She has to win!
I went out of town recently for a debate camp in the rural mountain areas of central southern Georgia, Woodbury and Manchester to be more precise. I'm volunteering on the Communications committee for State Senator Mary Squires' (D-Norcross) bid for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by Democrat Sen. Zell Miller. Granted this is her first bid for a state-wide seat, but sometimes you get that feeling of being in something greater that it just has to work. I'm an avid West Wing fan and working on this campaign is nothing like it, but you know what, it's ten times better. The long hours, little resources, doing the impossible and misconceptions of your candidate are all true, but I've formed friendships with great people and I'm supporting a changemaker, who can effectively bring a voice to the smallest of Georgians and do what's right for the state (not party line, this is me).Back to the subject though, the beauty of the mountains and the area we stayed in was contrasted by the dire straights of the surrounding community. I've seen my share of disparate neiborhoods from the slums of Trenchtown in Jamaica to the tent cities of New York, but maybe I've spent way too much time in my comfy condo located so close to the major metropolis of Atlanta, that I've lost touch with how others live. It's a simple, but hard life down there. When I approached a few guys hanging out in front of the community center/liquor store/convenience store (nice contradictions huh?) and asked them if they could vote or were going to, they answered that they were all convicted felons and had lost their right to vote. This was rather new to me and I took it rather hard. Someone commits a crime, pays their debt to society through jail and they still are denied the basic American right to vote and for Blacks it's even worse, because our ancestors DIED for that right. It's almost sickening! When I run for an office (and I will) I'm going to work to getting that changed. How can we expect reformed individuals to get back into society if they don't have the rights?
Aside from that, I had the pleasure of viewing my candidate in action with voters. Okay, let me set something straight, she's not a millionaire candidate with 50 levels of people around her, she's real and I've had the opportunity to be one on one with her many times and she's become not just my candidate, but a mentor. Mary Squires handles everyone as if she wants to help them make their lives better. Someone else might say she's just trying to get votes, but if you were there, seeing her go into peoples' homes after they said to myself and other staffers that they want to see someone about their problems, it would've bought you to tears.
"She has heart," said the owner of the Super Sheik convenience center in Woodbury. "Candidates and even our own officials don't come out to see us and to have Mary show up when she didn't even have to, shows that she truly cares about the common people and getting their needs met. She definately has my vote!"
I heard that statement echoed by a number of people I ran into over this weekend on both Woodbury and Manchester. Eversince I was a kid and heard my parents' enthusiasm over President Bill Clinton and other politicians who changed their communities, I wanted to become a politician, but one with integrity and heart. It's not the most fundraiser-friendly way to do an election, but damn it, it's the best way to get people to think about how their vote effects their community and empowers them to grasp a better future.
I wish Sen. Mary Squires luck in her race, not just because I'm on her campaign, but I know she can and will changes things for the better for all Georgians and bring politics back to the people who need it most. Get and vote this year!
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