FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE FOR MORE INFORMATION: 678 596-4693 (Decatur, Ga.) - Former State Senator Steen Miles, a candidate for the U.S. Senate seat vacated by Saxby Chambliss, issued the following statement on her exclusion from the Georgia Municipal Association’s U.S. Senate Candidate Forum scheduled for January 27, 2014. “It is disheartening to be excluded from the GMA’s U.S. Senate Candidate Forum because our campaign has not reached an arbitrary monetary threshold. As we commemorate Dr. Martin Luther King’s birthday, we should remember that Dr. King not only stood for social justice, but economic justice as well. His famous “I Have A Dream” speech came on the occasion of the 1963 March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. In this mid-term election season we might do well to recall Dr. King’s quest for economic justice and not fall prey to the money trap - a few deciding who is or is not a viable candidate based not on a clear communication of the issues, ideas and on experience, but on dollar signs. Dr. King spoke of the twin evils of discrimination and economic deprivation. We are guilty of both when we exclude rather than include based on money alone. Part of Dr. King’s solution to the twin evils was to appeal to the conscience of the nation. I appeal to conscience of the GMA and all Georgians to cease to anointing political leaders based on wealth. There are enough members of the millionaire’s club in Washington. We need to return government to the people by electing individuals who truly represent the interests of the masses in our cities - the taxpaying working and middle classes, the sick, our seniors, veterans and others thrust into new poverty in this uncertain economy. On this Dr. King’s birthday, let us begin to move to a place in the political arena where we put the message over money. A first step might be giving equal treatment to all announced candidates and letting the public decide who is serious or not. Our democracy is undermined when elections are mandated by the power of the purse or who pulls the strings. Mayors, we are all announced candidates until we qualify in March. I would have been honored to share my thoughts on moving Georgia forward with you, but the invitation was not extended because of money. The Democratic candidate with the deep pockets declined your invitation to speak to the top executives of 800 Georgia cities! It begs the question, how serious a candidate is that? ###
Posted on: Sun, 19 Jan 2014 06:14:41 +0000
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