Los Santos Insider | Democratic Chairman Karagiorgis: "The win for Preston came with a 38% of his voters deciding to vote for us. Not a small percentage. His administration should keep it in mind, especially with the upcoming City Council."

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Democratic Chairman Karagiorgis: "The win for Preston came with a 38% of his voters deciding to vote for us. Not a small percentage. His administration should keep it in mind, especially with the upcoming City Council."

Published by Mia Harris - 09/20/2023

 

 

 

Mia Harris: Mr. Karagiorgis, welcome to our studio. It's a pleasure to talk to you on air.

 

Nikos Karagiorgis: Good evening, please call me Nik! It's an honor to be here.

 

Mia Harris: Nik, I'm sure that most of the citizens already know a lot about you, but for those watching that do not know, can you tell us more about your private life? What are your hobbies, what do you do in your free time, when you're away of politics-related duties? 

 

Nikos Karagiorgis: Well, I tend to keep my private life exactly what the word says. Mostly private. So while you may see me active on some media, truth is when I'm alone, I prefer to spend time mostly at home with friends. Or, once in a while, I may go out for a drink but at select places. As for hobbies? I would say I'm mostly a fan of staying fit, and keeping fit.

 

Mia Harris: You've mentioned "some media", I've seen your blog where you post analysis and write about general topics. Is that a way to present yourself closer to the citizens, something that you're passionate about? 

 

Nikos Karagiorgis: It's a way to express my thoughts, first and foremost. Starting that blog has been on my mind for quite a while. I was balancing how to best present a few thoughts of mine for general consumption long before the elections were announced. The timing just happened to be such, that made it a good move to add my own bit of information to the total so to speak. 

 

 Mia Harris: We will talk about the recent elections soon, but first tell us more about your beginnings in politics and tell us, why the Democratic Party? What motivated you to become a part of them?

 

Nikos Karagiorgis: I believe the question was never "why this party", but more "when". The Democratic Party, nation-wide, has an agenda that focuses on ideals that align with my own. A focus on education, social justice, environmental stewardship, and of course - economic prosperity. But the approach is much closer to my own beliefs, so when I decided I wanted to get into politics? There was only one party I would go for, anyway. 

 

Mia Harris: Now, as the head of the party in San Andreas, you've came a long way. Is this gonna be the peak in your career, or would you aim for other positions in politics, such as.. President Pro Tempore of the Senate? Or maybe Governor? Hey, President? (Smiles.)

 

Nikos Karagiorgis: (Chuckles.) Honestly, Mia? I do not aim that high. I know this is the start of a political career for me, and I know that if someone's ambitious, the sky is the limit. But I've always been a man that takes one step at the time. For now, my focus is on the party. We have a lot of work to do and there are plenty of people better suited than me to go after those positions. For now. How that shapes in the future, is anyone's guess - but if I end up running for President, can I count on your vote?

 

Mia Harris: I can only wish you luck, Nik. I must stay neutral, heh. 

 

Nikos Karagiorgis: As you should, good answer.

 

Mia Harris: Republican Hank Preston won the mayoral elections and became the new Mayor of Los Santos. Furthermore, the Republican Party has the majority of the seats in the State Senate, having won the State elections too. Furthermore, two Democrats, ex Senator Luca Giraldi and Senator Diana Jones, ex Chairwoman of the Democratic Party, have been involved in certain situations in the politics world recently. To remind the citizens - Mr. Giraldi found himself in a, let's say, political scandal, regarding relations with his assistant. Republican Senator and Chairman of the Republican Party, Mr. Brandenburg, called for his impeachment in the Senate. Shortly afterwards Mr. Giraldi resigned, accusing Ms. Jones of forcing him to resign. In an interview for Los Santos Insider, while still being a Senator, as well as in an official statement, he stated that the Republican Party doesn't employ nor support women in positions. Which was dismissed by Lieutenant Governor Noah Wade, also in an interview for Los Santos Insider. When it comes to Ms. Jones... Allegedly, she sent a text message to a Republican Senator, unfortunately I am not sure at the moment whether it was to Mr. Rossi or to Mr. Brandenburg, but the point is that she was accused that it wasn't as per political morals and standards. She has also resigned from her position of a Chairwoman. What is your comment on these situations?

 

Nikos Karagiorgis: I will leave the recent elections for last, while I touch upon all the rest first. Yes, San Andreas is a state where the Republicans hold the majority in the Senate, and it has been so for quite a while. The important thing here, in my opinion, is even if we're not in the lead, to have significant presence in the Senate. That way, we can be sure that there is enough voting power in the passing of bills and legislation to keep the Democrats as an essential part of Democracy. And to make bipartisan efforts, when they happen, be more worthwhile than just bread and circuses. This is something we will keep working on, always, looking for the best candidates to represent us. Then comes former Senator Giraldi. Former Senator Giraldi, well, to put it lightly, the man had managed to create his own public image, and gave fuel to all the rumours and accusations around him without much effort from his political opponents. If he was impeached or forced to resign, makes little difference as in the end, in hindsight, it shows in the manner by which he acted, he was not a very suitable representative of the Democratic Party. As to the entire situation with Senator Jones sending a text and all that, I'm afraid it's something I cannot comment upon accurately. There is a lot of things that are unclear in that situation, but I can tell you this - running a party and holding the Chairman position at the same time is not an easy thing. It shouldn't be an easy thing. Which is why I approve of Senator Jones not wanting to wear both hats at the same time. It's better to have your Chairman focus on the Party's function, while your Senators focus on legislation. Now, like I said, recent elections. The Republican candidate, Hank Preston, won. And like we said in our Press Release, we both congratulate him for his victory, and also look forward to collaborating with his administration. Regardless the outcome, the takeaway here is that we are a democracy, and in a democracy the people speak, and the politicians listen. And we have our ears open - I assure you. We also want to mention that this win for Mr. Preston came with a 38% of his voters deciding to vote for us. That is no small percentage, and it's definitely something that the Preston administration will need to keep in mind. Especially, with the upcoming City Council. 

 

Mia Harris: Let's talk about the Senate, any new Bills that you or the Democratic Senators plan to present in the Senate? What's in the works, tell it here exclusively, heh.

 

Nikos Karagiorgis: For the time being, if there is something the public should keep their eyes on, is the State Protection of Children Bill, which is a very optimistic bill, that will give opportunities to many children for a better future out there. It is a bill sponsored by our very own Senator Garcia. However, to counter balance that, another bill that should be kept close to attention, is the Republican's attempt to bring back the death sentence with their State Defense and Deterrence of Terrorism Act of 2023. 

 

Mia Harris: And what are your personal views on the death penalty? And furthermore, what can be done to improve the lifestyle for certain youth in certain economically weaker parts of Los Santos, such as Davis, Rancho, Strawberry and so on? 

 

Nikos Karagiorgis: I am against the death penalty, on principle. I understand the rage, the pain, the hurt... The Fury our citizens feel when terrible acts of terrorism are committed. But I simply cannot bring myself to accept taking a life as punishment. I cannot bring myself to accept that a civilized people has a death penalty as punishment among their society. Our Senators brought up two very important points on this. First, no judicial system in the world is perfect, and likewise, neither is ours. When you make a mistake with penalties involving imprisonment, if that mistake comes up years later, you can start talking about making reparations to the wrongfully accused, and do something about the real culprits. But, with the death penatly, as Senator Andrews put it, what happens if we make a mistake and an innocent man dies? What happens to the prosecutor who made that happen? The death penalty is a sign of ages far gone. A time much less enlightened and civilized than ours. This is 2023. We should not be seeking to bring those views back. As to your question about improving lifestyle of certain youth in certain economically weaker parts of Los Santos? This is a much better topic. Already we are seeing a lot of work being done there, both by a number of charities and by our local government. The City runs the Affordable Housing Program. Deputy Mayor Coleman runs his Coleman Fund. There are a number of community groups like Por La Equidad, and Heart and Seoul that seek to improve the reality of those in the poorer end of the spectrum. We should support all of these, and add to all of these. And, on our part, we will be doing so. There are more initiatives in the work, and I'm involved in one of them but I would like not to spoil too much about it, as it is a joint effort between myself and Acting Chancellor Scarpino, from ULSA. We would love to jointly present it one day, when all the paperwork is done. 

 

Mia Harris: Citizens of San Andreas have been hit by a fearful situation again, when recently, a new suspected serial killer appeared. There has been one murder so far, hopefully there won't be any more murders, however, there was a poster on our building shortly before the murder, attached by an unknown individual. Law enforcement is working on the situation, but I want to ask, what do you think should be done in order to protect the citizens from this? Allegedly, it's a new Morse Code killer situation.

 

Nikos Karagiorgis: I heard. And I also heard Mayor Preston's opinion on the matter in his interview a couple of days ago. I cannot express how distraught I am that our citizens have to live in fear once more, because of a copy cat's sick desire to imitate this troubled killer. I have to agree with Hank here, our citizens must keep an open eye and report anything and everything to the authorities directly. And I am quite certain that our law enforcement already has a special team looking into this. And if they don't? They should. And that team should be spared no expenses to get this person, and bring them to justice before we count any more murders. 

 

Mia Harris: Defunding law enforcement - yes or no? 

 

Nikos Karagiorgis: Depending which parts of law enforcement. Defunding law enforcement salaries? No. These people put their lives at stake to protect others. If anything, we should probably look into making sure they are amply compensated about the risks they take daily. But, evaluating task forces that have been gone on for a while, and where they once brought in results, now they bring in negative publicity, because simply there are no more results to bring? That's a topic I'm willing to discuss. It's important for us to be smart about out limited budget. And smart means - if something's no longer working, it's time to change it. Bring in new ideas. 

 

Mia Harris: While he is generally positively approached, there was an assasination attempt on Mayor Preston on the day of his inauguration. Do you think that politicians' security should be strengthened, or would you rather walk freely among your citizens?

 

Nikos Karagiorgis: I was there, actually. I saw it happening before my own eyes. I was sitting at the front row. We had a number of disruptions during the inauguration. There was a very passionate and loyal fan, calling out Hank the Tank, there was also another fella who started shouting conspiracy theories and had to be carried away from the gathering, and towards the end, there was this guy, wore all black, who just ran up past security and reached for a gun. I saw him get immediately tackled to the ground, and when he tried to get up and resume his attempt, he got gunned down. That's some mighty fine reaction time from the officers on scene. Veritable heroes there. And, if anything, it shows that security in public affairs is already top notch. There were no victims, nobody wounded, nobody dead. Well, except maybe a few people's dignity that had to crawl away from the scene in front of a few eye witnesses, but... I do not feel this high level of security works in every setting. If our politicians, and our appointed officials cannot walk among our citizens, because our citizens are intimidated by their security? We are losing something essential. We are losing the chance to look and experience our people's true issues.

 

Mia Harris: What are your thoughts on abortion?

 

Nikos Karagiorgis: A woman's body is her own. As nobody will come to me, as a man, and tell me what I should do to my body by law, I do not see that any law should dictate what a woman should do to hers.

 

Mia Harris: Creating more job opportunities in San Andreas - how? Furthermore, what can be done to attract more small businesses in Los Santos? And are you satisfied with the healthcare situation in our State?

 

Nikos Karagiorgis: Having been... as part of my former occupation, before my tenure as Chancellor, on the receiving end of my first, second, and third gunshot wounds ever, in Los Santos, I can only say the absolute best about our healthcare system. I'm alive today thanks to the efforts and immediate responses of the Fire Department's emergency services and Pillbox Hospital's excellent care. That being said, there is always room for improvement, and in this case improvement comes in protecting the men and women who are out there, risking their own lives to save ours. As you probably heard, a few days ago paramedics were attacked on the streets. This is a sad thing to hear happening, towards people who really do not take any sides. Now - job opportunities, and small businesses? I feel this is very much a city issue. I'm not trying to dodge the question, but I know for a fact that our Mayor has a lot of plans on this topic. Already there has been an announcement about the city hall renovation. Personally, I would like to see what other ideas they have for just this matter: Creating more job opportunities, and attracting more small businesses. As a party, we'll be right there to offer our opinion, when and if these plans are presented. 

 

Mia Harris: You mentioned being injured by gunshots in the beginning. Let's talk about gun control in San Andreas. Would you support less guns in our State? 

 

Nikos Karagiorgis: Mia, the guns that shot me, were not bought by any ammunation, by law abiding citizens.The State doesn't need less guns. The State needs better control on who gets to own a gun. I don't know if you heard, but there was a story in the news a few months back, of a woman down in New Mexico... She shot her Uber driver in the head, because she thought she was being abducted when she read "Juarez" on a street sign. That there, is evidence that there is an issue. And the issue is strictly with who is allowed to carry a gun on their person. We need better gun control, that's for sure. But even then, I would like to say this - yes, it is a constitutional right of every American citizen to own a gun for self defense. But we must understand that firearms are a deterrent. They are meant to de-escalate a situation with the threat of being used. Not with actually being used. Strict background checks, psychological profiling, mandatory firearm discipline training... these are the things I want to see. Not blanket "no guns in the hands of people". 

 

Mia Harris: Let's talk about immigration. Should the doors of the United States of America be open for people who come in search of a better life? And are there any causes for concern regarding this? 

 

Nikos Karagiorgis: The United States of America is a great country founded by immigrants, built by immigrants and our Lady Liberty holds the best creed in her hands. "Give me your tired, your poor, your huddle masses yearning to breathe free, the wretched refuse of your teeming shore." We should not turn our backs to those who seek a better life. We should not deny a future to hard working, honest people. If we did? Well - we wouldn't be talking tonight, would we? 

 

Mia Harris: Nik, who's your favorite politician? 

 

Nikos Karagiorgis: I'm going to surprise absolutely nobody if I say Barak Obama, I'm sure. (Chuckles.) His entire course through politics has been all about empowering those without the means to do so. But beyond his policies, the man has amazing charisma, great leadership skills, a great sense of humor and a very very very well trained communications team behind him to back him up. 

 

Mia Harris: And... favorite journalist? (Chuckles.)

 

Nikos Karagiorgis: (Smiles.) The Jury hasn't reached a verdict yet. But I can tell you, you're ahead for the time being.

 

Mia Harris: (Chuckles again.) Nik, thank you for coming tonight, it was a pleasure talking to you on air. 

 

Nikos Karagiorgis: The pleasure has been mine. Thank you for giving me both difficult and easy topics to comment upon. I hope we can repeat this again in the future, when the time comes to unveil our humble initiative. 

 

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[Ace_]

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Comments Are: Enabled

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Name: 

Comment:

[subway244]

Name: fbuntz

Comment: An insightful interview into the mind of a modern Democrat. While I'm sure most of us would cherish bipartisan cooperation, let's see if it actually comes true... the Democratic track record for being open minded with the opposition isn't great, unfortunately.

[ThyBaron]

Name: @maggiexo

Comment: Mr. Karagiorgis is outstandingly well-spoken and versed on city affairs, mentioning the week-old efforts to uplift the Hispanic community in east Los Santos is super ear to the ground on his part. AND he didn't resort to demeaning the competition, walk softly with a big stick!!

[Ace_]

3 hours ago, ThyBaron said:

Name: @maggiexo

Comment: Mr. Karagiorgis is outstandingly well-spoken and versed on city affairs, mentioning the week-old efforts to uplift the Hispanic community in east Los Santos is super ear to the ground on his part. AND he didn't resort to demeaning the competition, walk softly with a big stick!!

 

Name: Hugo Boss

Comment: He's great indeed, unlike the clown Diana Jones

[Zani]

Username: Conspriacieesss

Comment: Wait how the hell did this guy find out that 38% of republicans voted for him? Insider information? Get an investigation on this guy ASAP. Probably some unalived names on the ballot for this guy’s candidate too. Shameful and disgusting.