Atlanta Leaders, Business Community: Brian Kemp is the Wrong Leader for Georgia; Stacey Abrams is the Leader We Need

Mayor Franklin, Council President Woolard, Business Leaders Tout Abrams’ Experience, Leadership

Brian Kemp’s Actions and Policies Would be Bad for Business and Bad for Georgia

ATLANTA — Today, gathering outside downtown office buildings and the Georgia Chamber of Commerce headquarters, about 30 city and business leaders held a press conference to declare that Brian Kemp is the wrong leader for Georgia, and Stacey Abrams is the leader we need. Video of the press conference can be viewed here: https://www.facebook.com/georgiademocrat/videos/316020529179849.

“Stacey Abrams alone is the qualified leader who can unify this state and build a thriving economy for all,” Former Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin said. “We have a slogan: ‘Atlanta is too busy too hate.’ Well, Georgia is a state that is too busy to hate. My Georgia, the Georgia that includes everyone, and the loving, good, hardworking people of Georgia deserve and need Stacey Abrams as our leader.”

Cathy Woolard, former Atlanta City Council President, spoke about Brian Kemp’s desire to sign the discriminatory anti-gay RFRA legislation into law. “Stacey Abrams is the leader we need now,” she said. “She’s smart, capable, and hardworking. And she’s demonstrated, not only by her words but by her work at the General Assembly over the years that she will work across the aisle to unite us, to stand up to bigotry and to ensure Georgia remains open for business.”

More than 500 major Georgia employers oppose the anti-gay discriminatory RFRA legislation that Brian Kemp is eager to sign into law. States that have signed similar discriminatory legislation have seen an exodus of jobs, conventions, and tourism.

Brian Kemp’s actions during this campaign, including his decision to point a shotgun at a teenager on television, have frightened Georgia’s business community and its vibrant film industry.

Co-executive producer and director Matt Earl Beesley, said, “as a producer, I can tell you that every time we start a production, we think very carefully about where we are going to film it. We need a safe working environment where we have respect, tolerance, and love. As Governor, Stacey Abrams would be a leader who would maintain a safe and loving environment in Georgia so all of our artists can continue to feel welcome here.”

Georgia’s film industry, Beesley pointed out, could pack up and leave Georgia if Brian Kemp becomes governor and signs the anti-gay RFRA legislation into law.

Yohana Solomon, owner of Kushina Catering, added, “Brian Kemp sends the wrong message to business owners. Georgia’s economy is the envy of the South. Let’s keep it that way, by electing Stacey Abrams. She’s a leader who will support our economy and promote policies that support all of us.” Solomon fled civil unrest in her home country of Ethiopia two decades ago and made Georgia her home. She cast her first vote as an American citizen for Stacey Abrams.

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