Freddie Powell Sims: Some legislation about politics, not need

ATLANTA — State Sen. Freddie Powell may list her current status as “retired educator,” but in her heart, education will always remain Sims’ calling.

That’s why the Dawson state senator, who represents southwest Georgia’s District 12, says she’s having a hard time understanding some of the debate that’s currently going on under the Gold Dome.

“We’re spending — and wasting, I believe — a lot of time debating such things as the so-called Critical Race Theory and the Transgender Sports Bill,” Sims said. “Meanwhile, teachers are telling me they have kids in their classrooms who can’t get beyond a simple 8+2 math problem. We as legislators are supposed to be concerned about our constituents — and especially our children — but instead of finding ways to address the fact that our students have suffered through two years of lost learning with the pandemic, they’re focused on things that are inconsequential and, quite frankly, very few people even understand.

“When I visit the people in District 12, I don’t find people who are concerned about Critical Race Theory or transgender sports. They’re more worried about keeping their utilities on and how they’re going to pay their bills.”

Sims, a Democrat, said that in this election year, many of the state’s leaders in Atlanta are pushing legislation that they see as furthering their political agenda while more important issues are getting short shrift.

“Some of my colleagues are focusing on issues that are of concern to obscure corners of the state, to specific groups that they see as their base voters,” she said. “What we should be focusing on is the future of our state, and that starts with education. The students we turn out into the work force are going to impact Georgia’s economic development in a very profound way.

“We have a critical nursing shortage; we have homeless people in cities like Atlanta and Albany, and many of them risk death in cold weather. That’s what’s important to the people of this state. Yet we’re immersed in divisive debate that creates ‘solutions’ to problems that don’t exist. If we’re concerned about what’s being taught in the classroom, we should be concerned about what an actual racist teacher is telling children, who are a captive audience.”

The veteran legislator said that while southwest Georgia is losing population to the metro Atlanta region, the region and its people are still vital to the state.

“Gov. Kemp has been good to southwest Georgia; he and the legislators from our region have done a good job of keeping us connected to the rest of the state,” she said. “And because we have a new huge cadre with a keen interest in rural Georgia, I believe our part of the state is going to continue to grow in importance.

“What we have to do as representatives of the people of this region, though, is make sure our citizens’ needs are met. And we’re not going to do that by spending our time debating bills that have very little to no impact.”

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