House Candidate Wallace Focuses On Healthcare, Pandemic

Jonathan Wallace said he first decided to run to represent Georgia House District 119 in the special election back in 2017 largely because of his desire to provide support for public education in the state.

Once he was elected and served in the General Assembly in 2018, Wallace said, the range of issues that concerned him broadened, with the COVID-19 pandemic now taking center stage.

“I don’t think there is anyone who has been untouched by the challenges that we face with this pandemic,” Wallace said. “And the challenges we face have just been magnified by the mismanagement at the federal and state levels in dealing with this pandemic.”

Wallace, the Democratic nominee facing incumbent Republican Marcus Wiedower in the Nov. 3 election, was speaking to Oconee County Democrats at the party’s virtual meeting last month. Wiedower defeated Wallace in November of 2018.

Wallace criticized Wiedower for his support for the anti-abortion “heartbeat” bill passed by the General Assembly in 2019, for his support for a monument protection bill, for his lack of support of a hate crimes bill, and for his support of President Donald Trump.

Wallace was joined at the August meeting by Richard Dien Winfield, one of eight qualified Democratic candidates in the non-primaried special election on Nov. 3 for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Republican Kelly Loeffler.

Winfield outlined his plans for a job guarantee in which the federal government offers employment “at a fair wage” to anyone who cannot find a full-time job in the nongovernmental sector.

For more on the story, with a video of Aug. 20 meeting of the Oconee County Democratic Party meeting, please go to Oconee County Observations.