Candidates make their case at ‘meet, greet’

The Central Georgia Labor Council and American Federation of Government Employees Local 987, a union representing Robins Air Force Base, along with support from the AFL-CIO, as well as food provided by the International Brotherhood of Boilermakers, hosted a “meet and greet” Saturday at the union’s headquarters off Watson Blvd.

This was the second event of this nature the three have made available. The first was back in September of 2025. The purpose for both were the same, said AFGE Local 987 Trustee Jeanette McElhaney: “We have multiple candidates that have come to address you, and you can ask questions of them to show your concern, and they’re going to tell you what they can do for you (if elected).

“We also encourage each of you,” she added, emphasizing that early voting started Oct. 13, “to help fight and educate your families, your community and asking that each and asking each of them to do the same to their friends.”

Renita Duncan, who is a candidate for House District 147 – Warner Robins being a large part of that – got things started.

She was followed by Warner Robins Mayor LaRhonda Patrick, who said she was actually there to say some words on behalf of governor candidate Keisha Lance Bottoms, who she said regretted not being able to be there.

“I’ve been at many events which she was in,” Patrick said, “and I can tell you she will not forget Warner Robins on her way to be the first elected female governor in our state’s history.”

Talking points Patrick said Bottoms wanted her to pass on included, “making sure everyone understands her commitment to the labor market here. Not just in Warner Robins.”

“Georgia needs a governor that puts working families first,” she said, on behalf of Bottoms, “and that is exactly what she intends to do. She wants to protect and expand affordable healthcare so that no one will be denied access to a life-saving measure and also will not be prevented from having preventative health care, which helps improve their quality of life. “We need a lower cost of living in our community, in our state, and in our nation. And she will work to make sure we get what our families need so that we can stop struggling every single day.”

She went on that Bottoms wanted to protect workers by addressing wage theft, misclassification and employer accountability and ensuring unions had a permanent seat at the table when decisions affecting workers were made.

“Working people, the people who punch the clock, are what keeps Georgia running and makes sure our quality of life remains as high as possible,” she said, adding Bottoms recently received an endorsement from AFL-CIO President Yvonne Brooks.

“It is important that we keep our working families in mind and we spread the word to make sure they understand that this governor candidate is exactly what working families need.”

Congressman Sanford Bishop was next. To illustrate “we are in some deep and some perilous times,” he used a poem by J.G. Holland, “God give us men,” to help get across that message across.

After finishing and citing a good number of accomplishments he has made since being in office, he said: “This poem speaks to where we are. So all I can say is politics is nothing more, nothing less than who gets what, when and how.

“And it’s elected officials who make those decisions, who allocate the resources. And we have some people in there now that are not doing the right thing. We have some people now that have put policies in place which are taking away the good quality of life that people have. They’re taking away the strength of organized labor that has done so much to improve the middle class over the years.

“And Americans all across the country and right here in middle Georgia are saying enough. is enough. We are tired of the rising costs at the gas pump. We are tired of paying more at the grocery store. We are tired of having our health insurance go up. We are tired of having people in our state who can’t afford to get medical care. We are tired of paying for a senseless war, which is taking up the cost and driving everything else we have to purchase higher and higher. So enough is enough.”

Bishop said he was reminded of when he first started learning to drive. His father put him in a car and said if you want to go in reverse, you put it in “R”. If you want to go forward, you put it in “D”.

“We don’t want to go back,” he said. “So let’s go ‘D’ all the way down for balance.”

Cynthia Johnson, the Democratic nominee for State House District 148, followed him.

Democratic candidate for lieutenant governor Joshua McLaurin followed her, then it was Dr. Kelly Estie, who is running for Georgia’s Eighth Congressional District. Dr. Lydia Powell, who is running for state superintendent of schools, took to the stage after that, then Peter Hubbard followed by Shelia Edwards, both of which are vying for a public service commission position.

Finally, Dr. Rutha Jackson, who is running for County Commission Post 2 finished up the speaking portion of the event.

She said she would be focused on “hopefully eradicating more effective policies within the county for county employees for greater and better jobs that will come into the county, for those who live in the county, for opportunities for those who are having problems and getting housing in the county.

“Our focus is not just on roads and structure of roads and what roads that we pave. It’s about housing. It’s about jobs. It’s about opportunity so that our communities can strive to be all that they need to be for even the future generation.”