Democrat LeMario Brown heads to runoff in Georgia Senate District 18 race

Democrat LeMario Brown received the most votes in a special election of state Senate District 18 and will head to a runoff Feb. 17.

Former state Sen. John Kennedy resigned from the seat because he is running for lieutenant governor. 

Brown will face off against Republican Steven McNeel in the runoff. Early voting begins Feb. 9.

Brown recently joined The Ron Show to discuss his campaign and his plans for the Middle Georgia district.

“We knew what it took to get where we are now, so we put in the work, and we’re happy that we came out of that jungle election on the top,” he said. “We look forward to doing the same thing in this runoff.”

Brown acknowledged the “uphill battle” he has faced in a strong Republican district, but he said he looks forward to collaborating with Republicans to tackle core issues.

“Everybody got to eat, man. Like I said, that’s not even a Democrat or Republican issue. That’s just a mankind issue,” he said.

Supporting farmers

Brown, a farmer and small business owner, grew up in Fort Valley and hopes to use his position, if elected, to give incentives to farmers to make farming more affordable and encourage selling goods at local farmers markets.

Many small grocery stores in small communities are closing due to economic issues and lack of incentivization from the state and federal government, he said.

“I  hope to actually work with all of my colleagues in the Senate to make sure we’re doing what we got to do to make sure small farmers still have a seat at the table, and they’re sustainable in District 18,” he said.

Local businesses and economic development

Brown served six years on the Fort Valley City Council and as the Mayor Pro Tem. He said he understands that communities like Fort Valley need economic development, but he said it should be managed in a way to maintain small businesses.

“We got to look at ways to incentivize those local moms and pops to actually stay in and continue to get a return on their investment because they could have easily left years ago, you know, but they stayed and fought it out and they work with the community,” he said.

The state should be looking at incentivizing home renovations to increase retention in small communities and entrepreneurs to invest there, he said.

Property taxes and federal interference

The state Senate passed a bill Tuesday that would eliminate property taxes for Georgia homesteads. Brown said he doesn’t understand why state lawmakers are pushing these changes.

“Sometimes I just scratch my head with some of the legislation these guys pass down, man. It’s like, do you not have a heart at all? Even when you’re talking about taking away the state income tax, like, dude, we have to use that for our school system,” he said. “I just either feel like they’re just completely evil, or they just don’t really care about their fellow man in these small communities. So that’s the whole reason we’re running, man. We’ve got to put a stop to that.”

Brown said that some of the policies being implemented do not give regular people a fighting chance, and small communities need to receive help in maintaining their healthcare infrastructure.

“You sit there and brag about a $14 billion surplus, but you got a hospital closing in Fort Valley. You got hospitals getting ready to close in other rural parts of Georgia,” he said. “To me, it just don’t make sense.”

Brown stressed that small towns need to be protected from federal interference with Immigration and Customs Enforcement warehouses.

“My ancestors just woke up when you said that because I’m just being real. That just feels like, to me, it’s just another slave camp,” he said.

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