written by Dominque Huff
Lexy Doherty had no desire to live in Georgia beyond obtaining her master's at the University of Georgia. Like many college students, a college town is temporary, but she quickly became a part of a bustling community. Her passion and love for small businesses came from her mother, an entrepreneur who lost her business during the 2008 economic recession. The recession also led to an erosion of Main Street, which was owned and operated locally, compared to a corporation-controlled one.
“I saw my mother’s business go from thriving to surviving to closing. This was the same story for many of the businesses on Main Street, and one by one, all of the storefronts became occupied with corporate chains who had zero ties and connection to the community,” she said. These businesses just come in and siphon our dollars away from the region, all while our representatives just watched it happen.” With her motto, ‘Progress Today, a Vision for Tomorrow,’ she is very concerned about small businesses and young people, particularly Generation Z and Millennials. Economics is the bond that all generations, from Generation Z to Baby Boomers, share as the concerns of inflation are hitting everyone.
“We have young people fresh out of college who are struggling to find quality work at decent wages, young professionals who cannot afford a home, and older people who are struggling to keep their homes,” she said. Inflation is a problem for all of us, but we cannot let corporations off the hook who are using this time to price gauge to increase profits on the backs of hardworking Americans.”
Even with economic hardships, she does not want anyone, particularly young people, to skip voting. As more Americans grow weary of politics, Doherty believes that voting provides checks and balances along with a voice. “We are not married to any elected official. We have a chance to vote them out every term but that involves the people,” she said. “Younger folks need to be shown the value and importance of voting.”
In terms of getting things done, she says the government needs to stop being boring, focus on the people's work, and be visionary and forward-thinking. As many complex issues impact people, such as gerrymandering, affordable housing, and living costs, solutions are reactionary and rushed. “Look at the way we are doing affordable housing. We are just tossing housing any and everywhere without regard to infrastructure and other community needs,” she said. “We need to consider transportation, services, and amenities, not just say we are building housing. We need to have sustainable community.
If elected, Doherty says the everyday person will be engaged and connected to their federal government, aware of resources and opportunities, and have feedback solicited regarding legislative matters. She believes that elected officials must empower their constituents, and this is a three-step process. First, citizens must pick elected officials, not elected officials creating the districts they want to represent. “We need nonpartisan redistricting that is about people, not politics. We should not gerrymander districts to give a party an edge or to protect an incumbent,” she explained. “To adequately represent the citizens, the district should make sense geographically, not politically.”
Second, everyone should have an opportunity to participate in obtaining resources such as grants. “The same folks are getting things not because they are smarter or more interested but because they are the only ones who know,” she said. “Everyone must be aware and shown how to compete for these opportunities.”
Finally, processes must be modernized for today’s needs, not yesterday’s. “School funding is one example of draconian formulas. We are funding education at a formula devised in the 1970s and 1980s,” she said. “The representatives have used this to underfund education severely. ”Doherty represents the younger generation that refuses to wait her turn and says that it’s time for a new era of politics. “We are not waiting for the torch to be passed. We are going to take it,” she concluded.
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