Cameron And Zibluk Contend For State House Seat

By LYDIA BERGLAR
News Editor

The race for the Georgia House of Representatives District One seat features two candidates: Republican Mike Cameron (incumbent) and Democrat Jack Zibluk.

The Sentinel sent both candidates questions specific to each person’s experience and platform as well as several questions for both of them. Here are their answers:

Q: Mike, what are you most proud of accomplishing this term? Are there specific projects you hope to keep working on?

First, I collaborate with people to get things done. Some of those are: 

• Working with Ted Rumley and the Georgia Department of Transportation to slow traffic on the top of Highway 136 [on Lookout Mountain]. The results were the flashers that GDOT recently installed.
• Working with Trenton Telephone and leadership at the Department of Natural Resources to get fiber optics run in Cloudland Canyon State Park.
• Working with Dade County Government and the DDA to get the ARC grant to run water lines to the new expansion at Trenton Pressing.
• Working with Congresswoman Greene who secured $1.5 million in federal funding to help Dade Water and Sewer Authority obtain a filter system for the water pumps at the plant.
• Receiving the FFA Blue and Gold Award with former Senator Mullis for helping obtain funding for a pavilion at Ridgeland to show livestock.
• Receiving the J.C. Gober Community Service Award from Walker County Young Farmers.

Also, I had two bills that did not make it across the finish line that I will reintroduce in January. One bill, HB 327, added step-grandchildren to Georgia’s Incest Law, and the other, HB 590, protected peace officers in Georgia from online menacing.

Q: Jack, what have you observed (from a distance) about the Georgia House of Representatives these last few years that you think you could improve?

Really, it’s the hard partisanship. I noticed on qualifying day, Democrats and Republicans didn’t talk to one another. The Republicans were uniformly white and often blonde. Democrats were a diverse, if scruffier, lot. We really have more in common than we look like we do.

Q: Jack, in your candidacy announcements, you’ve highlighted a desire for decency and cooperation in state politics. Recognizing that elected officials have different beliefs and goals (sometimes drastically so), how do you plan to promote cooperation?

The big thing is the ability to listen. I have had MANY talks with people who just assume because I have a D after my name that I will be superior and dismissive. I come from a blue-collar background, and I am still not your usual snooty PhD who uses words like pedagogy in casual conversation. Respect and listening go a long way.

Q: Mike, in a similar vein, what have you observed about cooperation at the state level? Any practical takeaways or instances where you’ve seen beneficial cooperation?

I am currently working with Rep. Karen Bennett, a Democrat, on how to eliminate food deserts in Georgia where there are areas with no grocery stores or fresh food available.

Second, I work on the Human Services Appropriation Subcommittee. Both parties work together to fund government agencies and programs like mental health and veteran services. It is a bipartisan effort.

Third, both of our federal senators, even though we disagree politically, are working on projects for District One. We focus on constituents instead of what we disagree about.

Q: Mike, your website lists the following as your platform: Defend the Constitution, Protect the Unborn, Stand for Gun Rights, Stop Human Trafficking, Protect our Senior Citizens, Promote Small Businesses, and Support our Farmers. Could you provide several sentences about each of those values, why you believe in them, and how your work in the house promotes them?

I believe the Constitution of the United States says what it says and should not be twisted to fit a political agenda. I will always defend life—the life of the innocent unborn against physical or chemical abortion, the lives of senior citizens, etc. For example, we should protect seniors from elder abuse in their homes or in nursing facilities. All life is created by God and should be revered.

I voted for Constitutional Carry in Georgia, and I do not feel citizen’s right to carry or protect themselves should be abated.

I work throughout my district to promote small businesses of all types. Small businesses are the backbone of our economy. In Dade, we have many small businesses, including restaurants and agriculture-related businesses. I support people realizing the American Dream. Part of this is keeping taxes and regulations low.

As a member of the Agriculture Committee in the house, I support pro-farm legislation. One example this year is the bill to keep the Chinese Government from buying up farmland or land close to military installations in Georgia. I also work to encourage young people to get involved in agriculture.

Q: Jack, of Mike’s stated platform above, are there any on the list that you disagree with? If so, why? What else is part of your platform?

This requires a more detailed conversation before making any analyses. I support the second amendment, but I don’t think crazy people should have access to assault weapons and shoot up schools. I am open to ideas to strike a balance on these poles.

Human trafficking is bad, of course, but I need to know more about what we can do at the state level to address the issue.

On supporting business and farmers and development overall, I am proposing a regional authority to coordinate and oversee development and distribution of federal opportunities in Alabama, Tennessee, and Georgia. Given our location, our economic development issues are regional as much as they are state and local.

In the state legislature, we need to differentiate between state, local, and national issues. Too many politicians bloviate about issues like immigration, and that’s federal more than local. We need to focus on community needs in Northwest Georgia rather than grandstand to talk about things about which we have little effect.

Regarding protecting the unborn, that’s fine, but we need to balance that sentiment with a commitment to those “already born.” As the father of a 24-year-old daughter, she is my paramount concern and my paramount responsibility. I think any decisions we make about her should be between her, her mom, me, and the appropriate health care professionals. This is one area where the government should never make the decision for us.

Q: Mike, how has your current term prepared you for future service?

During this term, I have served on six committees, one special committee, and one commission. That’s a great deal for a second term representative. I have learned a great deal about the budget, and, as a non-attorney, about the judicial process because I have passed two bills out of judiciary. This experience makes me better as a representative.

Q: Jack, what particular experiences, jobs, roles, etc. have prepared you to be a representative?

As an educator, I have had to meet the needs of conservatives and liberals. We have a rule about avoiding divisive issues, and I take that seriously. I really try to bring information from a middle perspective—just the facts—we can discuss what to do about those facts in our separate spaces.

Q: What is the primary purpose of the Georgia House of Representatives?

Jack Zibluk: To meet the needs of your constituents and represent those needs, and when there is no consensus on those needs, you need to have the balls to do what’s best for your district, even if you have to hold your nose and disagree with those actions.

Mike Cameron: The primary goal of the house is to pass a balanced budget, and second, is to represent the values and beliefs of our constituents in how we vote.

Q: How would you describe your fiscal policy? How would this influence your vote on the state budget?

Jack Zibluk: On fiscal policy, we have to live within our means, and in Georgia, we have done so. We can’t have a deficit by law. Economic development results in an increased tax base that we can use to help our regular folks. This year, we cut the grocery tax, and while that’s a Republican measure, it shows how we can use our tax money to help regular folks.

Mike Cameron: Fiscally, I am a conservative. In appropriations, I and many of my fellow house members work to be responsible in allocating money. For example, I am against expanding Medicaid because the program is not only costly but also does not improve patient outcomes.

Q: Are you for or against big government? Why?

Jack Zibluk: Frankly, that is a very vague question. Of course, I oppose socialism. We are a free and capitalistic society; that’s human nature. The role of government is that of a referee. Government provides services like roads and police and fire protection. How much government do we need? How much should be empowered at the state level? Federal level? Local level? That is the debate on which this nation was founded. We are all allowed to have our ideas on this one. There is no one answer, and sometimes not having a definitive answer is the sole of a small-d democratic society.

Mike Cameron: (See the previous answer.)

Q: Thinking particularly about areas where the state government has influence, what are the biggest obstacles to a flourishing life that north Georgia residents face?

Jack Zibluk: It’s our relative isolation. We are closer to Chattanooga than we are to Atlanta. We need to work with our neighbors to coordinate common concerns. In Northwest Georgia particularly, our communities are very different. Rome doesn’t talk to Dalton much, and in my district, Trenton, Lafayette, and Rossville don’t interact much. Our state officials need to listen to all these communities and focus on issues that affect the whole district rather than on individual municipalities.

Mike Cameron: One big obstacle is federal economic policy which is inflationary and makes it difficult for people here to buy groceries and gas and other essentials. Also, an open border with Mexico put more drugs and criminals on the streets.

Q: Anything else you think local voters need to know? Anything not asked on this list that should be addressed?

Jack Zibluk: Personally, I am a PhD with a funny last name. I am NOT a doctrinaire “woke” type who spouts race and gender platitudes. I am a blue-collar grandson of Russian immigrants and my cousins—the grandchildren of Anastasia and Polikarp Zibluk who fled the evils of socialism—are lawyers and nurses and PhDs (like me), and a Miss Connecticut and a rodeo cowboy. I am a good Catholic Christian, though my church attendance isn’t what it should be. I like to think I represent what this nation is about.