Pizza shop owner — outraged over 'sanctuary policies' that perhaps led to death of Laken Riley — runs for office

A popular pizza shop owner in Athens, Georgia, announced she has decided to run for local office after the recent death of a young nursing student revealed to her just how out of touch area leaders are.

Just a few weeks ago, 22-year-old Laken Riley, a nursing student in Georgia, was viciously murdered while out on a run. Her lifeless body was later discovered beaten so badly that her skull was "disfigur[ed]," an arrest affidavit said. The cause of death was blunt force trauma, and the suspect in her case is Jose Ibarra, a 26-year-old illegal alien from Venezuela.

Sidney Anne Waters, who has owned and operated Mama Sid's Pizza for the past 41 years, called Riley's brutal death a "reality check" about political leadership in and around Athens. "When you’re standing on the outside looking in and talking with [officials] at different chamber meetings … you don’t think they’re listening," Waters said on a recent episode of "Fox & Friends."

Waters claimed that many Georgians have become outraged that policies that encourage more illegal immigration to the state have been implemented seemingly without their knowledge or consent. Though she noted that Athens is technically "not a sanctuary city," Waters explained that a series of "sanctuary policies," approved by Democrat Mayor Kelly Girtz, have made it one in practice. One particular measure, which Girtz signed in 2019, welcomed people "of all lands and backgrounds," including illegal immigrants, to Athens, Waters said.

"[Girtz] personally petitioned the U.S. State Department for us to become a refugee resettlement site," Waters told "Fox & Friends." "Nobody knew about that, so what does all this mean? How many people have we welcomed into our community, and who are they?"

In a press conference shortly after Riley's death, residents assailed Girtz with accusations that he is "a liar" with "blood on [his] hands." Girtz denied the accusations and noted that Georgia law does not permit the establishment of sanctuary cities. He also warned residents "against conflating immigration and crime."

Fed up with denials and obfuscations from the likes of Girtz and others, Waters decided to leave the comfort of semi-retirement and challenge incumbent Carol Myers for the District 8 seat on the Athens-Clarke County Commission. "The way you get them to listen is to become a part of them," Waters insisted. "… I want to be a part of the commission so I can at least express my opinions and know that they are heard."

Though the county commission seat is nonpartisan, the two candidates vying for it have decidedly different views on illegal immigration. While Mama Sid seems alarmed at the number of illegal immigrants in her community, Myers' website calls for a more "equitable, just, & safe community," which to her means creating "a welcoming community for all, including respecting the rights of our LatinX immigrants."

The race for the county commission seat as well as other local races will be held on May 21.

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