More Politician Tricks than Treats This Halloween

Election Day is almost upon us for the Senate and Governor races and as usual, I’ve approached them with a heavy dose of cynicism. Do any of these jokers actually care about our well being or are they only in it for a buck? Do any of them have new ideas for improving our daily lives or will it just be more of the same slow swirl down the drain of graft, higher costs, lower incomes, and fewer freedoms?

Since virtually all politicians spew the same negative junk in their campaign ads, using millions of dollars in donations just to create spots that look and sound more like Bravo TV reality show commercials than messages that share their actual platforms, I decided to do something different this year. I mailed 10 Yes/No questions to 11 different local Georgia politicians. There was one set for the federal office seekers and another set for the state office seekers. I knew going in that most wouldn’t bother answering me. After all, politicians want your blind allegiance based on party affiliation and generic platitudes they can later redefine to suit any given crisis. They don’t want to earn your vote through availability, transparency, honesty, and hard work. Nevertheless, I thought it would be an interesting exercise and it was.

Here are the 10 questions I sent the Federal office seekers:

1.       Would you vote in support of the Keystone Pipeline?

2.       Would you vote to send ground troops to battle ISIS?

3.       Would you vote to continue sending financial support to Middle East allies such as Israel, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Iraq?

4.       Would you vote in support of lowering corporate tax rates based on the percentage of American workers on the company payroll?

5.       Would you vote in support of legalizing the sale and possession of marijuana?

6.       Would you vote to eliminate imprisonment sentencing for drug possession (not including the intent to sell)?

7.       Would you vote in support of the funding and construction of a Border Wall with Mexico?

8.       Would you vote in support of Congressional term limits?

9.       Would you vote in support of a Balanced Budget Amendment?

10.   Would you vote in support of a substantial reduction and/or elimination in federal farm subsidies

I sent this first list to David Purdue, Amanda Swafford, Michelle Nunn, and Bob Montigel. Purdue, Nunn, and Swafford are running for the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by the retiring Saxby Chambliss. Montigel is running for Georgia’s 6^th district spot in the House of Representatives against incumbent Tom Price.

I sent the state list to Andrew Hunt, Jason Carter, Connie Stokes, Fran Millar, Tamara Johnson, Elena Parent, Scott Holcomb, Brady Young, and Karen Bennett. Hunt and Carter are running against incumbent Republican Governor, Nathan Deal. Stokes, Millar, Johnson, Parent, Holcomb, Young, and Bennett are running for State Senate seats.

You’ll notice I didn’t mail many incumbents. The reason for that is two-fold. First, like just about every other person in this country if you believe the polls, I’m dissatisfied with our current leadership. I’m a firm believer that if you want change, you need to create change. Second, most politicians seem to dissuade communication once they are elected. Their websites don’t offer email addresses. Their online forms demand addresses and phone numbers. Funny how that works, isn’t it? They only want to hear from you when they need your vote. Once they’re in office, bureaucracy and general voter apathy tends to keep them in power as long as they like.

Just one of the 11 politicians bothered to answer my questions. Montigel replied but didn’t provide any answers. Parent asked me where I lived in her district and when I explained that I lived in a neighboring district, she promptly went silent. Nunn had the gall to add me to a mailing list, spamming me with eight campaign messages already. Only Andrew Hunt was willing to give me the answers that will allow me to intelligently decide whether I want to vote for him or not. Those answers were:

1.       Would you vote in support of toll lanes on Georgia highways? Only if reduction in gas tax along with this.

2.       Would you vote in support of raising gas taxes in Georgia? Only if other taxes are reduced more than this would increase taxes.

3.       Would you vote in support of blocking direct Tesla sales in Georgia? No and I would allow other cars also direct sales.

4.       Would you vote in support of solar panel leasing in Georgia? Yes

5.       Would you vote in support of an amendment allowing newly formed cities to create their own school systems? Yes, and all cities.

6.       Would you vote in support of legalizing the sale and possession of marijuana in Georgia? No. but I am for decriminalization and medical.

7.       Would you vote for stricter gun laws in Georgia and if so, what restrictions would you add? No

8.       Would you vote for stricter abortion laws in Georgia and if so, what restrictions would you add? No, but I will inspire more private groups to offer women good path to life options.

9.       Would you vote in favor of restrictions on PAC contributions to candidates for Georgia elections? Yes if they can be enforced.

10.   Would you vote in favor of raising the state minimum wage? If so, to what? Yes. By inflation. I have Job Powerhouse program that will incentivize full time jobs paying $11/hr or more.

If you’ve read many of my past blog posts, you’ll know that most of his answers match what I’m looking for in a political leader. Even though a few don’t, the fact is, he showed an interest in me as a constituent and a willingness to provide real answers. That’s more than any of the other ten candidates or un-mailed incumbents were willing to do. Andrew Hunt just earned my vote on Tuesday. I hope you’ll consider giving him yours too.