Update to an earlier report: This article includes new information about a story we previously covered. Read our earlier report.
Affordability, health care access and infrastructure are central to Pat Daley’s campaign for Georgia House District 166, which serves Chatham and Bryan counties.
Daley is challenging incumbent Jesse Petrea in the Nov. 3 election.
Daley, a political newcomer who lives on Wilmington Island, says grocery and gas prices come up often when he speaks with voters.
He describes affordability as a leading concern in the race.
Daley also says Georgia’s Medicaid program should be expanded, calling expansion overdue.
He cited a conversation with a voter who described driving 45 minutes to see a specialist in Statesboro. Daley said that account points to a need to attract more medical providers and resources.
Growth is another focus for the challenger. He said infrastructure needs to keep pace with population and workforce growth in Chatham and Bryan counties, and described Bryan County’s Hyundai Metaplant and surrounding growth as a challenge.
Daley said the state should rely on local communities’ knowledge as they address those pressures.
He also favors local incentives to help homebuyers, saying the cost of entering the housing market can be difficult to manage.
On the shrimping industry, Daley criticized a measure addressing whether restaurants disclose if their shrimp is domestic or foreign.
He called the measure “spineless” and argued that disclosure alone does not protect the fishery or provide support for shrimpers; he said funding is needed.
Petrea has held the District 166 seat for more than a decade. Daley’s campaign slogan is “Putting the Islands First. Always.”
Yolonda Harris
News Now Georgia
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