Republican 10th District Congressman Mike Collins was in Oconee County three times in late April, but Oconee County Democrats missed out on opportunities to see him, while Oconee County Republicans had a different experience.
Collins was a featured speaker at the Republican Party’s Congressional District 10 Convention held at the Oconee County Civic Center on Saturday (April 26). Just more than 200 people attended.
Earlier that week, more than 50 members of the Oconee County Democratic Party and Indivisible GA 10 went to Collins’s Monroe Office to present the Congressman with a Report Card for his performance. They were only successful in meeting his staff.
Collins’s other two appearances in Oconee County were brief, not publicly promoted in advance, and at two of the county’s high schools.
Collins is holding a Surf & Turf fundraising event at 4 p.m. on Saturday at the FHA Center on Lake Jackson between Covington and Jackson that is open to members of the public who are willing to pay. Collins is from Jackson in Butts County.
In a Wednesday (April 30) robo call, the Congressman labeled the event as “one of the largest gatherings of America First Patriots in Georgia this year” that will be attended by “Republican elected officials.”
Indivisible Georgia 10, in another attempt to engage the public, and indirectly, Collins, is running messages on an electronic billboard over Dunkin’ on Epps Bridge Parkway questioning actions of the Trump administration, with the acquiescence of the Republican-controlled Congress.
Report Card In Monroe
The Indivisible GA 10 meeting on the grounds of the historic Walton County Courthouse in Monroe on April 22 featured a large Report Card listing five “Subjects” on which group leaders had graded Collins.
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| Smith 4/22/2025 |
Barbara Burt, co-leader of Indivisible GA 10, said the report card “kind of tells you how we think that Representative Collins is doing.”
Raymond Smith, a member of the executive committee of the Oconee County Democratic Party, went over each of the subjects, explaining the F grade given the Congressman on each subject.
“Mike Collins,” he said, “your performance could do with some improvement.”
Smith said Collins had failed to lower the costs of living, had not supported the health of families, had not protected the right to vote, had not worked for a safe and clean environment, and had not responded to constituent concerns.
About 10 Oconee County citizens, including most of the county Democratic Party leadership, joined residents from Walton, Morgan, Clarke, Madison, Jasper, and Newton counties at the event.
The 10th Congressional District includes all of 16 counties, including Oconee, and parts of four counties and stretches from the Franklin, Hart, and Elbert counties on the Savannah River in the east to parts of Henry, Newton, and Gwinnett counties on the outskirts of Atlanta on the west.
At the end of the explanation of the grades given Collins by Smith, those present signed two copies of the report cards and took them to Collins’s District Office, located across the street from the Historic Courthouse.
Smith said the staff told him the Congressman was not present when he handed in the cards but that the cards would be passed to Collins.
A sign on the front door of the office says that audio and video recording and still photography in the office is not allowed without prior approval of the Congressman.
Billboard Displays
Rick Burt, co-leader of Indivisible GA 10, told the group at the Monroe Report Card gathering that Indivisible GA 10 had purchased time on the large electronic billboard at 1880 Epps Bridge Parkway in the shopping center that is home to Trader Joe’s.
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| Billboard 4/21/2025 |
The messages, visible to traffic traveling east to Athens, are scheduled to run for a month, Rick Burt said.
One message being displayed on April 21 stated that “VA cuts $2 billion and 80,000 jobs.” It asked: “Is that how we thank Georgia’s 700,000 veterans?”
Another stated that “The EPA funds 25% of Georgia’s work on environmental protection. Will we have clean air and water after cuts?”
The ads were in a 10-second rotation.
The billboard directs visitors to a web site, GAFacts.org, which provides information about “How Government Cuts Ands Tariffs Affect Georgia” and asks for donations to keep the billboards running.
Republican District Convention
Hurley, Chair of the Oconee County Republican Party, said in an email message on Monday (April 28) that the 200 delegates at the Convention at the Oconee County Civic Center on Saturday (April 26), represented all 20 counties in the 10th Congressional District.
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| Civic Center 4/26/2025 |
It was the second year in a row that Oconee County was the site of the Convention, she said, because the Civic Center accommodates the group so well. The meeting lasted about three hours, she said.
Collins was joined by Public Service Commissioner Tim Echols, state Sen. John F. Kennedy, and Ja'Quon Stembridge, 10th District Communications Member and Candidate for Georgia GOP Assistant Secretary, according to Hurley.
Hurley was elected Second Vice Chair of the Republican Party for the 10th Congressional District at the meeting, she reported.
In addition, she and Colby Baker, another member of the Oconee County Republican Party Executive Committee, were two of 14 from the District elected to the State Republican Party Committee, she said.
Kirk Shook from Oconee County was voted into the 10th District Circle of Honor, Hurley said. Shook serves as the Republican Party’s member on the Oconee County Board of Elections and Registration.
Hurley had announced in an email message she sent to her party list on the afternoon of April 23 that Collins would attend the 10th District Republican Party Convention at the Civic Center.
Those wishing to attend had to pay $40, she wrote.
In referring to Collins' upcoming Surf & Turf at the Party's meeting on Monday evening (April 28), Hurley warned that “Surf” is catfish, and “Turf” is chicken.
Collins At Oconee Schools
Collins also was in Oconee County on Monday (April 21) and Friday (April 25) of last week.
He held a signing ceremony at 3:20 p.m. on April 21 at Athens Academy for Brinkley Williams, who has earned appointment to the U.S. Naval Academy.
Collins also held a signing ceremony at 11:30 a.m. on April 25 at Oconee County High School for Cadence Keese, who also has earned an appointment to the United Naval Academy.
Barbara Burt, co-leader of Indivisible Georgia 10, said in an email message on Saturday (April 26) after the Republican Party Convention had ended that “Because Rep. Collins does not make his calendar public, it’s very hard to find out where he is appearing.”
Indivisible GA 10, the Oconee County Democratic Party, and the Athens-Clarke Democratic Party held a Town Hall Meeting that Collins did not attend on March 18.
“As he represents all the citizens of District 10, not just those whom he assumes agree with him,” Barbara Burt said in her email on Saturday, “we believe it’s his responsibility to listen to our concerns as well.”
Video
Below is a clip from the video I shot at the April 22 Report Card event in Monroe.
The clip begins with the unveiling of the Report Card by Burt and is followed the explanation of the grading by Smith.
3 comments:
Mr. Lawrence, I removed your comment because you didn't put in your full name. I realized this only after I had published it. Please resubmit it.
Thanks.
Lee
Collins was joined by Public Service Commissioner Tim Echols
So one had to pay $40 to hear Echols defend why the PSC allows GA Power to earn 19% higher earnings than last year?
If you think eggs are pricey, check your GA Power electric bill
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