STATE SENATE DISTRICT 25
Leland Olinger knows he isn’t your typical candidate for a state legislative seat, and a look at a photo of him tends to support that conclusion. However, the Senate hopeful says his message goes beyond his physical appearance.
“The way I look gets people’s attention,” Olinger said recently. “But, when I talk about my views, they see I have the same struggle in life (as they do), and they want that up in the Capitol, one of them.”
Olinger, 49, is challenging State Sen. Rick Williams in the upcoming Republican Primary, and the winner will be unopposed in November’s General Election. Early voting for the May 21 Primary began this past Monday.
Olinger lives in Locust Grove, in Henry County, a portion of which was put in District 25 in 2022. The district stretches from Baldwin County through Jones to a portion of Macon-Bibb and up to Henry County, with three other counties included.
This will not be the first time the two have squared off. The seat became vacant in 2022 when then-State Sen. Burt Jones ran for Lt. Governor. Olinger picked up 3.7 percent of the votes, while Williams won the four-way race without a runoff.
Olinger’s campaign platform features several points, and legalization of marijuana – opening it up, in his words – is the most visible. He said if the General Assembly did that, the state would benefit financially.
“To help the economy of the state, to help the people, you’ve got to open it up,” he declared. “You open it up for the people to prosper, the state will prosper. And, you don’t have to tax the heck out of it to do that.”
Olinger receives disability for injuries he suffered from heavy construction-related work, but he does Door Dash deliveries. The candidate also has started a business he licensed as Big DADDY J, which markets t-shirts, tank tops and yoga pants. He is also utilizing that company in an attempt to market marijuana-related products that are allowable under Georgia’s medical marijuana law.
Olinger believes the sentiment in the state regarding legalizing marijuana is changing.
“In 2020, on the Primary ballot in Henry County, they asked Republican voters if they would support legalization,” he recalled. “Henry County Republicans voted 50-50 on the outcome.”
The actual question was whether a referendum on legalization should be held, and the result was 9,832-9,391 in the affirmative.
Olinger says, even without overly high taxes on the drug, money would be available for other programs.
“The tradeoff comes with the law changing, it leads to reducing costs in other areas, like incarceration and the court system,” he said, pointing out fewer arrests would lead to less cost for courts and jails. “That provides needed money for other programs.”
Healthcare is one of those programs and another focal point of Olinger’s platform.
“For example,” he said, “we can expand on the existing state and federally subsidized healthcare marketplace. We can ensure that the insurance companies are able to be accepted by more psychologists and therapists. Currently, there are not many options for people who are on Medicaid and Medicare. There was only one office available for my son to go for his mental health needs.”
Olinger contends there are other areas that need addressing, and child custody and child support laws rank high on that list. He said he has seen firsthand the effects of laws and policies that need rewriting, alleging he was the unmarried father of children who was victimized by the children’s mother as well as the system.
“There are a lot of laws that hurt not just the child,” he declared. “Not only does it hurt the child, it hurts the absent parent.
“It’s not always the man’s fault in a relationship. It goes both ways. And,” Olinger added, “I get a lot of support from women about this.”
The candidate said there are often misconceptions in cases involving child custody.
“Someone could look at me and say I’m a deadbeat dad, but I’m not. I would love for my daughters to be in my life. But,” he stressed, “it’s the law we have now currently that allows mothers to alienate the children.
“You’ve got to change the laws so you can change the reaction of what people do,” he added.
Olinger said the current system and laws regarding child support and a failure to timely fulfill that financial obligation do not work.
“The question isn’t how are you going to fix it,” he declared. “The question is how are you going to be able to punish someone for not being able to pay by putting them in jail. And, they still can’t pay. It just starts the cycle over and over again.”
Generational ‘education’ is one answer, Olinger said.
“Being able to help our generation and the next become more emotionally intelligent will allow us to understand the root causes of things like divorce and separation,” he stated. “We will be able to educate parents on how to more effectively co-parent, whether they stay in the same household or not.”
Another area of his platform that Olinger touched on is mental health, and he said he started a non-profit organization to address that problem. B.D.J. Breaking Cycles Inc. is registered with the Secretary of State’s office “The mission with Breaking Cycles is to help people with mental issues due to addiction or family life,” he shared. Those tasks include “…helping someone with mental issues, getting them the help they need to improve their life, job training, legal information for general knowledge, and be an advocate when needed.
“Mental health directly ties to a person’s productivity and their ability to contribute effectively to society,” he observed, adding that area is just one of the programs needing increased funding.
“We have to look for ways to increase the state revenue stream to allow us to expand on more social programs, which, in turn, will make a difference in every Georgian’s life.”
With the Primary less than three weeks away, Olinger said he understands he is facing an uphill battle in this race.
“I feel like I am the long shot or underdog in this,” he acknowledged. “I pay for everything myself. Instead of rich donors and corporate lobbyists, I am funded by my own money and the generous donations of future constituents.”
Olinger emphasized no Democrat has qualified for the Senate seat.
“People think the change they want starts with the General Election in November. In this election for this Senate district, this Primary coming up would be the change the people want and can make. It is just me against the incumbent.
“To change our lives for the better, we always have to look at how we can break cycles in life.”
