Senate District 1
All statements, answers, and information found within the 159 Georgia Together voter guide were collected via an electronic survey. Due to the sheer volume of information collected and the number of candidates that submitted survey data, all of the information presented in the guide is verbatim per the input from the survey participants (including any spelling or grammatical errors).
Sandra Workman (D)
Top 3 Priorities If Elected
Economic Growth - We need an economy that works for everyone. To grow Georgia's economy, we must support innovation and diversify our jobs. We can be leaders in renewable energy jobs, infrastructure, and agritech.
Education - Every child deserves a limitless future. I am committed to extending access to high-quality child care programs and providing improved livelihoods for teachers. We need to fully fund public education and oppose attempts to privatize our schools. All Georgians should have access to affordable higher education if they want it. I will push for free access to technical college, debt-free four year college, and needs-based aid.
Healthcare - Healthcare is a human right, not a privilege. We must continue to fight to keep the healthcare protections we have. We need to expand Medicaid coverage, which would provide half a million Georgians with health care and cut our uninsured rate in half, create 56,000 jobs, prevent closure of rural hospitals, and help stabilize rural communities. Medicaid expansion represents a $3 billion annual investment of federal dollars into Georgia and its people
DO YOU SUPPORT LEGISLATION THAT WOULD PREVENT BUSINESS OWNERS AND EMPLOYERS FROM DENYING SERVICES TO LGBTQ PEOPLE AND OTHERS BASED ON THEIR RELIGIOUS BELIEFS?
Yes. We must never discriminate based on a person's race, sexual orientation, gender, disability, pregnancy, or immigration status. Legislation described as "religious freedom" is just another way of legalizing discrimination.
DO YOU SUPPORT ENDING CASH BAIL FOR LOW-LEVEL OFFENSES?
Yes. Non-violent, low-level offenders are very often poor and unable to produce the cash required for bail. The result is the incarceration of a large group of people who would be better off back in their homes and jobs, rather than awaiting trial in jail.
DO YOU SUPPORT THE CREATION OF A NON-PARTISAN INDEPENDENT REDISTRICTING COMMISSION?
Yes. In 2016, more than 80% of Georgia's elected officials ran unopposed, largely because the voting boundaries are so gerrymandered that most opponents of incumbents felt it would be useless to run against them. In order for everyone to be fairly represented. voting boundaries need to be drawn by a non-partisan body to insure fairness to all.
WOULD YOU SUPPORT AN ENGLISH-ONLY CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT IF IT WERE ON THE BALLOT?
No. We are a nation of immigrants. People who choose to come here from other countries have several cultural barriers to overcome when they arrive and being to assimilate. Requiring English will only serve to exclude segments of our population.
DO YOU SUPPORT THE RIGHT OF WORKERS TO FORM A UNION AND BARGAIN COLLECTIVELY?
Yes. Our country has allowed the rich to get richer and the poor to get poorer. The economic divide has been growing. Strong unions, which were in place for a time, were instrumental in bringing fair pay and fair working conditions to a large group of people. With the weakening of the unions, the divide has grown again.
DID YOU/DO YOU SUPPORT GUNS ON CAMPUS?
No. Absolutely not. More guns make environments less safe, not more safe. We need sensible gun safety laws, including 1) Stopping the mentally ill from owning guns; 2) Having extensive background checks, including at gun shows; 3) Stopping people on watch lists from having guns; 4) Maintaining an accurate firearms federal database; and 5) Opposing the proliferation of guns in educational spaces. None of these ideas violate second amendment rights, but may help to prevent the violence caused by people who shouldn't have them.
DO YOU SUPPORT ELECTRICITY RATE INCREASES TO COMPLETE TWO NUCLEAR REACTORS AT PLANT VOGTLE?
No. The Vogtle plant is over budget and behind schedule. Rate payers should not be penalized for mismanagement by the electric company.
DO YOU SUPPORT CHANGING GEORGIA'S VOTING SYSTEM TO A VOTER-MARKED (PEN OR PENCIL) PAPER BALLOT WITH OPTICAL SCANNERS?
Yes. We need to scrap the 16-year-old touch-screen voting system and replace it with a paper-based system. Paper ballots, used by 70% of the nation, are more secure than electronic machines because they can’t be hacked and make it possible to audit elections. Tech experts have exposed security vulnerabilities in the type of voting machines used in Georgia that could allow them to be compromised. We must be careful that any change to voting system is auditable.
DO YOU SUPPORT THE EXPANSION OF EARLY VOTING?
Yes. Every citizen has the right to vote. We need to make voting as easy as possible to ensure participation.
DO YOU SUPPORT PUBLIC VOUCHERS BEING USED FOR PRIVATE AND/OR CHARTER SCHOOLS?
No. Let me qualify my answer. I do not support public vouchers for private schools. However, charter schools are public schools, and I would support public voucher use for them.
DO YOU SUPPORT MEDICAID EXPANSION OR ANOTHER GEORGIA-SPECIFIC PLAN TO EXTEND HEALTH INSURANCE TO LOW-INCOME GEORGIANS?
Yes. Healthcare is a human right, not a privilege. We must continue to fight to keep the healthcare protections we have. We need to expand Medicaid coverage, which would provide half a million Georgians with health care and cut our uninsured rate in half, create 56,000 jobs, prevent closure of rural hospitals, and help stabilize rural communities. Medicaid expansion represents a $3 billion annual investment of federal dollars into Georgia and its people.
WILL YOU SUPPORT POLICIES AND LEGISLATION THAT INCREASE ACCESS TO REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH CARE, INCLUDING ABORTION, AND OPPOSE POLICIES AND LEGISLATION THAT LIMIT OR REDUCE ACCESS TO REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH CARE, INCLUDING ABORTION?
Yes. I am firmly and unequivocally in support of legislation and policies that protect reproductive freedom, and pledge to oppose any infringement on a woman's right for autonomy over her body, as well as restrictions to accessible women's health facilities. Every woman should have access to reproductive health care regardless of income. I believe that women should have control over their own bodies, and the best way to cut down on the number of abortions is to vote for the party that is making sure that everyone has healthcare, a high school diploma, and birth control.
WOULD YOU SUPPORT EFFORTS TO STRENGTHEN SOCIAL SECURITY FOR CURRENT AND FUTURE RETIREES AND PUT THE PROGRAM ON A MORE STABLE FISCAL PATH?
Yes. Social Security is paid to retirees from money that they and their employers have paid into the system, and retirees deserve to get the benefits that have been promised to them. Many, many senior citizens rely on Social Security to provide a minimum level of income on which to live. This system needs to be protected for current and future generations.
DO YOU SUPPORT A LIVABLE WAGE OF A MINIMUM OF $15 PER HOUR?
I will work to promote policies that ensure pay equity and a living wage. No one working full time should be forced to raise their child in poverty.
Ben Watson (R, Incumbent)
TOP 3 PRIORITIES IF ELECTED
No response yet
DO YOU SUPPORT LEGISLATION THAT WOULD PREVENT BUSINESS OWNERS AND EMPLOYERS FROM DENYING SERVICES TO LGBTQ PEOPLE AND OTHERS BASED ON THEIR RELIGIOUS BELIEFS?
No response yet.
DO YOU SUPPORT ENDING CASH BAIL FOR LOW-LEVEL OFFENSES?
No response yet.
DO YOU SUPPORT THE CREATION OF A NON-PARTISAN INDEPENDENT REDISTRICTING COMMISSION?
No response yet.
WOULD YOU SUPPORT AN ENGLISH-ONLY CONSTITUTIONAL AMENDMENT IF IT WERE ON THE BALLOT?
No response yet.
DO YOU SUPPORT THE RIGHT OF WORKERS TO FORM A UNION AND BARGAIN COLLECTIVELY?
No response yet.
DID YOU/DO YOU SUPPORT GUNS ON CAMPUS?
No response yet.
DO YOU SUPPORT ELECTRICITY RATE INCREASES TO COMPLETE TWO NUCLEAR REACTORS AT PLANT VOGTLE?
No response yet.
DO YOU SUPPORT CHANGING GEORGIA'S VOTING SYSTEM TO A VOTER-MARKED (PEN OR PENCIL) PAPER BALLOT WITH OPTICAL SCANNERS?
No response yet.
DO YOU SUPPORT THE EXPANSION OF EARLY VOTING?
No response yet.
DO YOU SUPPORT PUBLIC VOUCHERS BEING USED FOR PRIVATE AND/OR CHARTER SCHOOLS?
No response yet.
DO YOU SUPPORT MEDICAID EXPANSION OR ANOTHER GEORGIA-SPECIFIC PLAN TO EXTEND HEALTH INSURANCE TO LOW-INCOME GEORGIANS?
No response yet.
WILL YOU SUPPORT POLICIES AND LEGISLATION THAT INCREASE ACCESS TO REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH CARE, INCLUDING ABORTION, AND OPPOSE POLICIES AND LEGISLATION THAT LIMIT OR REDUCE ACCESS TO REPRODUCTIVE HEALTH CARE, INCLUDING ABORTION?
No response yet.
WOULD YOU SUPPORT EFFORTS TO STRENGTHEN SOCIAL SECURITY FOR CURRENT AND FUTURE RETIREES AND PUT THE PROGRAM ON A MORE STABLE FISCAL PATH?
No response yet.
DO YOU SUPPORT A LIVABLE WAGE OF A MINIMUM OF $15 PER HOUR?
No response yet.