Representative
Lehman Franklin
MISSION
As your state representative, I promise to continue to be here for you and to serve our community. Service before self has been one of the tenets of my life that I learned at the Citadel, practiced preaching the gospel as a missionary, and will bring to the table as a state representative. I will never back down from defending our conservative values in Atlanta, and I pledge to serve the community to my utmost ability.
Putting My Experience
to Work
Lehman Franklin grew up in Statesboro and graduated from Statesboro High School. He obtained his bachelor’s degree in business administration at the Citadel Military College in 1997 and his master’s degree in business administration at Georgia Southern University. While obtaining his master's Franklin managed a motel business full-time. He is the son of the late H. Lehman Franklin, Jr. and Emily Keaton Franklin.
After graduating, Franklin was called to work as a missionary in Argentina for 4 years. Later, he helped establish Marine Reach Ministries and worked for 4 years as the Marine Captain and Ministry Director of a crew of 30 on a 140-foot sailboat. The ship served as a missionary training school based in the Mediterranean Sea, helping to develop the character and leadership skills of aspiring missionaries as they spread the gospel.
Upon returning home, Franklin began working at Franklin Chevrolet, Buick, GMC, and Toyota, and currently serves as the Dealer Principle of the Franklin Automotive Group. He resides in Stilson, Georgia with his wife, Lorie, and their 20 chickens, 3 dogs, 5 horses, 2 goats, and several honeybee hives. Franklin seeks to continue delivering economic development enhancements, creating higher education opportunities, and facilitating infrastructure improvements in our communities.
PLATFORM
Economic Development
We must work to continue to create new, good-paying jobs. As the proud manager of a small business, I have dozens of employees with various skills, and I take pride in assisting my employees in getting the job training, and skills they need for promotion and to grow within the company. Georgia should continue to prioritize workforce training and job creation initiatives that create opportunities across the state, but especially in rural Georgia. In the legislature, I will work to expand funding for these job training programs to help give skilled workers a leg up and enhance their take-home pay.
Taxes
Tax hikes almost always hit those with the least, the hardest, and inflation is already crushing middle-class families. In the legislature, I will work to cut taxes on hardworking Georgia families. Government is big enough, we should be focused on giving money back to taxpayers, not making the government even bigger.
Defend our Constitutional Rights
As State Representative, we take an oath to “support the Constitution of this State and of the United States of America”. The government, in part, exists to defend and protect our God-given individual rights laid out in the Constitution. In the Georgia House of Representatives, I will continue to protect these rights and will never support legislation that violates our inalienable rights.
Education
Ensuring that the workforce of tomorrow receives a top-flight education in their career choice is the most important role that we have as elected officials. Education should always have the resources necessary to guarantee the workforce of tomorrow is properly prepared today. Putting a greater emphasis and resources in trade and technical schools will allow students greater opportunities for family-sustaining jobs right here in Georgia.
Transportation
Our area has seen unprecedented growth in recent years. To keep up with this growth we must adequately fund traffic studies, provide necessary funds to support the transportation grid, and work with rural, suburban, and urban communities to properly address their individual needs. As our industries continue to grow in our region, we need to find innovative ways to make transportation and travel more advanced, this includes providing charging stations as the use of electric vehicles expands.
Agriculture
Agriculture has been and remains the oldest and largest industry in Georgia. One in seven Georgians works in agriculture, forestry, or a related field.
Our state being one of the drivers of Agriculture in this country means that we must be stewards of the land and work to protect the land, support our farmers, and provide the necessary resources for healthy, and sustainable crop yields.