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Hoganne Harrison-Walton recently drove to the state capital in Atlanta to officially qualify as a candidate for a state political office.
The Milledgeville attorney has practiced law at her local office of Hogan Law Firm for the past 13 years and has been active in court cases in several counties of the Ocmulgee Judicial Circuit. She specializes in child abuse, criminal defense and family law.
Harrison-Walton is a candidate for the District 133 seat in the Georgia House of Representatives. It marks the second time in two years that she has sought political office. She lost out in her attempt to become Baldwin County Solicitor General.
If elected, Harrison-Walton would become the first woman and the first African-American to ever hold a seat in the Georgia House of Representatives from Milledgeville and Baldwin County. She is seeking the seat as a Democrat.
Her opponent in the race will be Ken Vance, a former longtime member of Milledgeville City Council and past executive director of the Georgia Peace Officers Standing and Training Council. Vance is seeking office as a Republican.
The seat currently is held by state Rep. Rick Williams, a Republican, who lives in Milledgeville. Williams is vacating the seat to run the Georgia Senate. He aspires to fill the seat currently held by state Sen. Burt Jones, a Republican from Jackson. Jones is seeking to become the state’s new lieutenant governor.
One of the first things Harrison-Walton said she did when pondering whether or not to run for public office was to pray about it with her husband, Erik Walton, who serves as a recruitment director for Macon-Bibb County, Warner Robins, Dublin, Eastman at Georgia Military College.
“We prayed about it together, because anytime you are running for any elected position, you want to know that your spouse is on board,” Harrison-Walton told The Union-Recorder during an interview at her office Monday afternoon. “And then we decided what better way is there to continue to serve our community.”
Harrison-Walton said one of the things she will advocate if elected, is promoting economic development throughout the local House district, as well as across the state.
“I would support statewide casino gambling,” Harrison-Walton said. “If you look at the potential of money that casino gambling could bring in and the jobs that could be created as a result of it, it has this positive domino effect.”
Jobs could be created also, she said.
“You have a very specific industry for hotels and resorts,” Harrison-Walton said. “The casinos would just bring in a whole new source of industry to this area.”
She said she believes one of the ideal places to build such a casino would be in neighboring Macon-Bibb County.
Harrison-Walton said she would propose the money from casino gambling go towards the education fund in the state.
“We need to look at the HOPE Scholarship because it changes quite frequently,” Harrison-Walton said. “If we use it for educational purposes, I think we need to look at how it’s being used and look at where some of that money is going when it comes to alternative schools because we have a lot of children who are dropping out of alternative schools and not getting their education. So, maybe we need to look at refocusing some of that money.”
She also believes some of that pot of money should be directed to deal with substance abuse and mental health issues.
“I think we are doing enough to deal with those two big problems throughout our state,” Harrison-Walton said.
Central State Hospital in Milledgeville was closed several years ago, she said, and Rivers Edge can only do so much as a private entity.
“The staff there is overworked, and we need another mental health facility here,” she said.
Harrison-Walton said she also wants to look at new ways of helping those with pre-existing health care conditions.
The local district is currently House District 145 but will change to District 133 under redistricting. It will also shift geographically, as it will include a portion of Jones County and not Putnam County.
Harrison-Walton believes the local needs of the residents in Jones County are very much aligned with the needs of residents in Milledgeville and Baldwin County.
Harrison-Walton said the Milledgeville area is blessed to have three colleges that help bring in new industries and companies.
“Jones County doesn’t have that so therefore their need is even greater,” she said.
The entire district needs new jobs, she added.
“We have the schools ready to provide degrees, but we need new industry to come in and offer good-paying jobs and benefits to those students who graduate from our colleges,” Harrison-Walton said.
She believes the more opportunities that are provided to people offering good jobs and benefits, the greater the chances of reducing crime in communities throughout the district.
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