Meet the Candidates: Reginald Crossley

Reginald Crossley is seeking election against incumbent Sen. Horacena Tate to District 38, which covers South Cobb, bits of Smyrna and parts of Fulton County. Crossley currently oversees the Fulton Youth Commission for the Department of Housing & Human Services. There he advocates for solutions to social issues facing youth. He’s a certified Gang and Violence Prevention Specialist as well as a trained expert in Alcohol, Tobacco and Other Drugs. He counsels families and individuals with substance abuse problems. He’s lived in District 38 for the last decade and has 10 years of community organizing and program development experience.

South Cobb Patch caught up with Crossley to hear what he had to say about pressing issues facing District 38:

Why did you decide to run for District 38 of the state Senate?

I’m tired of our elected officials getting into office and becoming complacent. Essentially, it’s an extension of what I already do. I understand what the constituents need firsthand.

As a former educator, I understand what our teachers go through, spending too much time being counselors, mothers and fathers.

I also think our schools can be more engaging in terms of the way we deliver the curriculum and how we train our young people. You know we live in an age where technology is taking over every facet of our lives so I propose more technology in our schools. Kids are learning on iPads and on iPhones. We’re in a real technical age and I think our school system needs to reflect that.

What are the top issues facing District 38?

Number 1, lack of employment, of course. Six out of 10 people are unemployed so that’s something that’s a major concern of mine. First and foremost to train our people so they can be eligible…Unemployment is only in a specific sector. There are many other industries that are emerging and are in high demand of a workforce or of a work base so we need to start to train our people with the skills and the development for what’s going on today and the direction that our world is going. So I propose more energy efficiency jobs, green jobs…We can go into those areas.

In terms of education, that’s another concern of mine, we also need to do that in the school system as well. When they leave a school they have a skill set… We need to bring back the vocational component to our schools and we need to also add entrepreneurial component, teach our young people entrepreneurial skills to become entrepreneurs and to learn how to be self-sufficient and to learn management skills.

What is your main vision? Once elected, what things would you like to put in place?

My vision is to focus on the plan I’ve developed entitled E3. It stands for focus on Education, Employment and Environment. These are some of the essential areas that are neutral. Everyone is concerned about education. Everyone is concerned about employment, and we all have to be concerned about environment. So those would be my focus areas. I also want to focus on entrepreneurship, most important for our small businesses. Sixty percent of employment growth comes from our private sector, comes from our small businesses, our local entrepreneurs, our mom-and-pop shops who are employing people in our district. I also want to develop better support for the businesses so we can keep the money circulating amongst ourselves and our community. Many of the companies are coming in that have no real connection to our community. But if you support the businesses who are from our community, then you can ensure those dollars will stay in our community and reinvest them.

What accomplishment are you most proud of that will serve you well if elected to office?

I’m most proud of the community and grassroots efforts I’ve developed in training our young people to be more self-sufficient and training young people to also go out and train their peers. The essential life skills necessary for success, entrepreneurship, the  importance of education the importance of community. I’ve done a lot for homelessness. I developed HOPE and hope stands for helping other people everyday. This is where we go out in the communities and disseminate the necessary  services that are homeless or low-income families are in need of. Anything from health services, employment services, shelter many of our people are in need of mental health and behavior health…rehabilitation for drugs and alcohol even assisting our formerly incarcerated persons who are interested in getting back into the workforce, pointing them in the right direction assisting them with getting the skills necessary for the careers in demand currently helping them to get back into society and be a contributing citizen. Overall, working on a grassroots level… and actually being the person who is in the community, also funding the local nonprofits that are offering services to our young people, funding afterschool services where many of our young people have nothing to do after school  supporting those types of initiatives keeps our young people active and off the streets, deterring them from the drugs and the violence and  many of the ills our young people fall victim to. 

As a newcomer to the Senate, how do you plan to work with other Senators, including those across the aisle?

What I propose is neutral. It’s not a left or a right thing. It’s essential to all people, and all people are concerned about education, employment and our overall environment. I believe what I propose will gain support from both sides. I’m not a rookie to the political sector. I’ve worked in government for a very long time. I’ve worked with the Fulton County Board of Commissioners, I’ve worked with many of our state representatives and state senators. What I also do as commissioner and with my youth group, meet with many elected officials to help influence large policies and all-around solutions, what we do is give a youth perspective to much of the legislation being developed. So, we’re ensuring that these people are enacting policy that our young people and is relevant to what’s going on. So, we’re definitely familiar with what’s going on and we’re very active in the world of policy and administration. We’ve assisted with authoring bills and bringing a youth view on how these policies are developed.

What else would you like voters to know before heading to the polls on Tuesday?

It’s time for change. We cannot expect change if we go about doing things the same. What I propose is new leadership plus a new direction equals change. I represent the generation that is being overlooked and being forgotten. I represent actually the biggest generation, the millennium generation between the ages of 20 and 35, is the biggest population in the world.  So, it’s essential that we have someone who can relate to that population, someone who can mobilize that population to be active and contributing citizens to society and who can understand what it’s like on the grassroots level, understand what’s it like to see the working poor. I’ve worked in every facet of community. I’m only speaking on experience. I’m not talking about what I heard or what I’ve been told. I’m talking about what I know, what I’ve seen, what I’ve experienced. So that’s what makes me different… I’m very in tune with what’s going on with this current generation and very in tune with technology. I also still come from the Baby Boomers generation, which pretty much guided me. I bring both the experience of our seasoned elders because I was born between two of the most essential generations. I bring the best of both worlds.