House 153 challenger Hopson comes out swinging

ALBANY — CaMia Hopson said she’d heard all the not-so-subtle whispers about incumbent House District 153 Rep. Darrel Ealum when she decided to challenge him for his seat, from residents in Albany and from members of the House delegation who have served with the retired Marine.

Nothing, she said Friday, she’s seen or heard during her campaign has contradicted the whispers. In fact, she said, what she’s seen has only bore them out.

And there’s been plenty, the business management specialist said, to consider.

After a moment’s hesitation, Hopson pulled no punches in a candid conversation that kicked off the home stretch leading up to the May 22 Democratic primary in which she will square off with Ealum. The winner of that battle will face Republican qualifier Tracy Taylor in the Nov. 6 general election.

“We each have our own strengths, but I feel I’m better qualified to represent the people of this district,” Hopson said. “From my work background to my community involvement, I’ve been at the table in situations where working toward a compromise turned out to be in the best interest of the people involved.

“To me, that’s what this race is about, about doing what’s best for the people in District 153. I can’t help but bring that old Einstein quote into it, about how doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results is the very definition of insanity. It’s a form of insanity for us to keep sending the same old ineffective politicians who are only there to advance their own agendas back to represent us and expecting them to do anything differently.”

Hopson is a novice to the political arena, having only run in one other race. In the five-person 2017 Ward II Albany City Commission election, she missed getting into a runoff with eventual winner Matt Fuller by only a handful of votes. She said she learned a lot from that race, and she’s used those lessons in her quest to challenge Ealum.

“I obviously don’t have the money he has to put into my campaign, so it’s been basically a lot of grassroots,” she said. “It’s a big district, so I’ve mapped out a strategy to meet and talk with as many people as I can. It’s like that thing about eating an elephant: One bite at a time.”

Hopson got a PR break recently when both incumbent District 12 state Sen. Freddie Powell Sims and officials at Marine Corps Logistics Base-Albany chastised Ealum for using their images in campaign literature the incumbent handed out or mailed to residents in the district. Ealum said the mail-outs were “historical,” not meant to send the message that the people in the photos endorsed his candidacy.

“People are not stupid,” Hopson said. “They know Mr. Ealum is using deceitful campaign tactics, not to mention breaking federal law. He’s done the same thing with campaign literature he’s sent out with pictures of him and (Democratic gubernatorial frontrunner) Stacy Abrams. People know he’s just pandering.

“He evidently doesn’t think they’re aware that he’s been a big behind-the-scenes supporter of (Republican gubernatorial frontrunner) Casey Cagle. What the people in Atlanta tell me is that he’s not a Democrat or a Republican. He’s an opportunist.”

Hopson said she’s been made aware of Ealum’s efforts to, in essence, game the system by using ethically questionable practices involving absentee ballots.

“I haven’t heard of him directly visiting the homes of citizens who’ve requested absentee ballots, but I’ve heard story after story of people who support him going by these people’s homes,” Hopson said. “Some of them have told me his people brought their absentee ballots back to them, filled out and sealed, needing only their signature across the seal.

“I’ve had people tell me in tears that they were badgered into giving their ballots to (Ealum supporters) and being told that (the supporter) would mail the ballot back to the Elections office. I have that absentee list, too, and what I’ve told the voters is to, one, fill out their own ballot and not let anyone bully them into filling it out for them. And, two, I’ve encouraged them not to let anyone steal their vote, not even for the $20 some say they’re getting.”

Hopson said she had a run-in with Ealum at a recent candidates forum after employees at MCLB-Albany said they saw a person load her campaign signs into a pickup truck and replace them with Ealum signs.

“I saw him at the forum and asked him when he was going to give me my signs back,” Hopson said. “He laughed at first and said, ‘Oh, they take everyone’s signs.’ When I told him that people at the Marine base had told me they watched someone specifically take up my signs, put them in a truck and replace them with his signs, he got mad. He ended up calling me ‘stupid.’ I just thought, ‘Wow, this is the man who is representing us.’”

Hopson, who said economic development and Medicaid expansion have been two of the larger issues she’s talked about with voters in the district, said Ealum had acted cowardly while serving under the Gold Dome.

“Look at his voting record, this guy who brags about being an ex-Marine,” she said. “Everything he talks about pushing (in the General Assembly) has been self-serving. But when it came time for the campus-carry vote, the person who represents me in Atlanta literally got up and walked out of the room. Same thing when it came time to vote for the medical marijuana bill, a bill that would impact sick and dying children. He left the room.

“Some of these bills you have to vote on as an elected representative are tough. But they’re important. The people in House District 153 deserve someone who’s going to represent their interests, not a coward who is going to walk out of the room when things get tough. If I’m elected, I’m going there to do a job. And I’ll do it.”