Among those attending the first meeting of the Flint River Valley Democratic Women’s Club at Rosati’s Depot in Marshallville on Saturday morning were: seated, from left: Mildred Carter, Maryjane Crook, Spring Rosati and Diana Dunton; standing: Annie Keen, Houston County Democratic Party Chair Fenika Miller, Sally McIntosh, Candidate for Ga. Dept. of Insurance Mary Squires, District 2 GFDW Director Yvonne Sutherland, GFDW President Kristina Simms, and visitor Keith McCants who operates the blog, "Peanut Politics."
Chairing the meeting was Yvonne Sutherland of Montezuma, who is a Director of District 2 of the Georgia Federation of Democratic Women. Also there to support the new organization were Fenika Miller, Houston County Democratic Chair, and Kristina Simms, President of the Georgia Federation of Democratic Women.
The next meeting of the group will be at the home of Yvonne Sutherland and her husband, Sid Moore, 427 No. Dooly Street, Montezuma, on Feb. 26 at 10:00 a.m. All interested parties are welcome.
The speaker at Saturday’s meeting was Mary Squires, Democratic candidate for Georgia Commissioner of Insurance, the position which will be vacated by Republican John Oxendine, who is now a candidate for governor. The Commissioner of Insurance also serves as Safety and Fire Commissioner.
Squires, who is currently unopposed in the Democratic Primary to be held in July, gave a lively, informal talk about her platform and background. She said of the post she is seeking, "There is not one life untouched by this department , and it is one the state’s highest collectors of revenues." She suggested at several points that Oxendine, rather than protecting consumers, had "shaken down" insurance companies, and said that if she is elected, insurance companies not paying legitimate claims will be swiftly fined and even denied the option of doing business in Georgia if they persist in not paying claims.
Squires spoke about her experience as a U.S. National Guard and as a Chemical Warfare specialist, her combining family responsibilities with work, and her first run for the Georgia General Assembly in 1998 when she went door to door to win a House seat in a largely Republican District. She also served in the Georgia Senate, putting her efforts into health benefits, insurance and improvements in the juvenile justice system.
Most recently she has been Executive Director of the Georgia Society of Professional Benefit Administrators, Inc., a self-insured health care trade association and is Executive Director of the Georgia Society of Professional Benefit Administrators, Inc. She and her husband Tom West of Augusta currently live in Atlanta. They have four children.
To learn more about Mary Squires, visit www.marysquires.com.
