Candidates for the Georgia Senate, District 50, are Roy Benifield and John Wilkinson, the incumbent. The responsibilities of a Georgia Senate member are: unlike other government officials who devote full time to public service, the Legislature is government’s “citizen” branch, whose members are occupied in a business or profession when not carrying out legislative duties. Senators are engaged in law, retail trade, farming, education and a host of other occupations. A citizen, organization or other public official can conceive of the need for legislation, but only a Senator may actually introduce legislation in the Georgia Senate. In addition, the Senate has the sole responsibility of confirming the Governor’s appointments to state boards and agencies. Senators represent the interests of their constituents year-round by helping citizens in their dealings with government agencies and studying problems which citizens feel require legislation.
Roy Benifield was raised in Dacula, but now resides in Franklyn County. He is a former Marine, serving 4 years, and was a police officer for 27 years in Dekalb County. Roy also spent 20 months in Bosnia and Kosovo, where he trained police officers in the Code of Conduct and basic police procedures. He has spent his career fighting for freedom and standing for the rule of law. Roy supports rolling back taxes in Northeast Georgia, and a term limit law that restricts holding office to three terms. He would vote to end the retirement pension for state legislators – who only work part time – yet seek full benefits after only 8 years in office. He says he will support defending the laws which are on the books and enforcing them fairly and evenly to all.
John Wilkinson is the incumbent for the District 50 Georgia Senate seat, a position he has held since 2011. He is Chairman of the Agriculture and Consumer Affairs Committee. He is also a member of the Appropriations and Government Oversight Committee. John also serves of the Education and Youth Committee in the Georgia Senate. He was recently honored a 2015 ACCG Legislative Award for his work in promoting agriculture and small family farms in Georgia. He was also recently named as “Policy maker of the Year,” by the Georgia Association for Career and Technical Education. He is a former educator and resides in Toccoa, and holds a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture and a Master’s in Education from The University of Georgia.
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