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This story has been updated.

By Tana Poncsak, contributor

Atlanta, GA — Residents turned out for the Druid Hills Candidate Town Hall Meeting presented by the Druid Hills Civic Association on April 17 at St. John’s Lutheran Church, where Democratic Georgia State House Reps Becky Evans and Saira Draper went head-to-head on the issues facing residents living in House District 90 in DeKalb County.

After redistricting, the two incumbent state representatives are competing to represent HD90 with the primary set for May 21.

Harriett Lan and Mike St. Louis with the Druid Hills Civic Association ran the town hall meeting where public safety and gun violence were top concerns. Other topics included education, abundant and affordable housing, voting rights, environmental issues such as climate change, and more.

As St. Louis introduced both candidates, he explained that the reason for the redistricting was to create voter preference districts for African Americans living in Georgia.

“Our Republican legislature, in their great wisdom, decided to do some gratuitous redistricting of some districts that were not really involved and took target at two of the outstanding representatives we have in our State House,” St. Louis said. He called the situation unfortunate and said it was one that left the district with the only primary between two incumbent state representatives.

Each candidate had three minutes for an opening statement. Draper stressed her background and experience in voting rights.

“I developed an expertise in voting rights over the last few years,” she said. Having co-founded Power the Vote, she said one of her proudest moments was working as the director of voter protection for the Democratic Party of Georgia and Georgia director of voter protection for President Biden’s 2020 presidential election.

In her opening statement, Evan emphasized that she has served as representative for six years. “It’s been my honor and privilege to serve,” she said. “I’m proud of my record of delivering for DeKalb families.”

A big topic was public safety and gun violence. Draper said when she knocks on doors, what’s top of mind is guns, guns, guns.

“…As representatives, we actually have a lot of power to change policies that impact guns and other public safety issues. But the critical question is, and it goes back to the fundamental issue, do the people in control prioritize these issues?” Draper said the Republicans, the House majority, actively thwart any passage of gun safety legislation, and flipping the House is one way to resolve that issue.

Evans said she agrees that gun violence is an epidemic in our society. She serves on the Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee, and in her role, she said she is a conduit to ensure advocates’ voices are heard. Evans also said there are about $7.4 million in gun violence prevention awareness funds going out to community groups. As for other progress, Evans said there’s a bill that includes tax breaks for people who use their guns responsibly, and there’s funding for schools in the way of school security grants.

During the town hall meeting, each candidate expressed mutual respect and admiration for their opponent and their work while serving together in their respective districts. In her opening statement Draper, who currently represents District 90, said she was excited to be at the town hall meeting, but she said she is not excited about running against her colleague.

“It’s not something that either of us asked for,” she said. “And not something either of us wanted.”

In her closing statement, Evans, representing District 89, acknowledged Draper. “I admire and respect you,” she said to her opponent. “The Republicans did this to us, and it’s crummy.”

The May 21 primary election winner will go on the ballot for the general election in November 2024.

Early voting for the May 21 primary starts April 29 and runs through May 17. The voter registration deadline is April 22. To register to vote, go to https://www.vote411.org/register.

For more information on Rep. Saira Draper, visit https://www.sairadraper.com/saira. For more information on Rep. Becky Evans, visit https://www.beckyevans.com/meet-becky. 

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