New York Times is reporting on a Congressional trip to Estonia, Senator Clinton challenged Senator John Mccain and others to a vodka drinking contest.
MY KIND OF DEMOCRAT!!!!
Sunday, July 30, 2006
Hillary Clinton is my kind of Democrat
New York Times is reporting on a Congressional trip to Estonia, Senator Clinton challenged Senator John Mccain and others to a vodka drinking contest.
MY KIND OF DEMOCRAT!!!!
Friday, July 21, 2006
Monday, July 03, 2006
Kevin Edwards, District 56 Candidate; Another "Young Gun?"
Newsmaker's Journal
The Atlanta Voice
Monday, July 3, 2006
Kevin Edwards,
District 56 Candidate
Another “Young Gun”?
By Maynard Eaton
In the past this column has passionately touted the political potential of “young guns” like State Senator Kasim Reed, Atlanta Councilman Ivory Young, Rep. Ron Sailor, Jr., and Rep. “Able” Mabel Thomas among others. They have all since matured into quality, effective elected leaders who are making the sort of difference we can be proud of.
Now, I’m convinced that 34-year-old, developer and businessman Kevin Edwards is positioned and prepared to emerge as a quintessential public servant as well. He’s got the requisite skills, savvy and smarts – now the dynamic Mechanicsville resident has to win. “I have nothing to gain financially by being in politics,” says the owner of Edwards Financial Group. “I’m making good money, but I just have compassion and a deep desire to help people. Like the late, great [state legislator Rev.] Hosea Williams—I will be un-bought and un-bossed.”
Edwards lost his first bid for elective office last November to Atlanta City Council veteran Cleta Winslow, whose victory was cemented by Mayor Shirley Franklin’s formidable political machine. Arguably the best candidate did not win.
“I keep running for office because I know I can get in there and make a difference; get the proper services we need, get the proper funding we need for our schools, get the proper services for our elderly and make sure people are being treated fairly,” says the former senior budget analyst for the City of Atlanta. “My grandmother lives in the Pittsburgh community, and I am tired of seeing drug deals going down on her corner. I’m tired of seeing the people next door not having food to eat. I’m just tired of my people living the way they live. Some of the areas I’m trying to represent are worse then a Third World country. I want to make sure my people get their just due, and that is just not happening.”
Edwards, who builds single family homes, promises to be a vigorous “voice for change” in a district that is now about 60 percent African American, and cuts through the heart of Atlanta. It starts south of University Avenue and Capitol View and Capitol View Manor. It comes up Metropolitan Parkway – including Adair Park, parts of Pittsburgh and Mechanicsville. It then includes the Atlanta University Center area and downtown. It also includes a portion of Vine City, my neighborhood of Home Park, Atlantic Station, Georgia Tech and Georgia State. It ends up on the northern end with Ansley Park and Sherwood Forest.
Although the demographics are seemingly there for a young black man to win the District 56 race, Edwards admits it is going to be “a hard fought battle” because he faces an entrenched and likeable opponent in Rep. Kathy Ashe who has held the seat since 1991 although the makeup of the House district has changed considerably because the federal court recently redrew the state’s political map.
“I’m not a stranger in any part of the district,” says Ashe, a former Republican. “It’s changed every time there has been a change in maps and in our reapportionment system that happens frequently. I actually see those changes as great opportunities to make new friends and learn about new issues. I really care about the folks I represent.”
But Edwards argues that Ashe cannot possibly fathom or grasp the depth of despair that grips much of her new constituency.
“Her community is much different then the majority of the district,” Edwards asserts. “The majority of the district is impoverished, uneducated and beset by a lot of unique problems that only a person who has lived in the community or knows about those kind of low income communities can help solve. The current representation does not match the people that comprise the district.
“It’s not the person I am running against,” he says respectively of Ashe. “It’s about having someone like me who knows the problems and what is going on in the community. It is knowing how to touch people of similar descent. Where she lives only represents 30 percent of the district. We really need representation that represents us.”
Kathy Ashe has served her district pretty well for 15 years, but the district’s demographics have now changed dramatically. It now may also be the time for a dramatic change in leadership and new, more perceptive representation for t
The Atlanta Voice
Monday, July 3, 2006
Kevin Edwards,
District 56 Candidate
Another “Young Gun”?
By Maynard Eaton
In the past this column has passionately touted the political potential of “young guns” like State Senator Kasim Reed, Atlanta Councilman Ivory Young, Rep. Ron Sailor, Jr., and Rep. “Able” Mabel Thomas among others. They have all since matured into quality, effective elected leaders who are making the sort of difference we can be proud of.
Now, I’m convinced that 34-year-old, developer and businessman Kevin Edwards is positioned and prepared to emerge as a quintessential public servant as well. He’s got the requisite skills, savvy and smarts – now the dynamic Mechanicsville resident has to win. “I have nothing to gain financially by being in politics,” says the owner of Edwards Financial Group. “I’m making good money, but I just have compassion and a deep desire to help people. Like the late, great [state legislator Rev.] Hosea Williams—I will be un-bought and un-bossed.”
Edwards lost his first bid for elective office last November to Atlanta City Council veteran Cleta Winslow, whose victory was cemented by Mayor Shirley Franklin’s formidable political machine. Arguably the best candidate did not win.
“I keep running for office because I know I can get in there and make a difference; get the proper services we need, get the proper funding we need for our schools, get the proper services for our elderly and make sure people are being treated fairly,” says the former senior budget analyst for the City of Atlanta. “My grandmother lives in the Pittsburgh community, and I am tired of seeing drug deals going down on her corner. I’m tired of seeing the people next door not having food to eat. I’m just tired of my people living the way they live. Some of the areas I’m trying to represent are worse then a Third World country. I want to make sure my people get their just due, and that is just not happening.”
Edwards, who builds single family homes, promises to be a vigorous “voice for change” in a district that is now about 60 percent African American, and cuts through the heart of Atlanta. It starts south of University Avenue and Capitol View and Capitol View Manor. It comes up Metropolitan Parkway – including Adair Park, parts of Pittsburgh and Mechanicsville. It then includes the Atlanta University Center area and downtown. It also includes a portion of Vine City, my neighborhood of Home Park, Atlantic Station, Georgia Tech and Georgia State. It ends up on the northern end with Ansley Park and Sherwood Forest.
Although the demographics are seemingly there for a young black man to win the District 56 race, Edwards admits it is going to be “a hard fought battle” because he faces an entrenched and likeable opponent in Rep. Kathy Ashe who has held the seat since 1991 although the makeup of the House district has changed considerably because the federal court recently redrew the state’s political map.
“I’m not a stranger in any part of the district,” says Ashe, a former Republican. “It’s changed every time there has been a change in maps and in our reapportionment system that happens frequently. I actually see those changes as great opportunities to make new friends and learn about new issues. I really care about the folks I represent.”
But Edwards argues that Ashe cannot possibly fathom or grasp the depth of despair that grips much of her new constituency.
“Her community is much different then the majority of the district,” Edwards asserts. “The majority of the district is impoverished, uneducated and beset by a lot of unique problems that only a person who has lived in the community or knows about those kind of low income communities can help solve. The current representation does not match the people that comprise the district.
“It’s not the person I am running against,” he says respectively of Ashe. “It’s about having someone like me who knows the problems and what is going on in the community. It is knowing how to touch people of similar descent. Where she lives only represents 30 percent of the district. We really need representation that represents us.”
Kathy Ashe has served her district pretty well for 15 years, but the district’s demographics have now changed dramatically. It now may also be the time for a dramatic change in leadership and new, more perceptive representation for t
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