Second-generation Jamaican to run for Georgia secretary of state office

Dr John Eaves, a second-generation Jamaican, has launched a campaign to become the next secretary of state for Georgia.

Eaves announced recently that he will be seeking to become the Democratic standard-bearer for that elected office when the elections are held in 2022. But first he must win the Democratic primary first.

Eaves, so far, has one democratic challenger in the primary.

He told The Gleaner that he decided to run because the rights of citizens to vote in Georgia are under attack. The position of secretary of state in Georgia oversees all election matters and the Georgia State Assembly recently passed a bill restricting voting rights that many say will affect minority voters throughout the state.

Among the measures in the new law that has caused concerns is the fact that the secretary of state can throw out votes and replace election officials they do not agree with.

A current lecturer in political science at Spellman College, Eaves has held elected office before, serving as chairman of Fulton County in Georgia.

BLACK AND JEWISH HERITAGE

Eaves, whose grandparents are from Jamaica, claims both black and Jewish heritage.

He is a member of the Jewish community in Atlanta and frequently speaks and write about his “black and Jewish” heritage.

A graduate of Morehouse College and Yale University, Eaves is also the recipient of numerous prestigious awards, including two Fulbright Awards in Germany and Finland. He currently serves as executive director of the Global Youth Ambassadors programme.

He said that the main areas of his campaign platform for secretary of state are voter accessibility and a strong system of support for sustainable small business in Georgia.

“There is currently a sinister effort by conservative Republicans to restrict the votes of black and brown people in Georgia and make it harder for them to have access to voting. I want to reverse this and make it easier for people to vote,” he said, pointing out that it is the office of Secretary of State that overseas all election matters in the state.

On the topic of small business, Eaves said that small business is the backbone of the Georgia economy but the secretary of state’s office, which also has responsibility for developing small businesses, has done nothing to facilitate the strengthening of this sector.

“I want to oversee a secretary of state office that will cater to a much stronger small business community in the state of Georgia. The office has responsibility for business development but has placed no focus on small business development, which is the backbone of employment and economic development in the state,” he said.

The current secretary of state in Georgia is Republican Brad Raffensperger, who encountered the wrath of former President Donald Trump, who thought he did not do enough to throw the state in his favour in the last presidential election won by Democrat Joe Biden. President Biden became the first Democratic presidential candidate to win the state of Georgia in several years.

Raffensperger has said that he will be seeking re-election, but several Republican candidates have announced that they will be challenging him for the post.