Decision 2024: Meet Anissa Jones, candidate for Georgia House District 143
Early voting began on October 15 and ends on November 1. Election day is November 5.
MACON, Georgia (41NBC/WMGT) – Anissa Jones and Barbara Boyer are on the ballot for Georgia House District 143.
41NBC’s Monica Diaz-Meek spoke with Anissa Jones ahead of the November 5 election.
Candidate name: Anissa Jones
Running for: Georgia House District 143
Campaign Website: electanissajones.com
MONICA- Welcome back. Today we have Anissa Jones, who’s running for Georgia House district 143. Thank you for being here today.
ANISSA- It’s my pleasure.
MONICA- The election is underway right now. Early voting and Election Day is just literally under two weeks now, so it’s getting close. I have a few questions for you. First off, what are the main priorities you plan to address if you’re elected and how do you plan on doing so?
ANISSA- Thank you so much for that question. I’m a big advocate for economic development and infrastructure changes as well as public safety. So as a small business owner, economic development is very important to me because that’s what drives people to areas, people are your customers or clients, and you want to make sure that you have a wonderful business that’s able to thrive. And economic development for a small business owner like myself, has to have some changes because we are living in a community.
Now, where are we hearing buzzwords like inflation? Folks aren’t having the, you know, the finances to really be able to make ends meet. And I tell people all the time, I’m sitting at my coffee table with my husband as well, trying to make those decisions every day. So as a small business owner, I’d want to be able to raise my, my, my folks a salary so that they can thrive as well at home. And in order to do that, we’re going to have to support small business leaders. Small business are going to have to get some tax incentives. Small businesses are going to have to get some low interest loans so that they be able to raise those salaries to meet the demand of what’s happening with the inflation. So that’s one thing that I really want to advocate for in the state, is figuring out a way that we can support the heart of our business community, and that is our small business owners.
MONICA- Now I want to talk about why do you think that you are best for this? I know you have a big push for small businesses, but why do you think you’re the best for this position?
ANISSA- Well, you know, I hate to sound like, you know, a tagline, but I am poised, I am prepared, and I’m very passionate about what I’m trying to do. I’ve had an opportunity to be on several boards here in the Macon, Middle Georgia area. I’ve also had the opportunity to be in practice for over 25 years, where I have had a good, thriving business in this community.
People know who I am. They know they can trust me. I’m not going anywhere. I’m not fly by night. And then I have been duly elected to be a water commissioner here in, Middle Georgia, where I was the vice chair and the district one representative for the Macon Water Authority. So people have been able to see me in action. I’m not new to to the political world. I have been doing the work. I’ve gotten my hands dirty. I’ve been in the trenches. I’ve done what? What has been necessary to make myself known in the community so that they can entrust me with this new position.
MONICA- What is your reaction to this record-breaking voter turnout? And what does that say to you about this year’s election cycle?
ANISSA- I am so excited. You know, just to see that people are engaged, that they are excited about change or excited about just being a part of the process. It’s just one of those things that we are required to do as a civic duty is to vote. And just to see so many people just getting up each day and making their statements known for whomever they choose. I really don’t get into who you vote for. I just love the fact that people are voting and vote. They are voting are, you know, that means that they want to know what’s going on. They want to be a part of the part of the process. And I looked at the numbers as they were coming in each day.
And I’m like, wow, one day already beat out some of the, you know, the times that we just did in the primary and I’m like, wow, we had more votes in the first two days than we had in our primary election here in Macon, and I was excited to see that. Which means that folks are excited. They’re enthused. They’re engaged. They want to know what’s going on, and they want to go out and let the world know.
MONICA- Alright, thank you so much.
