GALEO infamous in state politics for its extreme positions on immigration and radical leadership
Jason Anavitarte registered to run for state House in 2006 as a Democrat.
Lt. Governor Geoff Duncan office phone – 404-656-5030
Republican Lt. Governor Geoff Duncan has endorsed a candidate for state senate who is a former board member of a leftist organization that lobbies against immigration enforcement, voter ID, ICE holds and official English for government.
State Senate District 31 hopeful Jason Anavitarte served on the board of directors of the Georgia Association of Latino Elected Officials (GALEO) from 2006 to 2009. During that time, GALEO lobbied against passage of the nationally noted SB529, the Georgia Security and Immigration Compliance Act which established a requirement that public employers and their contractors sort out newly hired blackmarket labor with use of the federal employment verification system now known as E-Verify.
The legislation also required state use of the federal 287(g) program that allows local law enforcement to screen jail inmates for immigration status and report illegal alien prisoners to ICE for deportation proceedings. The bill, now law, that GALEO vehemently opposed also requires that local and county governments verify the legal status of people applying for local, state and federal public benefits.
GALEO Executive Director and former Democrat fundraiser, Jerry Gonzalez, drew much attention during the lobbying frenzy against the 2006 state immigration enforcement measure when he escorted self-described illegal aliens into the gold-domed state Capitol telling legislators they should regard the illegal aliens as “constituents.” Gonzalez described the illegals as merely “immigrants.” The staged and pre-announced GALEO transporting and encouragement of the illegals made a memorable note for pro-enforcement groups and news in the Atlanta Journal Constitution.
As has been reported elsewhere, GALEO was established in 2003. Along with Jane Fonda, Anavitarte is also listed as a GALEO “Founding Friend.”
A February Twitter post from Lt. Governor Duncan describes Anavitarte as a “proven conservative…”
The endorsement from Duncan has raised eyebrows in conservative quarters of the state’s Republican Party not only because GALEO is well known for its corporate-funded opposition to immigration enforcement, but because candidate Anavitarte, now running as a Republican, filed to run for state House in 2006 as a Democrat.
The Lt. Governor also serves as president of the state senate.
Perhaps the most jarring surprise for pro-enforcement voters in Duncan’s endorsement is the fact that in 2016, U.S. Senator David Perdue terminated the Judiciary Committee’s confirmation process of another former GALEO board member and State Court Judge, Dax Lopez, who was nominated for a federal judgeship by former President Barack Obama. Perdue made it clear that his office investigated the nominee’s ties to the controversial GALEO and ended the chances of confirmation because of that relationship.
“After a thorough review of the professional and judicial record of DeKalb County Judge Dax Lopez, I have become uncomfortable with his longstanding participation in a controversial organization including his service on its board of directors” Perdue wrote in his statement on the matter.
The obvious – and many say troubling – difference in judgment between Georgia’s Republican Lt. Governor and its senior U.S. Senator is not going un-noticed by grassroots GOP voters.
According to the left-leaning Georgia Budget and Policy Institute, Georgia is home to more illegal aliens than green card holders.
Georgia’s governor, Brian Kemp, snared a primary endorsement from President Donald Trump in 2018 due in large part to Kemp’s tough talk and campaign promises on illegal immigration. Kemp has not mentioned immigration since the November, 2018 election.
Ballotpedia lists four Republican candidates for Georgia’s senate District 31.
