Almost two years ago an unprecedented number of voters of the 95th District turned out to vote in the Presidential election. The majority of those voters of the district marked an X next to every candidate that was running as a Democrat.
This action resulted in the election of candidate who actually did nothing to win that election but pay his fee and put his name on the ticket.
Not only did Toney Collins do nothing to earn the votes of the folks in the 95th district, after he was elected, Collins rarely was sighted in his district and constituents complained about him being difficult to get in touch with. In fact we only had sightings of him ourselves three times – one of those times was at a Chamber sponsored event where he spent his time telling folks they had to do a better job of talking with their legislators. The only problem with that suggestion is that the legislator has to actually be available to talk.
We began calling Collins, "No Show" – a name that was more than appropriate. We are pleased that in the election runoff Tuesday that the Democratic voters of District 95 woke up and showed "No Show" Collins to the door.
Because of political gerrymandering, our county is sliced up to the point that unless every person we elect is willing to work hand and hand with us in person, Rockdale residents will have no voice in the state legislature.
We hope that the election of Collins will serve as a lesson to all of us that we need to take the time to learn about the candidates running to represent us before we place the X next to their name.