ATLANTA—On Sunday evening in downtown residents gathered at the Loudermilk Conference Center for a campaign event for Democratic gubernatorial candidate and former Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and Attorney General candidate Tanya Miller. Hosted by Courier Georgia and moderated by journalist Don Lemon, the two candidates answered questions from both Lemon and the audience on how they plan to run their offices, why voters should choose them, and what is at stake this election cycle in Georgia.
Woven throughout the various questions during the session were two main themes: affordability and democracy. How will Georgia residents keep up with rising costs, and how will they maintain their right to vote and choose their leaders?
Bottoms, looking to fill the vacant Governor’s seat left by Brian Kemp, offered her vision to the room. According to Mayor Bottoms, 600,00 Georgians have dropped their health insurance due to costs since the start of the year, as a result of Trump’s so-called “Big Beautiful Bill.” Bottoms’ plan to take on this issue, she told the room, starts with her commitment to expanding Medicaid in the State of Georgia. Georgia is one of ten states that have not fully expanded Medicaid under the Affordable Care Act.
The former mayor tied her proposals around affordability to data centers, linking the growth in construction to high utility costs for Georgians. According to real estate service company GBRE, Atlanta has recently surpassed Northern Virginia as the top location for data center construction in the country.
Her plan to address the rapid growth of data centers in Georgia is for a statewide pause on new construction. While she told the audience she acknowledges AI’s capabilities, a pause on construction is necessary to hear more voices impacted by data center construction. Rick Jackson, her opponent, opposes a statewide pause. The billionaire is an investor in a Texas data center project that locals say has contributed to high utility costs and health problems for residents.
Following Bottoms’ remarks, Democratic Attorney General candidate Tanya Miller took her place on the white couches overlooking the Atlanta crowd. Miller followed up Bottoms’ data center focus and told the room she planned to revive the Georgia Consumer Utilities Counsel. Defunded and repealed in 2008 due to recession budget cuts, the office’s job is to represent everyday Georgians in court fighting against high utility costs.
Miller made note that affordability doesn’t just boil down to costs at the pump and the grocery, but also the quality of jobs that are available in Georgia. Lemon, a former CNN reporter, asked her about the recent Paramount merger with Warner Bros. Discovery. In response, Miller said that during the merger she called on current AG Chris Carr to protect Georgia jobs, since Warner Bros. media companies such as CNN and TNT are headquartered in Atlanta. According to Miller, Carr responded by calling her an “activist lawyer.” Gasps, boos, and whistles rang out from the crowd following Miller’s statement.
While the duo commented on affordability, they addressed the attacks on voting rights in Georgia. This past Spring, Georgia Republicans failed to redraw voting district maps after Kemp called on lawmakers to do so. In the discussion, Bottoms not only asked voters to support her campaign, but also urged them to support State Senators and Representatives who have promised to fight these efforts.
Miller also addressed the recent investigations by Trump’s FBI into Fulton County voting systems under false allegations of voter fraud in the 2020 presidential election. The prosecutor and civil rights attorney called out the “silence of the Attorney General and the silence of the Governor” and told Lemon and voters that those days are over if she wins her election.
Miller also called out her opponent for using his campaign as an audition for Donald Trump, and promised that if he won, Georgia voters would see more of the same repression and intimidation.
One of the voters present was Jacquatta Green, a Fulton County resident. In speaking with People’s World, Green called out Jackson’s billionaire status and how he uses that status to fund his campaign. Green, like Bottoms, pointed out that much of Jackson’s wealth comes from a nearly $1 billion no-bid healthcare contract with the State of Georgia. Green feels that Jackson has popularity and familiarity among voters “only because he has money,” and if it weren’t for the backroom deals he’s made with Georgia, Bottoms would enjoy a comfortable lead in the race.
Another attendee at Loudermilk that evening was Keyanna Jones, a DeKalb County resident and Democratic nominee for DeKalb County Commission District 3. While Jones is running in her first race, activism is not new to her. The local reverend was involved in the Stop Cop City movement, a fight to stop the destruction of 300 acres of forest to build a military police training facility. Bottoms, in her term as mayor, envisioned the facility project.
Jones noted, though, that fighting against Cop City does not contradict the fight against Rick Jackson. Jones told People’s World that “we are in a state of political repression that we have never seen before in this country.” Due to the overwhelming attacks on voting rights and the lack of fightback from Republican politicians and candidates, Jones was clear that “we do need people who are like us on the inside” of the government who can fight on our behalf.
There is room for disagreements in politics, but Bottoms, Miller, Green and Jones could all agree on one issue: vote! The sentiment was strong, with voter registration booths set up to greet attendees as they entered the conference center. Georgia residents have until October 5 to register to vote, and early voting kicks off October 13 and runs until October 30. Those not sure of their voter status can check online on the GA My Voter Page website. Following general election day in November, Bottoms and Miller hope to take office and deliver a more affordable and democratic Georgia to all residents.
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