Enter Steve Strickland, a man without a party (yet)

Steve Strickland will be running for State House District 119, (up Athens way) but has yet to decide if he’s a Republican or an independent.  Strickland told me he intends to “…meet with several influential members of the House before making a final decision.” Given that ALL the influential members of the House are Republicans, I think we could save him some time.  Full release below. 

“Steven Strickland intends to run for the 119th House District, consisting of Clarke and Oconee counties. He has over 17 years of business experience in the telecommunications and software industries. An innate innovator and problem solver, he thrives on finding solutions for business and government challenges.

“I look forward to being the voice of District 119, and leveraging my experience in collaboration, negotiations and technology innovation to drive meaningful legislation for our local community.  We’re very aware of the negativity in today’s politics, therefore, I commit that I will run a positive campaign and will carry it through to the House if elected.”

An Army veteran, Strickland graduated with a bachelor degree from Oglethorpe University, and earned graduate degrees from The University of Georgia School of Law and Georgia Tech’s College of Business.  He worked full-time throughout college and graduate school.  Strickland is currently the head of business development at GTS, a national integrator specializing in complex broadband and mobile networks.

Strickland lives in Oconee County at 1061 Arborwood Ridge, in Bishop, with his wife, Stephanie, and four children.  Their three youngest are students in the Oconee County School district, while his oldest is a freshman at Athens Tech and works part-time for an Athens-based IT company.  The Strickland family are members of Briarwood Baptist Church in Watkinsville.

“I look forward to listening to District 119 voters’ thoughts on the top issues facing Georgia’s General Assembly for 2018.  First of all, I’d like to share my ideas to improve fiscal policy.  We’re all aware that workforce automation and E-commerce is disrupting industries and transforming how we conduct business as we continue to see brick and mortar stores close, but sought-after technical trades are not prioritized in K-12 schools and city infrastructure throughout our Georgia communities are not prepared to support technology innovation.”

Strickland plans to be a champion of conservative fiscal policies with a laser focus on wasteful spending cuts and collaborating on innovative approaches to raise state revenues without impacting taxes. This strategy includes implementing programs that attract high-growth employers to Georgia and promoting public-private partnerships to enable growth in industries critical to Clark and Oconee county residents. He understands this dynamic first hand, having worked for both Tech Startups and Fortune 500 companies, including AT&T and NCR Corporation.

“I will push legislation that helps locally-owned businesses thrive by expanding technical apprenticeship programs for students, cutting back nonsense regulations and making investments in smart city infrastructure (the future backbone of transportation, energy efficiency, public safety, agriculture and so much more).” 

Strickland has yet to publicly announce a political party affiliation, but will do so before filing with the state.  He is available for live discussion with residents of District 119 and can be reached at [email protected].”

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