Catoosa Democrats learn about ballot questions, candidate for Congress

On March 15, members of the Catoosa County Democratic Party met in Graysville to discuss questions that will appear on the Democratic primary ticket on May 22.

“The questions come to us from the state level of the party,” says Catoosa Chair Cathy Griffith. “They’re not binding. The purpose of them is to get party members’ opinions to help develop a platform.” There were just four questions: - Should the sale and distribution of bump stocks be prohibited in the state of Georgia?

- Should Georgia pull down our federal tax dollars to save rural hospitals and create more than fifty thousand jobs by expanding Medicaid?

- Should Georgia allow voters to elect our own representatives by amending our Constitution to place the power of drawing district lines under the authority of an independent, non-partisan commission?

- Should Georgia alleviate traffic congestion, reduce carbon emissions, and better connect communities by investing a substantial amount of existing tax dollars in mass transit?

Democrats going to the polls in May will have the chance to vote yea or nay on the queries.

But the highlight of the local party’s regular monthly meeting was an appearance by Dan Lovingood, 14th District chair of the Democratic Party. “He came to talk about Steve Foster, who will be running against Tom Graves for Congress,” says Griffith.

Griffith says local Democrats are excited to have a candidate in the Congressional race. “Tom Graves has run unopposed in the past,” she says. “Steve Foster is a good man.”

Griffith says that Lovingood shared that Foster is a small business owner (MedNow in Dalton), a physician, a veteran of the U.S. Army, and that he has a charitable organization that helps indigenous peoples of Honduras.

Catoosa County Democrats typically meet in Graysville on the third Thursday of the month, but April’s meeting will be on the 12th. The featured speaker will be Stacey Evans, who is vying to run on the Democratic ticket for governor of Georgia.

“We welcome all Democrats – old guard and progressive – to our meetings,” says Griffith. “And we welcome anyone who is not happy with the Republican Party.”

For more information about the Catoosa County Democratic Party, visit their Facebook page at facebook.com/catoosademocrats.