Oftentimes, those who live outside the Atlanta Metro area feel less than appreciated by statewide candidates. That's why I found it refreshing to find gubernatorial candidate Cathy Cox walking the streets of Macon last Friday shaking hands and doing some old-fashioned campaigning. Apparently, I wasn't the only one that was impressed. Over and over, I saw people of all ages, races, and genders responding positively to a candidate who seemed genuinely concerned about the needs of all Georgians, not just those in Atlanta. One thing was also very clear to me, voters are truly concerned that our current Governor and legislature have abdicated their responsibility to take actions that truly benefit Georgians and address the real problems and needs of this State. If last Friday was any indication, Cathy Cox appears to me to be the only candidate for Governor who can really connect with a broad cross-section of voters. Based on what I saw, Mark and Sonny should be worried.
Sphere: Related ContentSunday, June 04, 2006
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2 comments:
And sometimes, it's the people *inside* the metro area who get to feel unappreciated...
Wow, Benson's post kind of illustrates the fact that a lot of people in metro Atlanta truly aren't aware of the gap in prosperity with the rest of Georgia. As a gay man, I'm with you on the gay marriage amendment Benson. You've done a great job of expressing yourself very well on that subject and others. But if we turn this into a single issue election, we're going to pay a price for that.
I'm a Gwinnettian now and I love it. But the fact is, I'd love to be home in southwest GA too. But I can't. There's just not enough opportunities. We don't have the education levels that metro Atlantans have, we don't have the access to higher education that metro Atlantans have, and we don't have the infrastructure in place to attract tourists and industries to help our economy and bring us just a little piece of the pie.
Central, north, and south Georgia matter too. And we need help - a lot of it. Look at the 2000 census figrues for small, south Georgia towns as compared to the 1990 census. There are towns that are literally dying.
I have spent so much time complaining about how the average Georgian isn't where he/she needs to be on issues important to me like gay rights and equal protection for gay people. But the way that we change that is by education and opportunity. The sooner we bring the rest of Georgia forward in jobs and education, the sooner we're going to change people's attitudes and become a more progressive state.
Cathy and Mark are both south Georgians. They grew up around the atmosphere and culture. I'm hoping that one of them will remember their roots and help the rest of Georgia as it continues to help metro Atlanta.
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