In Central Georgia House District 144, Georgia’s WIN List is proud to endorse Jessica Walden, whose family heritage includes the music which taught Georgia and the world to dance across segregated lines to Otis Redding, the Allman Brothers Band, and others promoted by Capricorn Records. Interestingly, this daughter of rock-and-roll royalty would replace a retiring legislator named Bubber Epps.
A graduate of Georgia State University, Jessica and her husband Jamie Weatherford live with their son, Walden, on a wooded hilltop in Twiggs County. He is the third generation of his family to work with Crown Candy Company while she is a community and public relations consultant. Together, they operate Rock Candy Tours, a music history tour company which highlights Macon’s musical heritage.
Jessica says she is proud of the musical legacy her father, Alan, and uncle, Phil, created, but also what they represented: “An unbridled passion to stand up for others and work hard so those voices were heard.” She says this legacy has taught her to set the stage for positive change by working with others, to recognize people who can make a difference, and to believe in the power of harnessing heritage and hope to move people past the differences which divide them towards common goals.
With a marketing and public relations career, Jessica has spent the past 20 years working on economic development, health care access, community collaboration, access to technology in rural areas, and recognition for the Central Georgia area statewide and nationally. She was Director of Communications on the grant-funded College Hill Corridor initiative which leveraged $200 million in public-private investment within a two-mile area between the Mercer University Macon campus and downtown. She says this job taught her the power of community collaboration, inclusion, and effective leadership, even when faced with complex community issues.
Today, she’s taken those collaborative lessons learned to her statewide tenure on the Leadership Georgia Board of Trustees, where she was a member of the Class of 2013. She also serves on the board of directors for the nationally-recognized Otis Redding Foundation.
Jessica says her campaign is about having a sincere sense of place, invested integrity, and hope in a region. “I’m not here to just get your hopes up. I’m here to have the back of Central Georgia,” she says. “I’m here because we need to look like who we say we are as representatives of this State. We need more women in office and more mothers making policy decisions. I’ve learned in these 20 years of community work that everything starts locally. All roads in this State lead back to Central Georgia. We’re not stuck in the middle of anything–we’re at the center of it all.”
Watch Jessica’s video here: https://vimeo.com/268262627
Contact the campaign to follow Jessica’s activities, learn more about her platform, or to make a donation and volunteer:
Jessica for Georgia
- Website: www.jessicaforgeorgia.com
- Facebook: @jessicaforgeorgia
Georgia women like Jessica are making history in this midterm election cycle as they run for House and Senate seats long held by Republicans. With women in record numbers on the ballot this year, WIN List needs your help to elect these women even as we train the candidates we want to see on the ballot in 2020 and beyond. Please make your generous gift today.
