South LA native Joe Collins is running for Congressional District 43 against incumbent Maxine Waters and his campaign came back to Inglewood for his third meet and greet.
Collins recent appearance was at Bourbon Street Fish on October 17.
“I was happy to host Joe Collins’ campaign and give the community an opportunity to come out and meet him,” said Derrick Brown, owner of Bourbon Street.
Collins was in good spirits as attendees clamored to speak with him.
2UrbanGirls spoke with Collins on why he’s running ask him to address some of the misgivings the Black community has towards him, his campaign and attacks on “Auntie Maxine”.
“I am a free thinker,” said Collins. He denounced the notion that he needs to conform to what others feel his political ideologies should be.
Many in the community are unsure why he is attaching his campaign to President Donald Trump.
“Collins had a remarkable career while in the Navy,” said Jorge Velasquez. “He obtained a Navy Achievement Medal and served as a recruiter, which is reserved for the most polished Navy sailors, but If he is a Trump supporter and won’t denounce Trump, not Conservative values, I won’t support his campaign.”
Despite being discharged for making controversial comments about the Commander in Chief, Collins welcomes the President’s support.
“President Trump endorsed my campaign,” said Collins.
This is a stark contrast to allegations that Collins was allegedly dishonorably discharged from a long-time Naval career due to his desire to run for office and initially run for President against Trump.
Collins has produced his discharge papers that states it was under honorable conditions related to misconduct.
He prefers to focus his energy on making his community better as opposed to addressing misconceptions on why he left his job of defending our country, in order to run for office.
“We’ve been going through the same for a long time,” said Collins. “Our education system has gotten worse, our city has become more dangerous and there are no great jobs for South LA residents.
Despite the aforementioned African-American’s remain defiant in giving Collins an opportunity to earn their vote for one simple reason.
“He’s a Republican and supports Trump,” said Carolyn Moore.
Those who gathered for the midday event did so in full support of Collins campaign, with many of them being from the African-American community.
In addition to Bourbon Street, Collins campaign was welcomed at many well-known Inglewood establishments: Fiesta Martin and Orleans and York, where he was met with curiosity and enthusiasm as his campaign continues to gain momentum.
African-American’s remain unsure about Collins’ plan for the district and believe his campaign is solely based on bashing Maxine Waters.
Collins was more than happy to explain what his plans are.
“I have a five-point plan to make my community better,” said Collins. “I want to rebuild our infrastructure by reducing taxes, put more money into bringing back vocational training programs in our schools, work on eliminating debt through financial literacy programs and work with the White House to bring higher paying jobs into the district to combat homelessness.”
Collins also cites improving relationships with Law Enforcement officers to prevent senseless tragedies while protecting the city’s most vulnerable as a top priority.
