"THERE ARE TWO KINDS OF VOTERS; THOSE WHO VOTE WITH THE PARTY AND THOSE WHO VOTE WITH THEIR VALUES..."
-ANONYMOUS
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HI, MY NAME IS MAURICE MPAYAMAGURU AND I'M RUNNING TO REPRESENT OUR NEIGHBORHOOD AND ITS CONCERNS AT THE GEORGIA STATE CAPITAL.
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AS LONG TIME MEMBERS OF THIS PROUD COMMUNITY, WE HAVE ALL SEEN BOTH THE SUCCESSES AND THE STRUGGLES THAT DEFINE OUR COLLECTIVE EXPERIENCE. I'M NOT A POLITICIAN. UP UNTIL THE LAST SEVERAL YEARS, I'VE SPENT MY TIME NURTURING MY CAREER IN THE I.T. INDUSTRY; SOLVING TECHNICAL PROBLEMS BEHIND THE SCENES FOR VARIOUS COMPANIES AND LIKE MANY OF YOU, I PLACED MY CONFIDENCE ALONG WITH THE RESPONSIBILITY TO GOVERN IN OTHER HANDS, BUT SINCE THE PANDEMIC IT'S BECOME CLEAR THAT MY CONFIDENCE WAS MISPLACED AND IT'S TIME WE EACH STEPPED UP TO TAKE OWNERSHIP AND TO GUIDE THE FUTURE DIRECTION OF OUR COMMUNITIES.
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THIS COUNTRY'S FOUNDERS GAVE US THE CONSTITUTION AND ITS PREAMBLE, A BRILLIANT SET OF DOCUMENTS THAT OUTLINE OUR NATION'S COLLECTIVE VALUES AND GOVERNING PRINCIPLES, BUT FAR TOO MANY SITTING POLITICIANS HAVE CHOSEN TO SET THOSE ASIDE.
GOVERNMENT WAS NEVER MEANT TO BE A FULL TIME JOB. IT WAS ORIGINALLY MEANT FOR REGULAR PEOPLE JUST LIKE YOU AND I TO PARTICIPATE IN DIRECTLY. IT WAS MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY WHO SET ASIDE THEIR DAILY JOBS FOR A FEW WEEKS EACH YEAR TO DISCUSS AND THEN ADDRESS THE ONGOING CONCERNS ON BEHALF OF THE REST OF THE COMMUNITY. THEY'RE CALLED REPRESENTATIVES FOR A REASON. INSTEAD THEY'VE BECOME A NEW CLASS ALL THEIR OWN AND THE "COMMUNITY" AND ITS NEEDS HAVE FALLEN BY THE WAYSIDE.
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IT'S TIME FOR A RETURN TO HOW THINGS WERE MEANT TO BE. IT'S TIME TO STOP GIVING OVER CONTROL OF OUR LIVES AND NEIGHBORHOODS TO INDIVIDUALS AND GROUPS THAT DON'T SHARE OUR VALUES. VALUES SUCH AS PERSONAL RESPONSIBILITY, HUMAN DIGNITY AND AUTONOMY, FOSTERING OF STRONG FAMILY DYNAMICS, FREEDOM OF SPEECH AND EXPRESSION, FREEDOM OF CHOICE IN HEALTH MATTERS AND FREEDOM FROM COERCION IN THE SAME.
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IT'S HIGH TIME WE REMEMBERED THAT THE GOVERNMENT LIVES OFF OUR BACKS AND NOT THE OTHER WAY AROUND. THEIR MONEY IS ACTUALLY OUR MONEY AND WE SHOULD HAVE A SAY IN HOW AND WHERE IT'S SPENT.
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IT'S TIME TO STOP VOTING ALONG ARBITRARY PARTY LINES AND FOR EMPTY SLOGANS AND BEGIN VOTING ACCORDING TO OUR VALUES. OUR VALUES, NOT THEIRS.
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I'D LOVE TO DO MY PART TO PROTECT AND EMPOWER OUR GREAT COMMUNITIES CONCERNS AND I HOPE YOU'LL JOIN ME IN DOING SO.​​​​
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STRONGER ECONOMY
JOB CREATION
The government's role in the economy is to encourage more private business creation by first making it a less cumbersome process to start your business and then by making it cheaper to run and maintain that business. Often times, government makes laws that benefit large corporations, but the reality is that the majority of jobs are created by individual entrepreneurs, the so-called Mom and Pop business. The barbers and hairdressers, plumbers and masons and electricians, restaurant owners and boutique retailers. These are the people that can be most helped or hurt by the policies of government. The real engine that drives our economies is the small and medium sized business and we need to take a ground level look at what we can do to make it easier to start and maintain those businesses.
TAXES
We all know that the government runs on taxes, but we often forget that taxes are just a fancy word for "our money". Government takes it out of our hard-earned paychecks when we're working and then from our pockets when we buy goods and services. They take it when we own a vehicle, or a house and finally they take some of it from our families when we die. So, if they have and continue to take so much of our hard-earned money, don't you think we should have more say in how that money is spent. Theoretically we do; it's supposed to be handled by the people you vote into office every year. You vote them in and then sit back and let them make the spending decisions for you.
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Is there another way? A better way. How about if the government were to take less of it in the first place? Well then we'd really get to decide how it's spent. ​The less taxes collected doesn't mean the world grinds to a halt. It simply takes the spending decisions out of the government's hands and into the voter's hands. Certainly there's a place for taxes that's mutually beneficial to all of us, but I would argue that in most cases we know best what our immediate needs are and how we should spend our funds to meet those needs.
STRONGER FAMILY
PARENTAL RIGHTS AND EDUCATION
A strong family unit means a strong neighborhood which results in a better society overall. Any government laws and policies should take care to encourage and nurture healthy family dynamics. As an example, this means good educational policies that encourage more not less parental involvement. It means more, not less access to all types of schools. Your taxes already pay for education, but you don't get complete control over where and how that money is spent. Let the market provide the options and the citizens choose what's best for their children, grand-children, and themselves.
HOMELESSNESS
They may not be blood relatives, but the homeless are our brothers and sisters nonetheless. We should see it as our foremost responsibility to give them aid and comfort where we can. We need to see ourselves as an active part of their solution.
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As representatives we must proactively partner with those grassroots organizations living in and based out of the actual communities where those homeless live. Those who see and care for them on a daily basis and truly know their needs. We must elevate them with the resources that they need to bring real solutions to the problems. Likewise we must make it a priority to evaluate the success of any organizations that are getting tax payer money to make sure that if they are not offering tangible, measurable results then their funding should be re-evaluated and possibly redirected to those groups that can deliver.
HEALTH FREEDOM
When it comes to personal health decisions, all Americans should be free from force and coercion. Neither the government nor the private sector should have a say in our medical decisions. Americans should not have to fear losing their jobs or services because of medical choices they've made. There is no one size fits all solution, and each adult individual should have the freedom to tackle their healthcare their way. It's also paramount that Parents be made aware of and make all medical decisions on behalf of their children. No exceptions.
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More generally, it should be the policy of government to stay out of the way of American's decision making on healthcare. We should be able to see the doctors we want to see, take the medication and have the procedures we choose to and all without restriction. The government may advise or alert us about potential hazards, but we should have the freedom to make the final choices on our own.
STRONGER GEORGIA
JUSTICE AND ACCOUNTABILITY
Government has a role as mediator in matters of Justice. It should never be a weight on either side of the balance. By its nature government is a monopoly and can all too easily succumb to corruption and abuse of power. Laws should be structured in a way to help temper that power and disincentivize abuse.
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Enough with two tiered justice and disproportionate sentencing. The punishment should fit the crime and no one should be able to escape punishment on account of who they are or who they know.
IMMIGRATION
Illegal immigration is a serious issue that must be addressed. As an immigrant myself, I have sympathy for the plight of people who are trying to make a better life for themselves, but breaking the law is not a great way to start. Tolerating illegality breeds more illegality and our government representatives have allowed this to go on for far too long. Recently it was reported that ICE released over 7 million illegals captured at our various borders and over 633,000 of them had prior criminal histories. They were already criminals and ICE released them. 13,000 were convicted for murder, 16,000 of sex crimes, and nearly 2.000 face murder charges for what they've done since getting here. Is that acceptable to you because it's not to me. We are seeing the ill results of this misguided tolerance and otherwise unavoidable violence and harm to our citizens is occurring due to these bad actors infiltrating the system.