More Issues

Because we have not expanded Medicaid, Georgia taxpayers’ federal taxes are left on the table and are instead used to subsidize Medicaid programs in states such as California and New York. We need to make sure this money is not left on the table and is instead used to benefit Georgians. We should replace Pathways to Coverage, which is spending Georgian taxpayer money on expensive red tape that insures less Georgians, with full Medicaid expansion.

Not expanding Medicaid has resulted in hospital closures across Georgia, undermined our healthcare system, and left over 400,000 Georgians uninsured. Medicaid expansion is a solution that both red and blue states have already enacted. Expansion would efficiently use the state’s resources in combination with available federal dollars to cover hundreds of thousands of Georgians and shore up our hospital system.

These reforms are important for young people so that they can have access to affordable housing, and to ensure that economic growth in one sector doesn’t mean that other parts of society are left behind. This is especially important in my district, where rising housing prices in the suburbs are making it unaffordable for many young people to live or stay here.

I will work towards common-sense zoning reforms that allow more diverse types of housing, including mixed-use developments, to be built in commercial and office zones. I will also advocate for a transit-oriented development strategy around MARTA and other public transit in Metro Atlanta.

I believe that we need to expand programs such as the Low-Income Housing Tax Credit (LIHTC) and amend state law to increase tenant protections, such as preventing landlords from discriminating against tenants who pay using Housing Choice Vouchers, a housing assistance program.

As Trump’s own election officials stated, the 2020 election was the most secure in American history. Recount processes and paper trails for ballots have helped to build additional confidence in the voting systems used in 2020.

In Georgia, I would support additional resources for the Secretary of State’s office and for every county that administers elections so they can have access to vulnerability scanning and cybersecurity protection staff resources, and elections audit technology. We should encourage elections to be conducted using human-readable paper ballots, as recommended by a 2018 report from election security experts at the National Academies. Every step of the election process should provide access to meaningful public observation so the public can verify and understand every step of how elections work; but ballot secrecy should never be compromised. Elections offices should also continue to be able to share data about misinformation on social media unhindered, so they can inform citizens with accurate information.

Ultimately, though, while we need to continue to invest in election security, the biggest threat to our elections isn’t just the threat of hackers: it’s politicians who dishonestly undermine election results. Donald Trump’s phone call to Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find 11,780 votes” and my opponent Shawn Still signing false documents stating that Trump won Georgia are outrageous attempts to undermine the will of the voters and the integrity of Georgia’s election process. I am committed to accepting the election results and supporting the democratic process.

Georgia should make it easier for startup innovation to happen, which may include more programs to support research and commercialization of new technologies. We need to provide every county and small business with basic essentials to help them address cybersecurity and deal with ransomware attacks. We also need to address the harms of technology by passing a data privacy law and dealing with deepfakes and misinformation caused by AI.

We need to attract and create more high-paying jobs to the area, which goes hand in hand with education. The nation has a cybersecurity jobs shortage. There are tons of jobs available, but not enough people to fill them because they don’t have the right credentials or the right training. I will make sure every university in Georgia provides these skills so people can get high-paying jobs in these new industries. Supporting workers and economic growth isn't an either-or. I will support workers’ ability to organize and unions to ensure they have good working conditions.

I’m a product of our district’s fantastic public education system, but I know we aren’t investing enough to keep it growing. Class sizes are increasing, but we’re not paying our teachers enough. We’ve cut down the HOPE Scholarship and reduced Dual Enrollment and other opportunities, even though the State of Georgia has $11 billion in surplus funds. That really means we’re not investing in the kinds of areas we need to to keep our state growing. We need to invest far more in our public education system so we can support all students who need it: not divert these funds elsewhere.

I will also work to invest in our local community colleges such as Perimeter College at Georgia State University. This can prepare our students for success, regardless of which university they go to. I will ensure all high school students take required courses in civics and personal finance so that they can be prepared for being in the workforce. We also need to invest in more mental health resources for students and access to treatments to deal with the opioid epidemic.

Reproductive rights is an access to healthcare issue. We not only need to protect access to abortion and IVF, but we need to provide more resources to address GA’s high maternal mortality rates.

Instead of restricting access to reproductive healthcare, the government should provide support to working families. We should focus on initiatives such as tax credits with people with children, improved access to childcare and family leave, to give families the economic support and opportunities they need to succeed. Let’s focus on incentives to have families instead of heavy-handed legislation restricting abortion.

Georgia is one of the states most vulnerable to the effects of climate change. From extreme heat to flooding and droughts, climate change is impacting the lives of all Georgians. This includes farmers who’ve lost income, Georgians with respiratory issues that have been exacerbated by worsened air quality, and unhoused individuals who’ve tragically died due to extreme heat. As a member of the Georgia State Senate, my work will always be grounded in this fact: human-created climate change is an existential threat to communities in Georgia and across the country and globe, and only with bold policy decisions across all levels of government will we be able to accomplish the monumental task of defeating this threat.

I’m committed to pursuing climate solutions that center and promote economic opportunities for Georgians, a goal we can all get behind. This includes working with Georgia Power to increase our state’s use of renewable energy, supporting legislation to create more financial incentives that promote the use of solar power, continuing the bipartisan efforts that have made Georgia a hub for the growing EV industry, and providing state funding to nonprofit programs such as the Capital Good Fund’s Georgia BRIGHT initiative.

I will also be a strong advocate for expanded public transportation and expanding options for multi-modal transportation throughout our district. I will support efforts to provide financial and logistical assistance to local school districts interested in introducing electric buses. I will also work to support the immediate needs of those communities currently facing the worst effects of climate change, including unhoused populations and Georgians living in our state’s coastal regions.

I will advocate for reforms to the Georgia Public Service Commission so that it can finally hold elections and be responsive to the democratic will of the people — elections have been suspended for several years due to a lawsuit, which has allowed existing members to make climate-unfriendly decisions. Lastly, I will work with my colleagues to reintroduce the Clean Energy Act which would transition our state to 100% clean energy by 2050.

I’m all for law-abiding gun owners to have and use guns, but we must protect our communities to ensure that guns don’t fall in the wrong hands. It’s easier to get a gun than it is to get a driver’s license in Georgia. We need to add basic protections such as effective background checks and red flag laws, and prioritize campus safety by reducing gun violence in schools.

Guns are also often accidentally used by small children or used by others to commit suicide. We should enact safe storage legislation to create incentives for gun owners to safely store their guns, so that they are not accidentally used and cause harm.

I do not take corporate PAC money, and I will work to ensure that only individuals, not large corporate PACs, can directly contribute to campaigns in state politics. I will work to close loopholes that allow for unlimited contributions to campaigns, such as leadership committee PACs, and reduce individual campaign contribution limits.

I will work to create an independent redistricting commission for the state legislature so that incumbents cannot gerrymander their way into staying into office. We need to provide more resources and a pipeline for more technologists to join the state government, so that they can make government processes more streamlined and intuitive for the public to use. Finally, I will work to boost investments into increased ethics oversight, both for elected officials and agencies of government.

We must also revise the Georgia Open Meetings Act and Open Records Act to close loopholes that allow officials to circumvent the public records requirements. For example, the Open Records Act does not apply to the General Assembly, and I will work to ensure it does apply to the General Assembly. As Justice Brandeis wrote, “Sunlight is said to be the best of disinfectants.”

Georgia has some of the weakest nondiscrimination protections in the nation. All Georgians deserve equal protection under the law, and I am committed to passing a comprehensive civil rights bill to ensure this is the case.

I am committed to ensuring the LGBTQ+ community has full and equal rights. I will ensure we have safe schools and learning environments for LGBTQ+ youth, parental rights for LGBTQ+ couples, and adequate state funding for addressing the HIV epidemic.

I will advocate for the disability community. I will work to end the subminimum wage, so that workers with disabilities cannot be paid as little as $2.50 / hr for work they perform. We should expand funding for COMP and NOW waivers to support for individuals with intellectual or developmental disabilities.