James Nov-Dec 2023 web - Flipbook - Page 52
While there have been positive
developments in education, the
positives don’t go far enough. The
HOPE Scholarship was fully funded
last year for the first time since the
Great Recession. The HOPE Scholarship rewards excellent students
while also investing in Georgia’s
future by creating a workforce that
will make Georgia a more innovative and productive place. Democrats changed many lives for the
better by passing this program in
the 1990s.
However, too many Georgians
still lack access to our incredible
University and Technical College
systems. Democrats are ready to
help. Our First Generation College
Scholarship program will help students who are the first in their family
to attend college go to any USG or
TCSG institution. This program will
help the underserved access pathways to good middle class jobs that
create economic security.
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JAMES
Democrats will
continue to defend
our timeless
priorities: our
sacred civil rights,
women’s access to
health care choices,
environment, and
public safety.
Republicans have also neglected
to expand our Pre-K programs. Too
many families worry whether their
children will win a seat in Pre-K
through a lottery. Again, we can do
better. We can fund our Pre-K program and guarantee every eligible
four-year-old a seat.
NOVEM B E R/D EC E M B E R 2 0 2 3
And we can create these two
programs by passing a constitutional
amendment legalizing sports betting.
While the significant public health
risks of sports betting concern all
Democrats, including myself, the
opportunity to provide so many Georgians with a better chance at economic prosperity cannot be ignored.
Democrats will continue to
defend our timeless priorities: our
sacred civil rights, women’s access
to health care choices, environment,
and public safety. We will push
to find ways to promote safe and
sensible gun ownership without
infringing on Second Amendment
rights. We will push for a Georgia
with cleaner air and fewer carbon
emissions. We will protect our
LGBTQ+ allies from harmful Republican attacks. And we’ll work to
create a fairer and freer Georgia.
State Sen. Gloria Butler, elected in 1998, is the
Senate Democratic Caucus chairwoman.