The gathering will begin at 6 p.m. at the Eighth Street Baptist Church, 408 Palace St., in Griffin. All local candidates have been invited to attend, said Griffin Branch NAACP President Jewel Walker-Harps.
Candidates who have no opposition will be introduced to the audience and asked to mingle and receive individual comments, questions or concerns after the meeting, Walker-Harps said.
Candidates who have opposition will be given three minutes to introduce themselves and explain their platform and will then entertain individual questions and concerns after the meeting, Walker-Harps explained.
The NAACP anticipates having someone present who can answer questions relating to the T-SPLOST, a 10-year, 1-cent regional transportation sales tax. According to Walker-Harps, there are numerous issues relating to the T-SPLOST, such as:
(1) how the projects were selected and the amount of input from the community;
(2) the lack of a provision to provide equity in the distribution of contracts to minority owners;
(3) the economic impact on presently deprived and unemployed persons and how the benefits outweigh the negatives for these persons.
Walker-Harps said Spalding County Tax Commissioner Sylvia Hollums will be asked to briefly comment on the “birthday tax.” This is the vehicle tag renewal, an ad valorem property tax that must be paid each year by the owner’s birthday, but was changed in the last session of the Georgia General Assembly.
Light refreshments will be provided by the women of Xi Beta Omega Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority Inc. Walker-Harps encouraged people to attend and seek information before participating in early voting, which begins on Monday and continues through July 27.
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