Policies & Politics: Freddie Powell Sims

By Don Sadler

Though she has served as a Georgia state Representative and Senator for over 20 years, Freddie Powell Sims says she has been a public servant for much longer than this. “My first career was that of being an educator,” she says. “And when you’re an educator, you are definitely in public service.” 

Sims’ commitment to public service was inspired by her parents. “Growing up in a small rural town like Talbotton, my father was always committed to helping others in the community and making sure everybody was as healthy as they could be,” she says. “Both of my parents worked very hard to make sure that everyone around them had their needs met.” 

First elected to the House of Representatives in 2004 and then to the Georgia Senate in 2008, Sims is now completing her final term as a Senator before retiring. “Serving my constituents in Southwest Georgia for the past two decades has been extremely meaningful for me,” she says. “Most of my district is agriculture-oriented — these are some of the strongest, hardest-working people you will find anywhere. I’ve been very proud to represent the agricultural community.” 

Sims points out that agriculture is one of the top industries in Georgia, supporting more than 370,000 jobs and generating more than $100 billion in economic output in 2024. “We can tap into that to increase productivity, growth, and economic expansion in Southwest Georgia,” she says. 

As a former educator, Sims is passionate about strengthening education in Georgia. “I believe the educational systems across the state need to be stronger and have a higher quality rating than they currently do,” she says. “If you have a high-quality education system, everything else tends to fall into place, including economic development and employment.” 

Other priorities for Sims are improving healthcare, transportation, and rural broadband. “It’s pretty much a desert in some parts of Southwest Georgia when it comes to healthcare,” she says. “This is scary because agriculture workers depend on a strong healthcare system since anything can happen on a farm on any given day. Agriculture also relies on a well-connected transportation system to get crops to market.” 

Some might be surprised to learn that there are still areas in rural Southwest Georgia where children can’t complete their schoolwork due to a lack of proper broadband connectivity. Sims points to the Rural Broadband Expansion Act that included Senate Bill 2 and Senate Bill 17. Senate Bill 2 gave electric membership cooperatives (EMCs) the opportunity to participate in broadband expansion while Senate Bill 17 enabled telephone cooperatives in certain rural areas like Statesboro, Metter, Newington, and Rentz to provide broadband to these areas. 

Freddie believes it’s important for leaders in Southwest Georgia to start planning now for the region’s growth over the next decade-plus. “We need to be thinking now about how we’re going to hold onto the intellectual capital of our young people,” she says. “Right now, many of them are moving away for better-paying jobs.” 

Natural resources, including land and water, are one of the advantages Southwest Georgia has going for it, Sims says. “Our water supply is among the best in the state, and we have lots of open land that can be used to expand and build for the future in a measured way.”  

Sims points out the difficulties of being in the minority party when it comes to getting legislation she supports passed. “Having said that, I’ve worked with many Republicans over the years, and our goals are basically the same: Making sure that we have a strong economy so our constituents can take care of themselves and their families. We all want our communities to grow and prosper.” 

When she talks to her constituents, Sims says that many don’t realize what’s involved in getting legislation passed. “Some people think you can just go in and ask the governor for a huge new factory and you get it, but it doesn’t quite work that way. These kinds of things take a lot of negotiation and time. Fortunately, I’ve been able to get a lot accomplished through appropriations.” 

As she gets ready to retire from the State Senate, Sims says she has enjoyed her time in public service and would do it all over again the same way. “The one thing I think is most important for my district to understand is that for one county to survive and thrive, all counties need to share information and work together,” she says. “But sometimes they aren’t so open to doing this. 

“During my time in the legislature, there were very few people who I couldn’t work with, no matter which side of the aisle they were on,” Freddie adds. “I didn’t get everything I wanted, but most of the time I was able to get what was needed to help the people in my district.”