Local elections
The Messenger sits down with two local election candidates to speak about their policies. Anshi Vajpayee, Opinions Editor & Sanjana Gopu, Staff Writer
In Johns Creek, local elections are viewed with lesser importance as low voter turnout continues to reinforce the myth that they sustain little to no impact. In fact, a recent survey conducted by The Messenger concluded only 30.1% of Northview students strongly agree that local elections will have a direct effect on them. Currently, an array of local elections are taking place including open seats for the state Senate and House of Representatives.
Democratic candidate Michelle Au and Republican candidate Matt Reeves are running in senate District 48, where Northview resides. In Georgia’s House of Representatives District 50, two local candidates are also running. Democratic incumbent Angelika Kausche and Republican candidate Jay Lin both advocate for an array of different policies, all of which will directly affect citizens in their day-to-day lives.
Angelika Kaushce
Rep. Angelika Kausche speaks at the State Capitol.
Photo courtesy of Angelika for Georgia
In 2016, Angelika Kausche, the current state representative in the Georgia House of Representatives, realized that the United States was not fulfilling its promise of equality and justice. With future generations and the current path of the U.S. in mind, she ran for and won the District 50 representative seat and has secured her spot as a candidate for this coming election.
“I felt like I needed to [measure] up to my own promise which I made to myself when I became a citizen. I said, ‘it’s time to give back,’ and I went into public service,” Kausche said.
When Kausche became a citizen, she believed that the U.S. was beginning to head down the right path; however, after the election of President Donald Trump, she immediately changed her perspective due to the discrimination and hate speech against minorities she witnessed. When she was elected, Kausche focused her attention on the fundamental discriminatory traits woven into the system, realizing that reform was long overdue.
“We have so many systemic and embedded qualities in our state, and we have a long way to go. I’m running again because I feel like we really have to work on making up [the system] we have to really build a level playing field so everyone can have equal opportunity.”
Her campaign, which she began promoting earlier this year, emphasizes the need for affordable healthcare. COVID-19 has only exacerbated existing problems regarding the state of healthcare in District 50, and 400,000 Georgians are left without critical healthcare or any form of insurance. Kausche believes resolving this issue is of the utmost importance. She originally wanted to make healthcare more accessible for her daughters, a goal she later expanded to all residents in her district.
“The state made the decision not to [expand healthcare] and leave people behind, and it’s destructive, especially during the pandemic,” Kausche said.
In addition to affordable healthcare, Kausche is a strong advocate for environmental protection policies. She is originally from Germany, which relies mainly on sustainable forms of energy and has become a leading nation in environmental health as a result. Living in Johns Creek, she has noticed a plethora of ways the U.S. could improve environmentally, one of them being the protection of clean water resources. Kausche is committed to increasing access to and the protection of clean water, as well as helping make the country cleaner altogether.
“We all need clean water, now, and in the future. I will work with my colleagues in the Georgia assembly to make sure we do everything in our power to protect our water resources,” Kausche said.
In her opinion, the biggest issue District 50 faces is the pandemic, especially its economic repercussions. She believes that these economic consequences are interconnected with access to healthcare and that getting the pandemic under control is essential to handling these issues. With the election less than a week away, Kausche and her administration continue to work tirelessly to help the people of District 50 and hope she will maintain her position in the Georgia House of Representatives.
Listen to the accompanying Point of Viewepisode, featuring our interview with Kausche!Jay Lin
District 50 candidate Jay Lin speaks to a constituent.
Photo courtesy of Jay Lin for State House
Jay Lin is like any other small business owner in Johns Creek: business-oriented, venture-seeking, and constantly on the lookout to improve economic development. Besides serving in the Johns Creek City Council for several years, Jay Lin is a first-generation Vietnamese-American immigrant. With the encouragement of his fellow council members and family, he decided to run for state representative on behalf of the Republican party. With over 20 years of experience in the construction industry, including owning over a dozen small businesses and serving as a licensed contractor, Lin hopes to achieve economic prosperity and form a new vision for business owners across Georgia.
“For the state house, there is some direction with our current representative that [Democratic Representative Angelika Kaushce] is advocating for which is really concerning to me, namely HOPE scholarship,” Lin said.
The HOPE scholarship is a merit-based scholarship that grants financial assistance to Georgia residents who have demonstrated considerable academic achievement. With recent attempts to turn HOPE into a needs-based program, Lin realized the potential repercussions his constituents might face. According to the Georgia Lottery, more than 1.8 million students have benefited from the HOPE scholarship and related programs, many of whom include the residents of District 50.
“I think that will dramatically and negatively impact our Johns Creek family as there are so many families that are using HOPE-based scholarships for their kids,” Lin said. “The scholarship has been working very well for the past 20 years; there is no need to change it to needs-based.”
Along with concerns over the HOPE scholarship, Lin considers his plans to safely reopen Georgia to be his utmost priority. Lin recognizes the financial setbacks small businesses currently face due to the COVID-19 pandemic and believes the key to safely reopening the economy is by taking cautious measures to ensure small businesses will survive. After comparing Georgia to other states in terms of how well they handled the pandemic, he concluded that the states which enforced strict lockdown policies seemed to face the worst consequences.
“Take New York state and the state of California. If we look at the two statistics, our unemployment rate is about 5%,” Lin said. “On the other hand, the state of New York and the state of California, which have issued lockdowns, are still in double digits.”
On top of high unemployment rates, the pandemic has also affected his campaign by reducing opportunities for face-to-face engagement with voters. Instead, his team has utilized virtual opportunities to further his candidacy in addition to implementing socially-distanced door-to-door canvassing.
“We try to communicate those platforms as clear[ly], thoroughly, and frequently as possible so the voters and constituents are able to make an informed decision to see which direction of the state they’d like to see move forward,” Lin said.
Lin hopes to further profit-driven economic policies by repealing unnecessary regulations that increase production cost and reduce efficiency. He also seeks to improve Georgia’s transportation system and connectivity, specifically the Savannah Port, which has recently become a hub for businesses to export manufactured goods in the southeastern U.S.
“Economic development for our state and job creation is also my passion. I believe we need to facilitate an environment that will help [new businesses] operate in our state,” Lin said.
Regardless of the election outcome, Lin will continue to serve District 50, protect small businesses, and prioritize public safety to the best of his ability.
