Thank you and Happy Thanksgiving!

THANK YOU AND HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Thank you for the privilege of representing you again for HD 82 in the Georgia General Assembly!  It is an honor, and I look forward to working with you in the next two years. Despite the painful political losses of Stacey and other friends running statewide, there is good news from the many newly elected Representatives, particularly from DeKalb County, whom I am getting to know as we begin our new efforts. The House has approximately 40 freshmen Representatives, most of whom are Democrats. The Democrat Caucus is now about 2/3 women, most of whom come from the metro Atlanta area, and they have advanced degrees and successful professional careers---lots of new talent!

MMO VICTORY PARTY

Our victory party was totally fun and catered by Skips! Friends and volunteers who helped me so much with yard signs and events gathered, and I am grateful to every one of you for your continuing support.

Thank you, thank you, thank you! The invited dogs who also helped with the campaign were rewarded with hotdogs, too!

VOTE EARLY FOR SENATOR WARNOCK

Please plan to vote early for Senator Warnock before the December 6th runoff date. Because of Thanksgivingholidays, the runoff early voting dates are unusual. I plan to vote on Tuesday, November 29th at the Emory site at 1599 Clifton Road. Below are all the sites for early voting in DeKalb County. You can vote anywhere for advance voting dates, and do not have to vote only at your precinct. You can vote in the runoff even if you did not vote November 8.

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THE HOUSE AND GEORGIA LOSE DAVID RALSTON

As you know, Speaker of the House David Ralston died on November 16th, and I received the sad news when I was presenting to the Behavioral Health Commission some recommendations for continuation of the mental health reform that the Speaker led. David was a personal friend of mine from 30 years ago when we both were first elected to the state Senate. I have spoken about him to the press multiple times in the past week and twice on Political Rewind. The November 18th radio program was totally devoted to Speaker Ralston, and you can listen here. David's death is a huge personal loss for me and a bigger loss for the state of Georgia. To read more on Speaker Ralston and my comments about his life and leadership, please go to the press section of my website at https://www.marymargaretoliver.org/news-and-press.

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MMO AT WORK

Since November 8th, I have attended Committee hearings for Appropriations, the Behavioral Health Commission, and the Senate Development Authority Study Committee. Several more are scheduled for December. All hearings in the House are open to the public and live-streamed from the House website. You may also watch them below. If you want to learn more about my daily work on these legislative efforts, please follow me on Facebook. Like many others, I am trying to figure out the new world of Twitter post-Elon Musk. Please advise me on any other ways I can communicate with you and be of help on issues that concern you.

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November 10th Senate Study Committee on Development Authorities

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November 16th Behavioral Health Reform & Innovation Commission

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November 17th Senate Study Committee on Development Authorities

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OUT AND ABOUT

Working and zooming from Tybee Island after November 8th helped me recover and mourn our painful political losses. I love Tybee!

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QUICK LINKS FOR YOU

You can search for and track bills, watch the House (or Senate) in Session, watch committee hearings, monitor legislation by committee, and find contact information —- all on the revamped General Assembly website. Here are quick links:

• General Assembly website:https://www.legis.ga.gov/
• House Session meetings and many committee hearings are available to watch online: https://www.legis.ga.gov/house
• Archived videos of meetings and hearings: https://www.legis.ga.gov/house/media-services

Make your views known. Write to the leaders:

• House Speaker David Ralston david.ralston@house.ga.gov (404) 656-5020
• House Speaker Pro Tem Jan Jones jan.jones@house.ga.gov (404) 656-5072
• House Majority Leader Jon Burns jon.burns@house.ga.gov (404)656-5052
• Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan geoff.Duncan@ltgov.ga.gov (404) 656-5030
• Senator Butch Miller President Pro-Tempore butch.miller@senate.ga.gov (404) 656-6578
• Senator Mike Dugan Senate Majority Leader mike.dugan@senate.ga.gov (404) 656-7872
• Sen. Max Burns, Chair, Senate Ethics Committee max.burns@senate.ga.gov (404) 656-7586

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