When I ran for Columbia County Chairman in 2018, you might remember that I wasn’t the establishment’s choice. And in his race to be the next State Representative for House District 125, it has become clear as day that C.J. Pearson isn’t either. And that’s not a ding, especially when you consider that in 2016 President Donald J. Trump wasn’t just the Establishment’s choice. He was their worst nightmare.
Columbia County has a unique opportunity this month to elect someone different from the norm to represent us. Someone who represents a new generation that stands the most to lose if we don’t right the ship of both our state and nation. And that’s a very good thing. State House members usually keep a pretty low profile. They largely go along to get along, try not to upset their donors, and vote the way the special interest groups in Atlanta tell them to. They don’t take controversial stands and keep their opinions guarded. They often go a bit native once they get to Atlanta and you’ll see them voting for things that don’t seem quite in tune with their constituents. They then “know better” since “being educated” by the lobbying and the “experts” at the Capitol. That’s fine, I suppose. But we can do better.
On March 12, we can vote for somebody who will tell us exactly what he’s going to do, whose opinions are clear and who puts his own community ahead of the desires of the politics as usual crowd.
C.J. Pearson is a candidate like that. He listens to arguments, tells us what he thinks, and doesn’t give much of a damn about what the conventional wisdom is under the Gold Dome. After all, that conventional wisdom has led to weird gender policies, sanctuary cities within our state, defunding or underfunding of law enforcement and tax breaks only for those with the most expensive lobbyists. The rap against C.J. seems to be that he’s too prominent or pushy. I suppose both are true, but he became prominent by fighting for his hometown (in this case Grovetown) values and I think “pushy” simply means he won’t back down to the special interest groups in Atlanta.
C.J.’s priorities are clear and I just know he’ll fight for them. Elimination of the state income tax, fighting the scourge of illegal immigration which is impacting all communities — including ours, in both Columbia and McDuffie Counties. A candidate who says what he means, fights for what he thinks is right and can’t be controlled by the “In Crowd” in Atlanta. Opportunities to be represented by someone like this don’t come around too often.
I know state and local governments. I’ve seen the sausage-making, and I often wished our representatives would just say what they mean, do what they say, and fight for their communities like our way of life depended on it. Given the crazy times we live in, that may be more needed now than ever.
Pam Tucker
Former Columbia County Emergency Management Agency Director for Columbia County
