Hinesville, Georgia is my home.

I have been a resident of Southeast Georgia since 1980. I fell in love with Hinesville, GA in 1994 when my mother was a night manager at Shoney's in Hinesville. I love the small town vibe with many of the comforts found in larger cities. I was finally able to purchase my house here 2020 after my retirement from the US Army at Fort Stewart.

I am a veteran.

I served 20 years in the US Army, from 1999 until my retirement in 2019. I served as a Cannon Fire Direction Specialist, Combat Medic, Licensed Practical Nurse, Instructor/Writer and Senior Enlisted Advisor. I am now a 100% disabled veteran due to injuries sustained in Northern Iraq in 2007 and 2009. I still hold a close relationship with our local military community and our local veterans. I will always support our troops, past, present, and future.

I fight corruption.

Upon my retirement I found myself in advocacy. I witnessed first hand abuse in a family court system, I reported the incident and eventually the FBI incident came back as "founded" for extortion by public official and was referred to the Brunswick state prosecutor's office. The judge resigned in the same month to avoid prosecution. Working with other advocacy groups and volunteers, we were able to start a second investigation which is still pending on another Superior Court judge in a neighboring district. Working with Family Court Exposed, Fathers' Rights Movement, and Dads Evoking Change; we are slowly exposing the corruption in family law courts in Georgia. As your state representative, I hope to make strict laws improving the family law system, including 50/50 custody default in divorces with no history of domestic violence, ban 'ex parte' communications in family law courts, require state certification and oversight for any guardian-ad-litem and limit the role to licensed social workers instead of lawyers. I will advocate for flat-fee divorce similar to bankruptcy law preventing lawyers from collecting exorbitant fees for divorce. Over 44,000 divorces in Georgia in 2019 had false or misleading ex-parte complaints; this is know in the legal community as the 'nuclear bomb' of divorce. Our neighbors in South Carolina have laws making false claims in ex-parte communications a felony. We need the similar laws in Georgia.

Black Lives Matter.

After the murders of Trayvon Martin, George Floyd, Brianna Taylor, and Ahmaud Arbery I marched with Black Lives Matter. I marched in Savannah, Jesup, Hinesville, and Brunswick. I called cadence in the crowds, and I walked with my brothers and sisters for change. I stood in front of the courthouses as the trials happened inside. I stood with the families as the verdicts were read. I will continue to fight for equality in the streets, in housing, in the courts and in healthcare. We have to do better in Georgia. I will fight for you.

LGBTQIA+ Rights:

I lived in a world where my existence was a crime under Don't Ask; Don't Tell from Feb. 28, 1994 to Sep. 20, 2011. My trans identity was still banned in the Army until 2016. My ability to fully embrace my true self was not possible until 2019 due to Army regulations. I was able to legally transition in 2021. After my transition, I was denied essential health care; both gender affirming care and standard health care. I have witnessed discrimination first hand in my own community and I still fight daily to protect the rights of our LGBTQIA+ brothers and sisters.

M, a 14-year old bisexual girl, wrote a suicide note which was found by a teacher. M was unable to get proper health care due to the lack of LGBTQIA+ affirming care available for children under the age of 18. I still meet with M from time to time. She cuts herself, has withdrawn from her family, and she is struggling to pass her high school classes with the required 70%. Children like M are 50% more likely to commit suicide. We must force insurance companies operating in the state of GA to provide LGBTQIA+-affirming care to everyone.

I strongly oppose any ban on gender affirming care, any ban on participation in sports, any restrictions on education, any prohibition of LGBTQIA+ education and discussion, and ban on health care, employment discrimination, and bathroom restrictions. Working with Georgia Equality, Pride, Trans Women of Color, American Civil Liberties Union, and Lambda Legal Network, I will fight hard to protect the LGBTQIA+ community from any discrimination and bring equal rights and protections under Georgia law.

Voting Rights:

I spent the last two years volunteering with 1-800-OUR-VOTE and The People's Agenda monitoring polls on election days to ensure a fair election process in Georgia. I personally monitored 35 separate polling locations over 6 elections. I will continue to do everything in my power in the state house to ensure every vote is counted and the integrity of Georgia's elections are beyond reproach. I personally registered over 200 voters in southeast Georgia in 2019 and 2020. In the state house, I will oppose gerrymandering, any restrictions on voting rights, and ensure every person has the right to cast a ballot.

Healthcare:

As a nurse, medical instructor, and administrator; I understand the importance of universal healthcare. Affordable healthcare is critical to the wellbeing of every community. We must develop our healthcare system to include basic health care, emergency care, mental health care, dental care, reproductive health, vision, and prescription medications. Georgia has to expand Medicaid to all of Georgia. Every day; I hear the horror stories of families affected by the dysfunctional system currently in place; like J. She is a full-time graduate student and part-time health care worker who found a soccer-ball sized tumor in her pelvis after she avoided going to the ER for 12 days. Without life-saving surgery; J will die a slow and painful death. With an annual income of $12,000.00; she is too poor to afford health care in GA but too rich to qualify for Medicaid. The time to act is now. We cannot allow our lawmakers in Atlanta to keep kicking this can down the road. Send me. I will fight for you.

Education:

Georgia currently ranks 32nd in the nation for education although we rank 14th in per capita spending. We have to do better. We need to increase wages for teachers and paraprofessionals in Georgia in order to attract the best teachers. There are schools in Georgia with leaking roofs, mold, and severely lacking in environments conducive to learning. We have to decrease class sizes especially in low-income schools, and ensure adequate materials are available to support learning objectives. We must repeal HB 1397 (sponsored by Al Williams and Ron Stephens) which changes the description of school districts in Liberty County. This reduces class sizes at Bradwell Institute while increasing class sizes at Liberty County High School and Lewis Frazier Middle School--this is a bold-faced effort to segregate our schools based on economic status.

We have to take active measures to ensure the safety of our children, protecting them from violence, academic distraction, and bullying. We need to look at what is working in Massachusetts, Connecticut, New Jersey, Virginia, and New Hampshire and bring the best practices to Georgia. Our children are our future. If we want bring new industry and technology to Georgia, we have to have a quality workforce. We have to work together to keep our schools safe.

Taxes:

The incumbent Al Williams has sponsored four House bills to increase taxes in our community this year alone:

GA HB1600, an excise tax for Flemington, GA

GA HB1370, an excise tax for Liberty County

GA HB934, a Transportation Sales and Use Tax

GA HB1039, an increase of state income tax for health care workers

Two of these bills put a portion of the taxes into a County Commission fund where Al Williams serves as chair of the committee. It's wrong for a state lawmaker to tax citizens and put the money into their own pockets. Al Williams's corruption must be stopped and, I will end this corruption if elected.