Election season is tough. Friends get mad at friends, divides get deeper, and peopleās true colors come out.
The special needs community is near to my heart ā not just my son, who I admire every single day, but all people with disabilities. I try to stand up for the ones who donāt have a dad in the Senate or a mom fighting every minute of every day.
Opportunities for folks with disabilities to be seen and treated equally are few and far between. I went to Atlanta basically because of this issue, and Iām going to fight for it until I come home.
We have a candidate for Lt. Governor who simply is not compassionate to the special needs community. Maybe he doesnāt understand the struggles families face, maybe he just thinks itās funny to make fun of them. I donāt know and I donāt really care, but I do know Georgia is better than that.
In 2025, I watched him vote ānoā on a bill that required school systems to build inclusive playgrounds. The ānoā vote didnāt bother me as much as him going to the well to speak against it. Weāve got a red button for ānoā, a green button for āyesā, and a microphone if you want to speak āforā or āagainstā a bill. There were only a couple of ānoā votes, and I expected a few āfiscal hawksā to vote ānoā because they donāt think the government should pay for anything āextraā ā theyād probably rather drive on dirt than pave a road. What I didnāt expect was someone going to the well to try to stop the bill. Senator Greg Dolezal blasted it as overreach and overspending. Just press red. He knew the bill was going to pass, but he still went down there and tried to hold special needs kids back. For me, that bill was just as important for the typical kids because they learn a lot being around special needs kids. Clearly, Senator Dolezal doesnāt have a child with special needs and probably nobody close to him either. I think an inclusive playground mightāve done him some good growing up.
Most recently, he mocked a competitor and elected official in the Lt. Governorās race by openly making fun of his speech impediment on X and then tried to blame a staffer when he got called out. Everyone around the Capitol knows how much of a control freak Senator Dolezal is, so that excuse doesnāt exactly hold up. Even if it were some low-level staffer, thatās not the kind of judgmentāor the kind of peopleāI want anywhere near the Lt. Governorās office.
I know Iām treading on thin ice. Iāll probably lose a chairmanship and get put on the worst committees in the Senate if Greg wins, and Iām fine with that. My son is honestly better off if Iām at home than sitting in some fancy committee room. Titles donāt matter to me. The special needs and developmental disabilities community in Georgia needs a champion, and Greg Dolezal is not that.
@johnfkennedyga is. Iāve watched him, Iāve worked with him, and Iāve seen how he treats people who donāt have a voice. Heās got a backbone and a heart, and he actually listens to families like mine. So Iām standing firmly with John F. Kennedy for Lt. Governor, and Iām asking you to do the same.
#gapol