Meet the Georgia State Senate District 20 candidates – Franklin E. Wetmore

Franklin E. Wetmore is running for Georgia State Senate seat/district 20. In March, Wetmore qualified as a Republican candidate for the seat and now faces Republican incumbent Larry Walker for the 2020 General Primary Elections, Nonpartisan General Election, and Special Elections.

The elections were set for May 19, but due to the COVID-19 crisis, it has now been moved to June 9. Should Wetmore win the primary, he will then face Democratic candidate Julius Johnson for the November 3 General Election.

Wetmore is from Vero Beach, Florida. After graduating high school, he went on to earn a degree at Indian River State College and later joined the military. He currently serves in the Georgia Air National Guard, and has served now for a little over seven years. Prior to his military service, he ran a business in Florida, True Blue Pools and Spa Maintenance.

“The reason why I am running for office is to be a part of the government initiative in crafting laws or making laws better,” Wetmore said. “I have several primary matters that I want to put my energy into, if elected. Those matters are betterment of the foster care system in Georgia, veterans’ rights, teachers’ rights, and just helping better society as a whole.”

Wetmore believes and further expressed that school teachers should have certain rights that law enforcement officers are entitled to.

“There have been some incidents where students have crossed the lines with their teachers,” Wetmore said. “They have walked up and punched the teacher in the face. Well, that, in my eyes, is the same type of thing as if you’re hitting an officer, and I believe the punishment should carry the same weight. After all, the teachers are upholding the law by having these kids in school. I think this would help in getting some of the kids in line for disrespecting the teachers like some of them do.”

Wetmore also wants to craft laws that fight discrimination and reverse discrimination, push for two-term limits for congress, craft more child protection laws, and have heavier penalties for assault and battery cases.

“I really want to serve,” Wetmore said. “I serve in the military, and I have been in multiple combat zones, but I want to take this part in life and serve in a different capacity. I want to serve everybody equally in the community; that’s my main goal. And I think this was first planted in me back in the late 1990s when I was a volunteer for the state district 15. I was a representative for that district on the Florida State Youth Advisory Board. It was an unpaid position, but I enjoyed it very much.

“I don’t really know much about the individual that I am running against in the primary,” he went on to say. “I’ve done some studying upon him, and you know, he’s serving his country as well in his own way. I can’t hate on that at all. I just have certain things I want to help accomplish going forward. I don’t have anything bad to say about him. He’s serving the best way he knows how, and I am going to do the same.”

Wetmore does not have a campaign website, but plans to network through different areas to get to know the people in the district more.

HHJ News