issue was a “simple rezoning application by a private company,” according to reporting by the Georgia Recorder.
Hugley also accused Jackson’s healthcare company of raising costs for Georgians.
“To quote Burt, Jackson Healthcare is the culprit of our healthcare costs in this state, more than tripling, because of his monopolizing of the healthcare industry in Georgia,” Hugley said.
Barnes also criticized Jackson for paying $700,000 in 2024 to resolve allegations that his company, Jackson & Coker, participated in a kick-back scheme to bill Medicare for medically unnecessary durable medical equipment.
“What’s really concerning to me is that, while they get rich off our healthcare system, they’re running on the very same policies that make it difficult, near impossible, for Georgia families to get the help that they need, like expanding Medicaid,” Barnes said.
Jackson’s company didn’t bill Medicare, a Jackson campaign spokesperson, Mike Schrimpf, told the Ledger-Enquirer on Friday.
“The Democrats are making up attacks because they know Keisha Lance Bottoms (the Democratic nominee for governor) was a disastrous mayor of Atlanta whose record will be exposed in the general election,” Schrimpf said.
In middle Georgia, rural hospitals are closing, Barnes said, while Jones and Jackson “are getting richer.”
“That’s just plain wrong,” she said. “And they have no business trying to lead this great state.”
Voting rights and redistricting
Hugley and Reese also spoke about the importance of getting out the vote during the midterm election.
“Do you like where you are right now?” Reese said. “Do you like the price of gas? Do you like the cost of your milk? Do you like the fact that our young folks are losing their lives in the Middle East? Do you like what’s happening right now across our country?”
Reese also spoke against this year’s U.S. Supreme Court decision that gutted parts of the Voting Rights Act.
“Do you like the fact that things that our grandparents and great-grandparents fought for, simple rights, humanity, is being drawn out because six judges appointed by the same clown in the White House said Black people don’t deserve representation,” Reese said.
America is in a place where the “current leaders” have brought it, he said, and November will be an opportunity to change the leadership.
Hugley said redistricting “in the middle of the game is cheating.” This is in response to Kemp’s call for a special legislative session to redistrict the maps for 2028.
“Georgia is different in that we’re going to redraw not only the congressional lines but the (state) House and the (state) Senate district lines as well because, not only are they afraid in Washington, they are afraid of this (state) House Democratic caucus,” Hugley said. “We are coming for the majority, and they know that.”
The best “weapon” Democrats have is to get people to go out and vote in the runoff and in November, she said.
This redistricting will be very important to Columbus, Hugley said, because the 2nd Congressional District is “on the chopping block.”
Columbus has benefited from having two representatives in Congress, she said, with one Republican and one Democrat.
“It helps our community to thrive based on that arrangement,” Hugley said.
If the congressional district is changed, there is no way to know where the person who represents the district will come from, she said, or if they have a connection to Columbus.
“We need a Democratic governor to help us push back against this,” Hugley said. “We need a Democratic majority in the Georgia House of Representatives to break the Republican trifecta, push back and bring back into this democracy the voices of the people.”
