Candidates discuss their campaigns at local GOP forum

May 11—Four political candidates, including two from Milledgeville, recently talked to voters at a Baldwin County Republican forum.

The meeting was held at Victory Baptist Church in Milledgeville.

The forum featured state Rep. Rick Williams, who is running for the state Senate; Ken Vance, a former Milledgeville city councilman running for a seat in the state House of Representatives; Kelvin King, a U.S. Senate candidate; and Kartik Bhatt, who is seeking to become Georgia's new labor commissioner.

Each of the candidates provided prospective voters who attended the forum insight into their platforms and what they would do if elected. They also took questions from the audience.

Ken Vance

Vance is seeking the District 133 seat in the Georgia House of Representatives — the seat currently held by Rep. Rick Williams.

Vance said he was thankful that his race against a Democratic opponent isn't until the November general election. He will face attorney Hoganne Harrison-Walton of Milledgeville in the fall.

Vance is a 47-year veteran of law enforcement who spent many of those years at Georgia College. He also spent 13 years as executive director of the Georgia Peace Officers and Standards Training Council (P.O.S.T.) where he served under three governors.

Vance is a former deputy sheriff and a public safety officer.

He began his career as a rookie police officer with the Monroe Police Department.

Vance also has served as a DEA contract agent.

"One of my favorite things was serving as a teacher at Baldwin High School," Vance said. "And now I teach at the Columbus State University in their master's program. And I am very honored to do that."

Vance also is the longest ever serving member of Milledgeville City Council. He served 28 years.

"Here is how I see being a state representative," Vance said. "It runs from the Oconee River to basically [Highway] 129 in Gray — so it's half of Jones and half of Baldwin."

Two other state representatives will serve on the opposite sides of the two counties.

"Rep. [Dale] Washburn is going to serve on the west side and Mr. Mack [Jackson] over in Washington County is going to be serving on the east side," Vance said. "We've met, we've talked and we have agreed that we are public servants, and we serve our constituency."

Vance said he didn't care which side of the river a person might live on or what color they might be.

"I will represent you," Vance said, noting his goal if elected, will first be to learn the process. "Culver Kidd taught me a long time ago that if you know the process, you know how to make things go. You can have the best idea in the world, but if you don't know the process, it's not going anywhere. So, I'll learn the process very quickly."

Rick Williams

Williams, meanwhile, also spoke about his candidacy for the District 25 Georgia Senate — a seat currently held by state Sen. Burt Jones, who is running for lieutenant governor.

He spoke about being pro-2nd Amendment.

"I've stated that if I was anymore pro-2nd Amendment, my last name would be Winchester," Williams said.

Williams has served in the Georgia House of Representatives for the past six years.

"I was ranked No. 13 most conservative out of 236 legislators, and I'm proud of that," Williams said. "I would like to have been number one or two, but I'll take number 13. That could be a lucky number."

Williams said the buzzword when he ran for public office six years ago was jobs.

"We need jobs, jobs, jobs," he recalled.

Today, it's flipped.

"People, we need workers," Williams said. "Everywhere you go, everyone has a sign, help wanted, help wanted."

Williams said Georgia's economy remains strong despite the COVID-19 pandemic.

[The state] remains fiscally responsible, he said.

Williams said he is pro-law enforcement and is against abortion rights.

Probably his proudest accomplishment in the state legislature thus far has been the passage of Gracie's Law.

"Gracie's Law, and I have spoken on this before, but for those of you who have not heard about it is about Gracie Nobles — a little girl who lives in Washington County," Williams said.

Williams said when Gracie's mother, Erin, became pregnant with Gracie, she was told by her doctor that her unborn baby had Down syndrome, so she and her husband, David, might wish to consider having an abortion.

Williams said Erin Nobles told the doctor no.

"They had the baby and found out the baby had Down syndrome and had a heart defect, and thinking (the baby) might have to have a heart transplant," Williams said.

The couple looked into laws in Georgia.

"There was no law in Georgia to protect that baby — that's discrimination against someone with a physical disability," Williams said.

Williams said he went to work on that bill.

"I had a doctor who is a senator and I won't call his name," Williams said. "He wouldn't let me have a hearing on that bill. It passed through the House, but the Senate wouldn't let me have a hearing."

In the next session, Williams introduced the bill, and again it was approved in the House but again, the bill was blocked.

The bill ultimately passed the Senate and later became a new law in Georgia.

Williams also introduced three law enforcement bills during this year's legislative session.

One of them includes protecting lawn enforcement officers if they are wounded so that the shooters should be charged with attempted murder.

Another one concerned the pay scale between local and state law enforcement agencies.

Williams said he proposed a bill to make local law enforcement personnel exempt from state taxes.

"I'll keep pushing that if you send me back to Atlanta," he said. "The other thing is trackers, and people are putting them on suspecting people."

Kelvin King

King, meanwhile, whose most recent visit to Milledgeville was his second since announcing his intention to run against incumbent Democrat U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, also addressed the crowd.

"We were here during our tour," King recalled, noting that he campaigned in all 159 counties in 29 days. "No one has ever done that in the history of our state."

He explained that it consisted of about a half dozen stops each day.

"It was pretty taxing, but very rewarding as well," King said. "I just wanted to make sure that Georgians knew that I am committed to working hard for every single Georgian. I think we showed that."

King, a Georgia native, businessman, an Air Force Academy graduate, and an Air Force veteran, was born in 1974 in Macon-Bibb County.

"That was the year after Rowe v. Wade," King said. "And the reason I bring that up is because my mom was only 15 when she had me. I was clearly unplanned."

When he turned 8, his parents moved from Macon to Cobb County, where they eventually divorced.

With the help of his grandmother, King said he remained focused in school.

"I graduated from high school with honors and got an appointment to the U.S. Air Force Academy," King said. "My life changed after that."

At the Air Force Academy, King was an All-Conference football player.

"And I know there is another football player in our race," King said. "And if football is important to you, which I don't really think it is, but if it is, I'm playing football, too."

King was referring to Herschel Walker, the former Heisman Trophy winner who played college football at the University of Georgia.

In the Air Force, King worked as a contract officer.

"That means I did procurement, I did purchasing; I know government spending very well," King said.

King said he has a very good understanding of fiscal matters in government.

"I know about government spending and I know how we can save our government dollars," King said. "And right now we need someone who is responsible with government funding, because right now our tax dollars are being spent foolishly, in my opinion."

Kartik Bhatt

Another statewide candidate, Kartik Bhatt, also attended the recent local GOP forum.

Bhatt is a businessman and lives in Acworth.

He and his family have been residents of Cobb County since 2001.

"America is a land of opportunity for those who are talented and hard-working," Bhatt said. "I am a living, breathing example of that. This land has provided me and my family a wonderful life with plenty of prospects that I look forward to."

In 2020, Bhatt said he had the opportunity to one become the first Indian-American honorary driver in the U.S. Presidential motorcade.

He considers it his time to give back and to serve his state as its next labor commissioner.

"My main goal is to ensure that hard-working Georgians are financially independent," Bhatt said. "I believe this is the right to safeguard the future together."