Democrat Sandra Workman of Richmond Hill is making her first foray into elected politics and will challenge incumbent Republican Ben Watson for the State Senate’s First District seat in November.

“It was a two-fold decision,” she said of running for the senate seat. “I talked to a lot of people who said their voices were not being heard or represented, and I didn’t want to end up in a primary with another Democratic candidate.”

Workman said her other option was running for House District 164, currently held by incumbent Republican Ron Stephens, but Alicia Scott of Savannah is the Democratic candidate for that seat.

Workman and her husband have lived full-time in Richmond Hill for three years, and have owned a house here for eight. They have been Georgia residents for 18 years.

“We lived in the Atlanta area and started coming to Richmond Hill when we got involved in The Dolphin Project,” she said. “We moved here full-time after we retired.”

Workman has a bachelor’s degree in psychology and a master’s degree in mathematics from Florida Atlantic University. She has worked as director of information security for Time Warner Cable and was a senior manager for Home Depot as well as a consultant for Deloitte Consulting.

“I think my business background definitely adds value to my candidacy,” she said. “I’m very aware of how important good jobs are to people and families. My information security knowledge can also be helpful with everything we’ve seen about cyber hacking and voting concerns.”

Aside from her involvement with The Dolphin Project, Workman said she is in favor of clean energy and opposes off-shore drilling.

“The environment is our big draw,” she said. “I’m an advocate of preserving the quality of our coastal area.”

Her campaign website, www.workman4senate.com, also lists her stances on several other issues, including education, health care and medical marijuana.

“This has been an exhilarating experience,” Workman added. “The hard part has been the fund raising. It takes more money than I realized, but I’ve enjoyed meeting community leaders in the district and getting to know places and groups I haven’t had contact with before.”

Workman is the first Democratic challenger for the seat since 2010. District 1 covers all of Bryan County and portions of Liberty and Chatham counties. Watson was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives in 2010 and the Senate in 2014.