It's not as if the City of Charm might be represented in Atlanta, but a computer engineer, real estate broker and Avon Park native is hoping to become a state representative in Georgia.
Toney Collins, who graduated from Avon Park High School in 1984, won the Democratic primary for House District 95, which covers parts of Gwinnett, Rockdale and Newton counties southeast of Atlanta.
Collins, 42, said he hopes to push for universal health care in Georgia, an interest that spurred from his experiences back in his hometown, which he left in 1994.
He was visiting his parents in Avon Park when his kidneys failed, causing him to be taken to hospitals in Tampa and then Atlanta for a transplant.
"That's what got me really pushing about universal health care," Collins said.
This is his second campaign for political office. He lost a previous race for a state Senate seat in 2006.
He won the July 15 primary against business owner George Wilson and will face Republican Erick Hunt, who works in marketing, planning and business development, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Republican Robert Mumford, a Republican, held the seat in 2006 by about 500 votes against Wilson.
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