VALDOSTA – Former District 91 state Rep. Dee Dawkins-Haigler paid a visit to El Paso’s Tacos and Tequila in Downtown Valdosta to campaign in the May 24 Democratic primary for the secretary of state election underway with early voting.

Dawkins-Haigler served as a state representative for more than eight years, first taking office in 2008 and finishing her post in 2017. When questioned by D.J. Davis, a Valdosta State University sociology major, about her long-term plans should she be elected as secretary of state, Dawkins-Haigler made it clear that her main focus will be on voting rights and helping residents of Georgia with “professional endeavors.”

“I want to make sure that the people of Georgia, Black people in particular, will have free and fair elections and access to the ballot box at any time. Given the craziness of the last two years, I worry that their vote will not count or be suppressed,” Dawkins-Haigler said.

“I would also like the secretary of state’s office to do more around education and resources geared towards business development. There’s a lot of people who wouldn’t know where to start. I want to make sure we get that done in a timely manner because sometimes if you call, it will take all day. We need to reach the people. I mean, the secretary of state’s website is straight garbage right now; people can’t even navigate what we’re supposed to be doing.”

Dawkins-Haigler mentioned that during her term, she pushed for legislation that increased funding for statewide transportation through the HB 170 Transportation Funding Act of 2015 as well as the decriminalization of medicinal marijuana through the Haleigh’s Hope Act – issues she hopes to revisit.

“One bill I’m proud I pushed, especially from the Black Caucus perspective, was the $1 billion transportation bill. I’m also proud of decriminalizing marijuana for medical use. It was me and five other representatives that pushed House Bill 1 across the finish line so that we would be able to participate in this industry,” she said.

She said focusing on these types of bills helps address racial disparities in the state’s incarceration rates.

“So many Black people have been incarcerated behind cannabis. This is a multi-billion-dollar industry and Black people still cannot participate in the industry fully when there’s so much that it does for health care,” she said.

“People who have cancer and especially sickle cell and lupus, those two illnesses that disproportionately affect Black people, a lot of these things can be dealt with through cannabis, and no one should be criminalized for it.”

Dawkins-Haigler plans on returning to Valdosta at a later date to host an official meet and greet that allows her “a full day to get to know the citizens of Valdosta and their needs.”

Dawkins-Haigler was the chair of the Legislative Women’s Caucus from 2011-13 and the chair of the Georgia Legislative Black Caucus from 2013-17. She also received a Presidential Lifetime Achievement Award from Barack Obama in 2017.