I am looking forward to an honest and open dialogue with our local officials when I am elected to the Georgia House in the coming year.

That being said, I am in support of district voting.

First, I think it is vital that we be fiscally prudent in this matter. As I have weighed this issue out over time, I can see that Fayette County will be legally mandated to incorporate district voting. If the county does not go ahead and legislate this action itself, vast amounts of our local citizens’ dollars will be expended on a needless court battle that in the end the county will lose. All of our neighboring counties have district voting, and we will be mandated to do the same — it is a given.

Secondly, we must think about the growth of Fayette County and the election process itself. If each commissioner is looking to — as it is at present — the entire population of the county to vote him or her into office, then one must accrue vast amounts of campaign money in order to get elected, thereby taking time away from advocating for local issues during election years and putting greater time into campaign fund-raisers, etc.

Whereas, if one were elected from one’s district, then he or she can remain focused on that reduced population and will not need to expend large amounts of money during the campaign cycle, leaving more time to focus on their service to the community.

Finally, what I have stated above is not new information. Our Founding Fathers had the foresight to incorporate district voting into our very Constitution and that is why Fayette County will ultimately be legally mandated to do the same. It is the very foundation of America’s freedom.

Connie Biemiller

Georgia House Candidate District 66

Fayette County, Ga.

[Biemiller is opposing incumbent Rep. Virgil Fludd in the Democratic Primary.]