Issues

Our quality of life suffers for every hour that we spend sitting in traffic because of the continued delay of implementing an effective transportation system. According to the Regional Impact Report released by ARC, in September 2022, at least 60% of Gwinnett’s working population traveled outside the county for work!  Everyday more and more families are relocating to Gwinnett County… but what is the plan for transportation to facilitate the increased population? My plan for Gwinnett’s is to explore all collaborative efforts that will attract corporations to Gwinnett County, that will pay the caliber wages that will prevent Gwinnett’s residents from traveling outside the county for work.  Wages that have the buying power to sustain the standard of living that is synonymous with living in Gwinnett. This way our residents can truly live, work and play in Gwinnett.

The current Administration, having carried on the status quo of the office’s predecessor, continues to approve permits for developers and builders to build on every available tract of land, and anyone with eyes can see the results of the over-building.  Subdivisions are springing up throughout our county, much faster than our roads and traffic patterns can adjust.  In-order for us to honestly say: Gwinnett County is a great place to live, work and play we must reassess and reevaluate Gwinnett’s current economic plan to maintain the look and feel of Gwinnett County that brought most of us here in the first place.

We must develop a sense of urgency and intentionality at improving and executing our Transportation Plan. We need rail and light rail in our county to ease the traffic congestion. Currently Gwinnett County taxpayers have invested over $100 million dollars in the Rowen Project. This area consists of over 2000 acres of land purchased to build Georgia’s Largest Knowledge Community – which to date has attracted no new investors because we do not have the transportation infrastructure to attract them. Although this project is slated to be completed within 50-75 years, it is up to us to create a plan that will not saddle Gwinnett’s future generations with a debt we created without accountability today and for the future. It is in the county’s best interest to move swiftly on a transportation infrastructure, as we can no longer delay the inevitability of such an investment.

Keeping our county safe is not just the responsibility of the Police or Sheriff’s departments, we all can play a part in our community. My administration will work with Public Safety to see what resources are needed to attract the necessary talent, ensure that they are properly trained and that our retention of officers’ increases. My administration’s goal is to seek out collaborative ways and means to support the initiatives of our law enforcement departments for the safety of our residents.

I was proud to have voted for the legislation that provide the first Mental Health Parity.

I am glad to hear that the county has added 7 more police precinct on 6/20/2023 for officers to be accompanied by Mental Health Professional with calls involving possible mental issues.

However, giving the crisis we are having with children overdosing on Opioid it is unconscionable that the 1.3 million requested by the Department of Health to acquire the Over-the-Counter treatment NARCAN Nasal Spray to treat known or suspected Opioid overdose was denied

Making sure we are testing homes that might have Radon gas; the radioactive gas that can cause lung cancer.

It is important that the school system maintain its independence, but there must be more collaboration between the County Commission and our public school system to ensure our children are not in trailers because building housing outpaces building new schools to meet the demand. Most of our high schools have classrooms with 38 to 39 students.

Currently, Gwinnett County Public Schools purchases land from the county in order to build new schools. The county currently has less than 8% of usable land, so where we might have a need for a new school, we may not have available land.

During one of my attendances at a county meeting in which the county wanted input from the public on how to best spend S.P.L.O.S.T. (Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax) money, I was told that our school’s administration was not providing input at the Planning and Development Stage for future developments. This was shocking because it meant the schools would not have had the opportunity to bid on the land if a new school was needed.

One solution to this crisis is to build on existing schools. Since the county currently does not have a housing plan, it will be essential to develop one.

It is also important that we have more collaboration with public safety for our children’s safety.

Our county is multicultural, multifaceted, and multitalented yet people of color have little or no vendor participation in our county.

Open the bidding process to all to ensure that our county gets the best people to provide services to our residents. Streamline the process to make it easier and more transparent.

Our county must function and provides new and innovative service that is also cost effective.

Creating a working environment that prevents bullying. An environment that is representative of county’s diversity, ensuring equity and inclusion of our beautiful mosaic.

For those of us who keep tab on our incumbent leaders, you may recall that the current chair made a promise during her 2020 campaign, to make diversity, equity, and inclusion one of her top priorities. Finally, 3 years later, $500,000 was added to the 2023 budget to review disparities in contracts to women and people of color. It is great that the study is finally being done but all you have do is look at the people currently doing business with the county and you will see that largely they are the same people who have been doing so for decades. For individuals and businesses that have been discouraged about doing business with the county, my administration plans to create a fair open and transparent bidding process, with supporting workshops to provide the guidance needed to give every business owner a fair chance at bidding with the County.

Recently, longstanding Gwinnett residents have been facing the legal strongarm of eminent domain. This alludes to the lack of planning that is forcing the county to exercise its will to facilitate deals with developers. My friends, we cannot have a County Commission that participates in using eminent domain to take land from the residents whose interest they are elected to serve and protect. The history of these landowners is often painful enough, and the enforcement of eminent domain would only be adding another scar to an already painful history.

My administration is prepared to have honest conversations with our constituents, through town hall meetings and Focus Group studies. As it is our sworn duty to treat our residents with the respect and dignity required of our office since we owe our jobs to them. And we serve them best when we listen to their concerns.

Part of the Economic Engine in Gwinnett County

The top five (5) employers in Gwinnett County are:
Gwinnett County Public Schools
Gwinnett County Government
Publix Super Market
Northside Health Care System
Walmart

However, all of us living in Gwinnett know how important our small businesses are to our overall economy, and during the COVID-19 pandemic, the impact was devastating on these businesses. I know this personally because I had to help two small businesses find capital to keep them afloat.

Our county must provide access to capital. Gwinnett County needs a long-term economic development incentive program in the budget that can accelerate the growth of Gwinnett’s struggling small businesses so that these businesses can remain viable during economic downturns.

I want to elevate small businesses and add funds to the budget for them to access.

The county must ensure that any applications required to do business with the county are streamlined and that the required steps and documents are requested upfront.

I have heard from so many frustrated residents who have been given the run-around when trying to do business with the county, and by the time they get all the information needed, they are told the deadline has passed.

Small Business Statistics in Georgia

The 2023 Report on Small Business Profile, published by the US Small Business Office of Advocacy, reported that 99.6 percent of Georgia businesses are small businesses; these small businesses were responsible for hiring 1.7 million employees, meaning that approximately 42.0 percent of Georgia’s employment workforce are hired by small businesses, or they are owner-operated small businesses.

These small businesses also contributed to a net increase in the overall number of small businesses that were opened, along with a net increase in the number of jobs that were created in Georgia,  however, the report also reported the closing of 27,959 small businesses in Georgia during the same period. (Source: https://www.census.gov/programs-surveys/susb.html?)