Though she had been pushed to run for Congress, Sabrina Newby said, her calling was to run for the Georgia General Assembly.
With friends and supporters on hand Friday at James Brown Park, Newby formally announced her intention to run for state House District 168, challenging longtime incumbent state Rep. Al Williams in the May Democrat primary.
Newby, a businesswoman and entrepreneur, moved to Liberty County 25 years ago. Her husband Dexter Newby is a member of Hinesville City Council.
“This is a moment everyone kind of expected of me,” she said before making her formal declaration of office.
While Williams, one of the longest-tenured members of the General Assembly, has faced few challengers in either the primary or the general elections, Newby says she’s undaunted by that prospect.
Williams, first elected to the state House of Representatives in 2002, is running for re-election. He has not faced a challenger in the November general election since 2006. He has had a challenger in the Democrat primary just twice since first winning office.
“I am so thankful for the time he has dedicated to the state and to the service he’s given us. However, he’s almost been in that seat as long as I’ve been in Liberty County,” she said. “I believe these are new challenges we face and we cannot face them divided. I believe that new challenges deserve new leadership and I believe I am that new leadership. If I am elected, I stand on his shoulders.”
Newby told her supporters that young people in Liberty County are leaving to find opportunity and senior citizens wonder if the community they helped build will be there for them.
“They feel the system works only for those who are well-connected,” she said.
Newby said she wants to foster an economy where people can make a living and wants to restore accountability.
“It is fair to ask are we better off? Are our schools stronger?” she said. “These are not Democrat issues or Republican issues, white or black or if you were born here or decided to make this your home. These are Liberty County issues.”
Newby also issued her stance against casinos, based on her experiences in her Louisiana hometown. She also said she was opposed to the floating local option sales tax, or FLOST, and the renewal of the transportation local option sales tax, or TSPLOST.
“Most people ignored me because I did not have the title of an elected official,” she said.
Newby also said that if elected, she won’t join the “choir of partisanship,” but instead will be a voice for pragmatism and common sense.
“I am not running because I think we are broken,” she said, “but because I believe our potential is unlimited and we deserve a representative who is focused on unlocking it.”