RIVERDALE, GA. – On Monday morning, the Clayton County Chamber of Commerce and City of Riverdale hosted a conversation between Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger and local business owners. The event took place in a conference room inside the Riverdale Town Center. The roundtable was the first of similar conversations scheduled to take place as part of a small business information series.
Raffensperger was one of a small handful of white people in the room. Of the nearly 300,000 Clayton County residents, almost 70% are Black, according to data from the United States Census. The large majority of small business in Clayton County, the seventh largest county in the state, are Black-owned and operated.
There will be several high-profile elected offices up for grabs in 2026, including the officer of governor, so an appearance from Raffensperger in Clayton County is less typical than it would be during an election year.
Sitting beside Raffensperger at a table in the front of the room was Riverdale Mayor Dr. Evelyn Wynn-Dixon.
“I know you from the television and I want to make one thing clear, he’s an honest man,” Wynn-Dixon said of Raffensperger. “I want to let the people know he’s working for us.”
Riverdale City Manager Dr. Natasha Hampton introduced Raffensperger, and listed a number of his personal and professional accomplishments
Raffensperger said his office is taking part in similar local events in order to hear from voters and business owners. He spoke about free and fair elections
“One of the reasons we hold these roundtables is to give people hope,” Raffensperger said. “Did you know that Apple started with two guys in a garage.”
He said he is noticing a big push on a national level to bring manufacturing jobs back to the United States. He believes this is important in order for people to not only survive, but thrive.
“We need to make sure much of that comes back to Georgia,” he said.
Raffensperger shared stories of meeting his wife Trisha as a junior in high school, getting married in college, growing his small business, and the untimely death of one of their three sons to a Fentanyl overdose.
During his speech, Raffensperger mentioned programs created by his office and other state agencies to help small businesses. He used “She Leads”, a program for women-owned businesses, that are available for residents. Raffensperger also mentioned financial literacy programs for high school students, seniors, and military families.
The Secretary asked the crowd a question before taking questions.
“What could we do in Georgia to really help you power your business further?”
He took questions from Mayor Wynn-Dixon, local officials, and local business owners, including an owner of a child care consulting firm. A question on how artificial intelligence is affecting the workforce in Georgia.
“As a business owner I would encourage you to join your local chamber,” Raffensperger said. “As it relates to A.I., it’s going to affect some careers, for the good and the not so good.
The audience asked Raffensperger about how he made it from being in the construction business to local politics to statewide politics. He explained the timeline, and joked that his father didn’t like politicians, “But maybe he would forgive me since I was his son,” he joked.
“You can run for school board, you can run for city council,” Raffensperger said. “I highly recommend everyone to get a mentor. I think finding a mentor is invaluable.”
The topic of tariffs was also mentioned during Raffensperger’s speech. He was sure to mention that he was talking about back in 2003 under the George H.W. Bush administration and steel manufacturers as the businesses which were affected.
Raffensperger did not mention the tariffs being out in place under the current presidential administration, nor was he asked about it.