Republican candidates for State House District 180 David L. Rainer • Age: 63. • Resides: Woodbine. • Marital status and immediate family: Married to Silvia. • Previous elected office: None. Education: Camden County High School. University of Georgia, BS in computer science with pre-engineering. Florida Institute of Technology, MS in computer science, software engineering and artificial intelligence. • Occupation and employer: Northrop Grumman – Record & Playback Subsystem Engineer Lockheed Space Operations Company – Recognized for data management tools investigating the Space Shuttle Challenger accident. NASA, 30 years, retired Dec. 31 2019. Started as NASA Operations Engineer, 1989. NASA Payload Operations Engineer, 1993. NASA Test Director (NTD), 1999. NASA Convoy Commander & NTD, 2002. NASA Mission Assurance Manager, 2004. Chief, NASA Shuttle Mission Assurance Branch, 2010. Chief, NASA Artemis Quality Branch, 2012. Chief, NASA Safety & Quality Division for International Space Station (includes experiments for SpaceX and Sierra Nevada Dream Chaser Safety). Church and community affiliations: Camden School System Speaking Engagements, 1989-present. NASA, Kennedy Space Center Speakers Bureau, 1989-19. Church of Eleven22, North Jacksonville Campus, August 2023-present. Thiokol Memorial Project volunteer, 2023-present. Advisory Board, Camden/Charlton FCA, 2020-present. Kiwanis of Saint Marys, 2020-present. Navy League Camden County, 2022-present. The Orianne Society – Reptile and Amphibian Conservation, 2020. Hidden Treasures, Kingsland, Spring 2019 to August 2023. Calvary Chapel of Melbourne, Melbourne, Fla., 2007 to 2019. Introductory Statement Born in Folkston, I grew up looking up to my father and striving to model his work ethic. I watched him lead this community with excellence as the Superintendent of Schools. Graduating from Camden County High School and the University of Georgia, I worked with Lockheed (now Lockheed-Martin) for five years before moving to work for NASA for over 30 years! After learning, growing and enjoying the career I was in, I decided to return back home to Camden County with my family. And what a timely decision that was! You see, my wife, Silvia, and I had the privilege to be local and love on my dad the last four years of his life. During this time, I immersed myself with the people in this community, putting them first through civic and charitable organizations. Ultimately, I want to leave Georgia District 180 better than I found it. What is the most pressing concern in District 180 and how do you plan to address it? I believe that We, the People, are blessed to live in the greatest country that has ever existed, a republic founded as one nation, under God. As such, and even though we live in a technological age that can monitor our every waking and sleeping moment, it is the individual who must have the freedom to conduct his or her own life. I have a degree that included a strong emphasis on artificial intelligence (AI). And if you don’t believe that AI can wipe out your Constitutional freedoms, then go back to watching singing competitions on mainstream TV. We’re free to worship however we choose. We have the constitutional right to own and bear arms. I believe everyone has the right to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness, and yes, that includes the unborn. Mrs. Briese taught us in eighth grade that we are free to do anything that we choose, as long as it doesn’t infringe on another’s rights. So, we are free to live in this country as long as we do it legally. Our founding fathers created the Constitution. On the last day of the Constitutional Convention, Ben Franklin was asked, “Well, Doctor, what have we got, a republic or a monarchy?” He replied, “A republic, if you can keep it.” I believe that the fentanyl crisis and the open borders are an attack on our republic and are the most pressing concerns of District 180. We wipe down our grocery cart hand holds. As a NASA safety professional, I can tell you that a few grains of fentanyl on the handhold of your grocery cart can wreck your life! Elect me and I’ll support small business owners who actually live in Georgia! And I’ll fight to keep governmental bureaucracy off your back. What do you, as a state representative, plan to do to ensure economic growth in Camden County flourishes and is managed appropriately? Economic growth in Camden County is dead. Everything is bigger in Texas. A Texas invention is the best rest stop in America since 2017. The business model of Buc-ee’s is to put their rest stops approximately 60 miles apart on the interstates. Buc-ee’s wanted to come to Camden County. Camden County is approximately 60 miles north of the Buc-ee’s in St. Augustine. So naturally they came looking to Camden and a perfect place was at I-95, Exit 14. But no! The cabal that runs the planning and development of Camden County just couldn’t get their act together. In fact, they told Buc-ee’s that a better place would be closer to Exit 3. How do you talk smack to a mega-corporation that pays tremendously well rates to everyone they employ? And they employ a lot of folks because they’re open round-the-clock. So who dropped the ball? Don’t point your fingers at the county commissioners because they have been trying their best to bring clean industries to Camden. And those fighting the county leadership about controlled and sensible development have train wrecked the county strategic plan. They put forth the argument that Naval Submarine Base Kings Bay is doing quite well. Yes, the base is doing very well, and I’m very proud of the men and women who serve here. But any change in administration in Washington, D.C., could at anytime close the base. St. Marys once had a proud shrimp boat fleet. Where is it now? A thriving paper mill and bag plant. And the U.S. Navy has promised to pump $4.5 million into a replacement airport because they feel bad about closing the St. Marys Airport. Wake up Camden! You’re being hijacked. Else we’ll just continue to clear land and put up apartment complexes that need fire, police and infrastructure. Who pays for that? What are your plans for environmental preservation and protection in Camden County? When I was in Elementary School, I would spend those almost three precious months of summer vacation exploring the earth and the universe. One summer, I was into spiders and read about spiders and searched our yard and my grandparent’s yard for spiders. Another summer it was insects. When I discovered fishing with my grandfather, uncle and dad, I read about fish and identified every one we caught. One Kingsland Elementary field trip was to Cumberland Island and we sampled the waters. And, ironically as I am writing this on Monday, April 22, the St. Marys Riverkeeper organization is out sampling the St. Marys River from St. Marys to well past Browntown. I am grateful to the Riverkeepers for capturing data on the water quality of the river. I remember being fascinated with birds and flight. During my summer, I taught myself about the types of birds that were in the yard. I am certain that we correctly identified the now extinct Ivory-billed woodpecker. It looks like the Pileated woodpeckers that I saw recently at Crooked River State Park, but their bills are black, not ivory. I still identify birds in my backyard like the melodious Carolina wren, brown thrashers (Georgia’s State Bird) and painted buntings. In college, I bought a large backpack and went wilderness camping on Cumberland to unwind after school was out for the summer. I’ve been back to Cumberland for overnight camping, and it never gets old. And I can’t tell you how many turtles I’ve stopped for on the roadway. So someone is already calling me out as they read this and saying I haven’t answered the question. But I have. You see, I love the outdoors and the way I live every day of my life leads to conservation and preservation of wildlife.