Hello, I'm Kandiss Presley, director of community and public affairs at WSB TV.

Welcome to the Atlanta Press Club Loudermilk Young debate series.

From the studios of Georgia Public Broadcasting.

The 2026 debate series was made possible by grants to the Atlanta Press Club from the Arthur M Blank Family Foundation and the Robert Charles Loudermilk Senior Foundation.

This is the debate for Democratic candidates running for Congressional District 13.

District 13 includes parts of Stockbridge, Conyers, Jonesboro and Snellville.

Now, before we get into the program, I want to take a moment to remember district 13 Congress.

David Scott, who passed away on April 22nd.

Representative Scott was running for his 13th term in Congress when he passed away.

During his tenure.

He was the first black chairman of the U.S.

House Agriculture Committee and a leading voice for Democrats on many issues, including farm aid and food assistance.

David Scott was 80-years-old, and his presence will be missed on today's debate stage.

Now we get to the debate and the candidates who hope to fill his seat.

We have two journalists who will question the candidates.

Zoe Seiler is deputy editor at Appin Media Group.

Donnell Suggs is editor in chief of the Atlanta Voice.

I'm going to kick off today's debate, asking each of the candidates to introduce themselves and tell viewers why they should be the next representative for district 13.

Candidates will have 60s to introduce themselves.

We will go in alphabetical order, starting with Everton, Blair.

Mr.

Blair.

Thank you, Mr.

Presley.

And thank you to the Atlanta Press Club for this opportunity.

I want to start by honoring the family of David Scott and recognizing that his staff and his family are in all of our thoughts and prayers.

Well wishes to all of you.

My name is Dr.

Everton Blair and growing up people called me EJ.

I grew up in Snellville, Georgia and attended Shiloh Elementary, Middle and High School and public education opened so many doors for me.

I was able to go to Harvard, Stanford, work in President Obama's White House Initiative on Educational Excellence.

But with every step, I came back home and tried to do everything I could to make our community better.

At my core, I'm an educator.

That's why I taught high school math in Atlanta public schools.

I didn't just see the problems.

I sought to fix them.

And in Congress, I see more of the same.

This is a choice between business as usual, politics as usual or intergenerational next generation change.

I'm excited to share more with you on this debate stage, and excited to engage in these issues.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Jasmine Clark is next, Miss Clark.

Thank you so much for taking the time to honor the life of David Scott.

My name is Dr.

Jasmine Clark.

I'm a lifelong Georgian mom, PhD, microbiologist and college professor and state representative who flipped a Republican seat and currently represents 60-0 0-0 people in this district.

As a state representative, I've used my science background to be a voice of accountability, asking tough questions, putting policy under a microscope, consistently calling out Republicans when they've lied to us, and standing up for all in our community.

And now I'm running to bring that science voice to DC to fight for public health and call out RFK Junior's misinformation to fight for life saving research cut by people like Elon Musk to use data use a data driven approach to lower costs for hardworking Georgians.

I have a proven track record of being a solutions oriented problem solver with a heart for service, and I'd love for you to send me to Congress to address the issues most important to you.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Jeffrey Fauntleroy, it's now your turn.

Good day everyone.

My name is Dr.

Jeff Fauntleroy, senior.

And I am not a career politician.

I come with a breadth of experience from law enforcement to two decades of ministry to community service, small business.

As a father, as a husband of 34 years, as a grandfather and just a community leader, I come to you with a breadth of experience, ready to go into Congress, day one, to legislate, to litigate and to investigate.

I look forward to speaking more to what it is that I bring to the table here in this debate, and you can reach me afterwards for any questions.

Thank you.

Thank you.

Emmanuel Jones, please introduce yourself.

Firstly, my deepest condolences to the family of my good friend, Congressman David Scott.

I am State Senator Emanuel Jones.

I spent the last 22 years serving in the state Senate.

And not just if I serve, but I've also owned and operated my own business that I grew 35 years ago from a failed business to one of the largest owned, African American owned businesses in the state of Georgia.

I'm a veteran, and I've had the opportunity to serve in the community on many charitable boards.

I am running because this is a critical election.

It's a critical time in our nation's history, and we need someone who's going to address the problems that we see up in D.C.

But more importantly, we need someone who's going to be a public servant, someone with experience, and someone with a proven track record.

I am that candidate.

Uh, my record speaks for itself.

And I ask those that are listening to this to judge me, not by what I say, but judge me by what I've done.

Look at my track record.

It stands for itself.

Thank you and God bless you.

Thank you very much, sir.

Heavenly Kimes, it's your turn to introduce yourself.

First and foremost, I'd like to offer my condolences to the family of David Scott.

My name is Dr.

Heavenly Kimes, and I'm a little girl that grew up in a room with no windows.

But my mother gave me a vision.

She told me that if I worked hard, I could be anything I wanted to be.

So I graduated at the top of my class and attended two HBCUs.

Florida A&M University and Meharry Medical College, where I learned to treat what it truly means to serve the underserved.

It was there that I met my husband, Dr.

Damon Kimes, and while we were in medical school, we got pregnant and we had to depend on food stamps and wick, not as a handout, but as a help up.

Now I sit across patients every day who are facing the same struggles, choosing between paying their bills or getting the health care they need.

We do not need another politician.

We need someone who understands the struggles, but also the solutions and someone who will fight for you.

I'm Dr.

Heavenly Kimes and I'm ready to serve.

Thank you, Dr.

Kimes and Joe Lester.

You get the last introduction, sir.

Thank you ma'am.

First, I would like to offer my condolences to David Scott.

My name is Joe Lester.

I grew up on a small farm down in Hawkinsville, Georgia, where I learned the value of hard work at a very young age.

I'm a graduate of the Fort Valley State University, a graduate of the Meharry Medical College School of Dentistry, and I have served the people of this community for over 33 years.

I'm not hooked up with anybody.

I'm not plugged into anybody.

I don't have any big money donors.

Back in my campaign.

I don't have a long list of endorsers, but what I have is something much better.

I have a lifetime of service.

I'm here today, tonight, to share some of those services that I have for this community.

I thank you.

Thank you very much, Mr.

Lester, for the full set of debate rules, please visit Atlanta Press Club dot.

Our panel will now ask a question to an individual candidate.

We'll start with Donnell Suggs, who has a question for Jasmine Clark.

State Representative Clark, what do you believe your time as a state legislator has prepared you for Congress?

Please give a specific example.

Yeah, absolutely.

So I have served in the state legislature since 2019, and in that time, I have had the opportunity to stand up for Georgians in a very meaningful way.

One of the things I can say that I've done as a state legislator that I'm really proud of is when our state school superintendent tried to call AP African American Studies a divisive concept.

This was because just prior to that, in a different legislative session, we passed a divisive concept law that was really, um, unfortunate.

It was unfortunate because it really made it to where our schools would not be allowed to tell an accurate telling of history or to show different types of students themselves in the books that we read and the curriculum that we have.

And I stood up to our AP, African American.

I'm sorry.

I stood up to our state school superintendent, and I won that fight.

And we are fully funding AP African American Studies, and I'm happy to say that I have a daughter who is in high school.

Thank you very.

Much.

Dr.

Clark.

Thank you very much, Zoe Seiler.

Now, I have you asking a question for Everton.

Blair.

Yes, doctor Blair I was just curious what specific specific steps would you take to reduce health care costs for families in district 13 and across the state.

Thank you for the question, Zoe.

Um, as a lifelong resident of Georgia's 13th and the son of a pediatrician, I've seen the rising health care costs firsthand.

And I believe that our member of Congress should be fighting tirelessly to make sure that there's no insurance coverage gap.

We need Medicare for all.

I would be a strong proponent of making sure that we have a single payer option that ensures that every single person in our community has access, and that also means that we need to ensure that there is more training opportunities for more people to go into the health care profession and to stay in the profession.

I also believe that if Georgia is not going to expand Medicaid, Congress has the purse to do it themselves.

And so we should be doing everything we can in the interim to make sure that we are fighting for the ACA subsidies that have been rolled back to fight for Medicaid expansion and go even further.

Use all of the power that Congress has to make sure that we have Medicare for all in this community.

Thank you for the question.

Thank you, sir.

Donnell if you would ask a question of Joe Lester, please.

Dr.

Lester, what do you believe your work as a dentist and as someone who grew up on a farm would help you in Congress?

You said you're not a you're not a politician, you're not in with anyone else.

But you need those alliances sometimes to kind of do the work you need to do in Congress.

So what do you believe that can help?

Um, I grew up on a farm down in Hawkinsville, Georgia.

I learned how to work hard and take care of your neighbor.

I've been a dentist for about 40 years in the state of Georgia, taking care of people every day.

At Chairside, you hear people's issues.

You hear people come in.

They don't have enough food to feed the family.

They don't have enough money to buy their prescription drugs.

So just being with folks, understanding their issues have given me a firsthand view of what's going on in this community.

And these people need voices, too.

And what I'm doing, I'm putting myself out here as a candidate for Congress so I can go forward and be the voice to those people.

Thank you.

Thank you, Sir Zoe, it is now your turn to ask a question of Everton Jones.

Oh, I'm sorry.

Sorry, Senator Jones, community development block grant funding is typically included in the federal budget.

I'm curious for you what projects within district 13 would you like to see prioritized or just or funded within that grant program?

The programs that I would like to see funded would be programs that benefit children.

I give you a good example of what I'm talking about.

About two years ago, during Covid, the YMCA on Snapfinger Road closed down.

I saw fit to go back to the General Assembly and request a appropriations from our budget so that we could reopen the YMCA.

We did that.

I was given $2 million out of the budget, and I'm proud to say that during that time, not only did we reopen the YMCA, but we also provided enrichment activities for children of all ages.

Um, as someone who was orphaned early on in life, I spent a lot of my time at the Butler Street YMCA growing up in Atlanta.

And I understand the value that the YMCA experience can offer for children of all ages.

My own kids, my three kids went to the YMCA that was closed down, and the pride that I have in today when I drive by and seeing that facility reopen and children playing brings great joy to my heart.

Thank you for the question.

Thank you Senator.

Apologies there.

Donnell what's your question for Mr.

Fauntleroy?

Fauntleroy you're a small business owner, and you might understand obviously, you understand some of the frustrations small business owners in Georgia are having, including dealing with tariffs and what have you.

What do you think you can do for small business owners if you're elected to Congress?

Thank you for that question.

Number one, I would increase capital, small businesses lack capital when they start off.

Number two, I would make sure that they had access to training, proper training.

Um, a lot of times people think that they have a small business and actually what they have is a hobby.

So we would help them turn that hobby into a viable business through training.

I would make sure that they had capital access, access to equipment.

Um, one of the things as a small business owner, I owned a UPS franchise before and we had to make sure that we had capital for not only operating costs, but for equipment.

So I would make sure that they had the capital, make sure that they had grants, make sure that they had proper training.

And everyone knows in business location, location, location.

And Zoe, you're going to get the last question for Dr.

Heavenly Kimes.

Yes, doctor Kimes, what is your position on the current immigration operations and any potential reform and how that impacts Georgia?

Absolutely.

I think that immigration is definitely an issue that's going on.

That is very major concern of our people.

Honestly, I think that immigration and the Ice should be, um, just dismantled completely.

I think that we need a clear, concise way of actually giving people the rules for actually being in, in, in this country legally, um, for too long, people are being pulled away from their, from their children and actually pulled away from their family.

And I think that's a disgrace.

I think that as a health care provider, I would always say humanity first, humanity first.

And I think that there can be immigration laws, but they have to be able to consider a person and let them live with dignity.

I think that we should dismantle the whole thing and start over from the beginning, and make sure that we think about the person first, and not just getting the people out of the country.

Thank you, Dr.

Kimes.

That concludes our first round.

The candidates will now ask a question to an opponent of their choice candidates.

You will have 15 seconds to ask your question.

60s to respond to the question.

And the person who asked the question gets a 32nd rebuttal.

Heavenly Kimes, you get the very first question for one of your opponents.

Uh, I would ask the question to Dr.

Fauntleroy.

Um, sir, I know you have served in the criminal justice aspect and also your minister, correct?

Yes.

How would you use that to affect and actually make a difference with our youth today?

Well, number one, as a law enforcement officer, I worked in a community aspect, uh, community based policing.

Uh, I was one to help, uh, the national Community Police Act come to New Jersey.

And what we did was we served as mentors.

We served as coaches.

Um, so what they did was they saw us as human beings.

They didn't just see us going into the homes, locking up friends, relatives.

They saw us as human beings.

And we talked to them.

And many of the youth that we mentored that through mentorship programs, youth football, youth baseball, youth soccer.

They ended up being becoming law enforcement officers themselves.

So I would continue to help fund that type of training in communities.

Thank you.

And Dr.

Kimes, you have 30s for a rebuttal.

Uh, yeah, I think that's amazing.

Um, as far as like with health care and mental health disparities, what would you do to help?

Because I know there's a definite, um, epidemic going on in our community.

Well, I would, uh, go back to what, uh, our own president, Jimmy Carter, did with Ted Kennedy under his presidency in, uh, they, they passed a bill, Senate Bill 11 77, to pass the mental Health Systems Act.

And that would bring funding to communities to help with mental health in all stages, from the adult all the way down to the youth.

Thank you very much for that, Joe Lester, now it's your turn to ask a question of one of your opponents.

Okay.

Thank you.

Um, my question is going to be for Senator Jones.

And this is not an attack on you.

Um, you, uh, signed the pledge for term limits, and I want to just get your idea of how long do you think that a person should serve in, say, in the state Senate or state representative and U.S.

Congress?

And thank you for that question.

By the way, I did sign a pledge.

A pledge for six years in the US Congress and two terms, which would be 12 years, and the US Senate.

And the reason why I signed that pledge is because, uh, none of us should be career politicians.

And I say that because, um, I've been in business all of my life.

I started my business 35 years ago, and my business really is the heartbeat of what I do.

It's enabled me to serve the community of which we've done in many, many different ways.

And I believe that public service really is just that.

It should be something that someone should offer up themselves for public service, but it should not be a career opportunity.

I do not consider myself a career politician.

As you know, in Georgia, we're all part time legislators.

It's very different in Washington, D.C.. Thank you.

Thank you, thank you very much.

And sir, you get 30s to rebut what he said.

Uh, I agree with what he just said, but, uh, from my viewpoint, I think we already have a system in place where we replace, uh, people who've been elected to office and that's with the people, um, the people have the power to elect folks, and they also have the power to send folks home.

I don't think we need another layer of government to add to what we already have.

We just need to get people active and involved.

Thank you very much.

Everton.

Blair, now it's your turn.

Thank you.

This question is for Dr.

Clark.

As many of us have seen on TV and in our mailboxes, there are millions of dollars being spent by a super PAC to support your campaign.

And the superPAC comes from the same organizations that are backed by crypto lobbyists, billionaires and support Donald Trump and his Maga agenda.

Um, are you proud that they've chosen your campaign?

And what do you have to say to the voters to clarify that spending on your behalf?

Thank you so much for the question.

Here's the deal.

I have no control over what superPACs do.

I did not know anything about the superPAC coming into our race until I went to my mailbox and saw one of those mailers.

Here's what I do know.

I am very proud of the campaign that I am running.

We have over 23,000 individual donors.

We have a volunteer army that is knocking thousands of doors and calling thousands of phones, and we are running this campaign in a grassroots way.

And so, again, I have no control over what a superPAC does.

But what I will say is that I do believe that there is way too much money in politics coming from billionaires, and I do believe that we need to take a long, hard look at ending Citizens United, because that's the real issue here.

You have 30s for a rebuttal, sir.

I appreciate your mention of a long, hard look.

I think it's more important that we have politicians who are not beholden to any corporate interests or status quo and are willing to say the thing and disavow that when they have the opportunity to.

So I would offer to you one more time, if you would just be willing to look in the camera and disavow the $2 million that are being spent on your behalf, more than any of us has individually, to actually communicate to voters and what should be a free and fair election to exercise a candidate of choice.

Will you look into the camera and disavow yourself of that spending on your behalf?

Thank you very much, doctor Clark.

You now have an opportunity to ask a question of one of your opponents.

All right.

Thank you so much.

My question is actually to Joe Lester.

And it is um we just lost the congressman and he carries with him an incredible legacy.

What parts of his legacy do you believe that the next congressperson of the congressional District 13 should continue?

I think the next congressman in district 13 should have a legacy of showing up and working for the folks.

Uh, exemplifying humility, humility, a little bit of compassion to the people that's in the community.

Leadership is about not just power.

Leadership is about taking care of folks.

I've been a dentist in this area for over 33 years.

I know how to take care of people.

I know how to work, and I know how to lead.

I would do the same as David Scott has done for the last, 20 years.

The people entrusted him with that, and I'm hoping they would do the same for me.

And Dr.

Clark.

Now you have 30s.

Thank you for that answer.

And I agree with you that we need someone who will be present in our community.

I also think that it would be really important that our Georgia farmers are taken care of, as we know that Congressman Scott really did care about our farmers and also our HBCUs.

As a person who is a college professor, I understand just how important it is to invest in higher education.

And so I would love to continue that legacy if I am given the chance.

Thank you very much.

Jeffrey Fontleroy, you now have a question for one of your opponents.

Sure.

Um, Dr.

Blair, how do you believe that your career in education and a Board of Education member will fit into or work as an advantage to the people of district 13 as a congressperson?

Thank you for the question, doctor.

Fontleroy, you know, so many people, when I'm canvasing, one of the first things that they talk about is the quality of their schools and their neighborhoods.

And as a former high school math teacher, having taught 12th grade math and having graduated from public schools in this community and having served on the board, winning a seat in a landslide, taking a seat from Republicans, and then building Democratic coalitions to amass power, to then chair our board unanimously during the pandemic.

During our most trying times in Gwinnett County, the largest and most diverse school system in the state of Georgia.

I've had to do the tough work.

I'm battle tested.

And all of that, I think, is part of how I lead.

I lead with people, I lead with community.

I offer space for people to get involved and to share their perspective.

And in Congress, I'll do no different.

I'll do exactly what I said I was.

I'm going to do as I did when I was on the school board, and I'll recruit people to join me in the fight and to advance our agenda for stronger schools in our communities, stronger health care opportunities at a lower cost of living, and more opportunities for everyone.

Thank you for the question.

Thank you very much.

And now, sir, you have a 32nd rebuttal.

I have none.

All right.

Thank you very much.

Then, Emanuel Jones, we have one final question in this round, sir.

And it goes to you.

Thank you.

This question goes to Dr.

Clark.

Dr.

Clark, I mentioned that I've spent 22 years in the General Assembly and passed countless legislation.

The last time I looked at your record of the eight years that you served, I have not seen any general bills that's been signed into law by the governor.

Can you please comment on why and whether or not the information I received is incorrect?

Yes.

Um, thank you for that question because it really speaks to the way things work down at the state Capitol.

Unfortunately, I sit in a very competitive seat.

And so a lot of times that means that the Republicans do not like to give me a lot of wins.

So a lot of my wins come from me working with others in the chamber to get things done.

So, for example, in this legislative session, Gwinnett County needed a 12th Superior Court judge because our court system is we we do not have enough judges.

We need.

14 and we only have.

11 and so what I did was I introduced the bill to bring that.

12 Superior Court Judge.

Unfortunately, it was turned into a zombie bill where in the Senate.

Unfortunately, they stripped my bill and tried to turn it into a voter suppression bill.

Well, guess what?

We still got our 12 Superior Court judge in Gwinnett County.

My name might not have been on the top of that bill, but the the work got done.

And I think that's what's most important getting the job done, no matter who gets the credit.

Thank you for your question.

And sir, now you get a 32nd rebuttal.

And thank you, Dr.

Clark.

There's a difference between local bills that affect only one county and general bills.

My question dealt with general bills.

What general bills in fact have you passed.

It was a general bill.

Thank you very much.

You are watching the Democratic primary debate for Congressional District 13.

We're now going to go back to our panel, who will ask questions of the candidate of their choice until we run out of time.

Zoe Seiler, we're going to start with you.

Yes.

I'll start with Dr.

Blair.

Um, Georgia senators have been advocating in Congress to ban large corporations from purchasing single family homes.

And what do you think the federal government can do to address housing affordability?

Thank you for that question.

It hits so deeply when I talk to people in the community, especially young people in the community, we're strapped and the rent is more expensive than a mortgage would be.

So how could you possibly save for a down payment on a single family home, particularly when corporate landlords, many of them out of state, are buying up all the available supply of housing, which makes it unaffordable for us all because the supply scarcity means that there is an increase in the pricing.

I would incentivize good home building that should be for purchase by single families.

I would also advocate for down payment, mortgage assistance programs that allow for young people to actually get a leg up and move forward.

It is a problem that the median first time home buyers age in this country is 41-years-old.

I'm the only candidate on this stage that's under that age, and that is a part of this legacy that we can move forward and build on.

We need somebody who can do that, stand up to big businesses and corporate interests, and make sure we have what we need.

Thank you very much.

Donnell now it's your turn to ask a question of the candidate of your choice.

Dr.

Kimes.

As the editor in chief of The Atlanta Voice, I get a lot of community questions that some of them I can't answer, some I can't.

One of these I'm going to ask you because you answer better than me.

What do you say to people who ask whether or not your candidacy is legitimate because of what they might have seen on the reality show you on?

Yes.

A lot of people ask me about my political experience.

Experience.

I would say that I do not have political experience.

What I have is real life experience.

I actually have been working with patients for over 25 years in the district, actually creating jobs in the district for over 25 years.

So really, the people in our community are not just my patients, they're just my like my family.

And I look forward to working with them.

Health care is my major concern.

I see patients every day that cannot afford their dental or medical treatment.

They cannot afford their prescription drugs, and that is a travesty.

I see that people cannot afford.

They make the awful decision of whether paying for their meals or buying their prescription drugs, and that should not happen in a state of in the in the beautiful United States of America.

I do feel that there are wars being senseless, wars being fought.

That money is taken away.

And I do think that we do have money for our our, our people in the United States of America.

But the money is dependent on where they want, where they want to spend it.

And I think that we should spend money on ourselves before we send it on endless wars.

Thank you, Dr.

Kimes.

Appreciate that.

Our next question, Zoe, you get it.

Yes.

I'll go with Representative Clark.

Um, how would you address student loan debt?

And would you like to see proposals more towards forgiveness or more towards repayment?

Um, thank you so much for that question.

As a person who has student loans, I can definitely say that I'm going to lean more toward forgiveness, but I'm going to say that not just because of me.

I'm the co-chair of the Georgia Future Caucus, and this is a subject that I talk about with a lot of my peers.

So many people are struggling with paying back their student loans, not because they're not paying, but because the interest rates keep piling up.

And I personally believe that the government doesn't necessarily need to make money off of student loan debt.

We could do 0% interest.

Congress actually does have that authority.

We have money for a lot of things.

And I think investments in education are one of the things that help people have upward mobility and economic opportunities.

And so if it were up to me, I think give people the forgiveness, do the 0% interest loans, and let's do what we need to do to help people get a leg up instead of crippling them with student loan debt?

Thank you.

Thank you very much, doctor Clark Donnell Suggs, you have a question for one of the candidates.

Dr.

Blair, what do you say to anyone who says that you're a little too young to be running for Congress, and you might be kind of speeding up a little bit?

People have said that I'm too young for everything I've ever done.

I don't ask for permission.

I challenge broken systems and prove them wrong.

When I was first elected to the Gwinnett County School Board, most folks didn't even know that we had one, and I unseated a Republican in 20:18 at the age of 26, and I chaired our school system during the pandemic.

At 28, I'm 34 now.

My birthday was on Thursday, and I think with that actually comes power to be able to reflect so many people whose voices don't feel like they're heard from the halls of the United States Congress, and also to not be bought and sold.

Right.

I'm not a career politician who's had to deal with foreign lobbies and corporate interests and special interests.

So I can actually just talk freely about the issues that are compelling all of us to feel like politics, as usual, is not where we need to be, and we actually deserve leadership that attends to our pain and our challenges, and also offers solutions in our community with constituent services and mutual aid that connects resources to need.

And I'm excited to have done that in the work that I've done as a school board member, and also what I'll continue to do in the district that I've always called home.

Thank you for the question.

Thank you.

Thank you for that question.

Zoe, you're going to get the next question.

And I want to remind our panelists that if there's an issue that you'd like to discuss and we'd like to hear from all of our candidates on that issue, you are free to do that.

So.

, yes.

Um, I'll go with Dr.

Fauntleroy.

Um, you touched on mental health a little bit earlier, and I made me think that, you know, Georgia ranks pretty low in terms of mental health services and access.

And so what do you think the federal government could do to help increase some of that access to mental health services?

Again, I go back to what President Carter, Georgia's own President Carter, did.

Uh, working along with Senator Ted Kennedy on that Senate bill with the 96 Congress, Senate Bill 11 77.

We can't look at mental health as something that's bad, and we can't wait until something happens to address the problem.

There has to be some preventive care in schools, in starting in grade schools, all the way up through colleges and in business, uh, local government jobs.

There has to be some mental health.

Um, counseling that is available.

Um, we, we, we have stigmatized it too much and we have to make sure that it's part of preventive care because it is, there's a lot of things going on, especially since Covid, we have long Covid patients.

We have people who are still recovering from Covid.

Even the financial economical part of that.

So I believe that it should be accessible to everybody and shouldn't be stigmatized.

Thank you very much.

I actually have a question for all of the candidates.

In the last several weeks, there have been multiple stories in the local news of young children losing their lives to gun violence.

I'm going to start with you, Dr.

Lester, and come down around the panel.

What role do you believe the federal government should play in addressing this concern in our local community?

Gun violence is out of hand.

All we do in Atlanta and all over the country is shoot, shoot, shoot.

Uh.

I've owned a gun all my life.

I had one since I was 13.

I think the federal government has a role in terms of making sure that we fund polices and and folks, but for the most part, uh, a lot of gun violence is tied directly to poverty.

And you can't really, really, really just police your way out of poverty.

We need more jobs.

We need more, more system for parents that are single, parents that are raising children at home.

So I think we need more money, but we need more money, but we need more people at home, uh, families taking care of children.

Dr.

Kimes, your position on this issue.

You know, that's something that touches near and dear to my heart as a as a wife and a mother, I would it would be a tragedy to hear about one of my sons getting shot.

Um, I, um, I'm definitely someone for the second amendment.

I, I do own guns.

However, I think that there should be more oversight on who is allowed to get guns.

I think that we should actually have actually the children.

We need more oversight with their parents and what they're doing in the community.

I also feel like with guns, we should also make sure that we have people that can actually train people when they're actually using guns.

But not only that, I think we need more community.

Community, um, uh, places for our children to go.

Because I think that a lot of times if they just have more opportunity, they can actually help them use their time better.

They have a better chance of not getting caught up in gang violence and gun violence.

Thank you, Dr.

Kimes.

Manuel Jones, what are your thoughts on this issue?

Please, sir.

Two years ago I chaired a Senate Select Committee on Gun Violence and Safe Storage.

Out of that study committee, we produced a report.

But let me just tell you some of the things that we found that was critical to really addressing this epidemic that we have, not just in Georgia, but across the United States.

We understand that the number one cause of death for children under five is accidental shootings and gun violence at home.

One of the things that I suggested during the Senate Study Committee and all the surrounding Appalachia was that when a child record gets transferred over to a new school, not only should those grades and attendance records follow that child, but even if the event that was something related to disciplinary issues and we know that the shooter in Appalachia certainly has some disciplinary issues, uh, the federal government does play a role because the federal government can provide resources so that we can do just as Texas has done, which has a smaller percentage of gun violence in our state.

By creating a study committee that's within one of our universities.

All right.

Thank you very much, Reverend Fauntleroy.

Yes, unfortunately, this is near and dear to me.

My wife and I, we had a young man who I mentored and then kind of brought in as a member of the family.

And one night while I was working as a policeman, I got a phone call that he had been shot and killed.

That really hurt.

As an officer, I worked with the alcohol, tobacco and firearms to find out where guns were coming from, and we discovered a pipeline that we were able to cut off.

Also, I worked with the head of the Senate Judiciary Committee in the state of New Jersey to close a loophole that no one thought about.

Of course, um, convicted felons could not buy weapons, but we found out that they could buy ammunition.

So we closed that loophole and got it to be a third degree felony.

So this is near and dear to me, and I know what the federal government can do to cut down on the pipeline of guns going into our communities.

Thank you sir.

Dr.

Clark.

You know, as a mom, it actually scares me sometimes that when I send my child to school, there is a very real possibility that the next call I get might be some type of robo call or text message telling me that there's an active shooter situation at her school.

So to address gun violence, the first thing I would do is bring back the Office of Gun Violence Prevention and Intervention that Donald Trump got rid of.

One of the first things he did.

Also, I've been a huge proponent of passing common sense gun laws in this state, and I believe we need them across the country.

Red flag laws, they're not controversial.

Closing loopholes on background checks, not controversial safe storage and keeping guns out of the hands of children and people who shouldn't have them.

Not controversial.

And also, as a congressperson drawing down funds to the state for prevention and intervention programs such as IV.

At Grady.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

And Everton Blair, you get the last, last word on this issue, sir.

Thank you.

As a former educator and somebody who has lost students to gun violence, this also hits home.

Um gun violence is a symptom and a consequence, frankly, of economic depravity and mental illness.

And we need to address it in two pronged approaches.

Common sense gun safety reform that the federal government has sat on its duty and needs to go further in addressing, by passing legislation to close loopholes to ban the sales of bump stocks, to ban the sale, to do to do background checks and to ban the sales of military grade firearms and making sure that our communities, particularly our schools, are safe and that our students and our families are safe.

Um, you know, a part of the problem is that many of our politicians are beholden to these corporate and special interests, including the NRA lobby.

And I'm so proud that this campaign is not, and I will never be, which allows me to be free and able to advocate for the issues like gun violence and and support the work of Moms Demand Action and so many other organizations in our community that are doing the work to keep our communities safe.

Thank you very much.

We'll go back now to our panel.

Our next question will come from Mr.

Suggs.. State Senator Jones, you said earlier today that your business is the heartbeat of what you do, and you built that.

Yes, sir.

That being said, running for Congress will give you even more to do.

Do you feel like you have the bandwidth to do what you need to do in Congress and still run a very successful big business?

And thank you for that question.

By the way, it is my business that's allowed me this opportunity to even serve in Congress.

And one of the things that I intend to do is to spend 100% of my time serving in the capacity as the next congressman from the 13th Congressional District.

And I understand that tough decisions have to be made.

I've owned and operated my business for well over 35 years.

I have a cadre of people that, within the organization that can continue to own and continue to operate the business, and also, I may add that this business has become very valuable.

And I've even been offered a lots of dollars from from several people out there in the community.

So but my priority will be representing those, just as my priority has been in the tenth, but representing those that I serve in the 13th Congressional District.

Thank you.

Thank you very much.

We have a question now from Zoe Seiler.

Zoe.

Yes, doctor Kimes, how would you address hospital closures or like health care access gaps in suburban and rural parts of district 13, but also across the state?

Absolutely.

I think that health care is definitely a priority when it comes to people in our great district of district 13.

And as a health care provider, the things that I would do to actually prevent the gaps is, of course, make sure that we have Medicaid for all, but we also have telemedicine.

That is a. In telemedicine also, we can have mobile mobile clinics.

I think that would be a solution for.

And I think that people are dying unnecessarily from preventative measures with women with, uh, in labor.

I think that we should actually make sure that we have hospitals close enough that we can, we don't have to drive hours like in, in the way we do that is make sure that we have Medicare and Medicaid that can cover our women.

So, so the hospitals don't have to close down because they don't have enough money to function.

Uh, yeah, there are many gaps in health care, meaning, uh, mental health, epilepsy and things.

And I think that they should just be a crisis center and money for crisis center.

I think that we give a lot of money to Washington.

Thank you very much, Dr.

Combs.

Thank you.

Got a question now from Mr.

Suggs.

Can I direct it to Dr.

Kimes and to State Representative Clark?

Yes you may.

Ladies, this district has been run by a man for 20 plus years.

Do you believe district 13 is ready to be run by a woman?

And why?

Who do you want to take it first?

Oh, Dr.

Clark first.

Thank you.

Dr.

Clark.

Well, thank you so much for the question.

Absolutely.

I believe that women are able to do amazing things.

I think that they make amazing leaders.

And I do believe that this district would be very willing to choose a woman to be their next congressperson.

Um, we have plenty of women in our Georgia delegation, congresswoman Lucy McBath, Congresswoman Nikema Williams, I believe that, um, in 2026, I hope that that is not a question that any woman that steps up into this role is not able or is able to do this job because we are we're very capable.

I, you know, I have a PhD in microbiology.

I can do hard things.

And so I do believe that the people of this district would very much enjoy having me be their next congresswoman.

I honestly agree with her.

I feel like a woman is needed in Congress.

I think that we know how to multitask.

Being a wife and a mother, I know that that we are able to do many things and many things well.

As a health care provider and a dentist in my class, we had mostly women, and we actually excelled as women, have excelled in education and in business ownership.

I think that women are leading in entrepreneurship, and we're leading in so many other places, and it would make history, history for me to be the first African American dentist in Congress.

Right now, I think women are leading, and I think women are going to be the people that save this country.

So, yes, a woman needs to be in office for sure.

Thank you very much for those answers.

Zoe, you have a question for our candidates.

Yeah, sorry.

I saw Dr.

Fauntleroy, I think wanted to chime in on that one.

Make sure if I could make a statement.

Go right ahead.

Sir.

I'm sorry I didn't see your hand.

Sure, sure.

So I want it to be known that I am a candidate that refuses to take any APC money or any Israeli lobbyist money, and I am a candidate who is against the genocide in Palestine and the Congo and Sudan.

And as a candidate and as a member of Congress, I will fight.

I will fight tooth and nail to make sure that we don't fund these wars.

Thank you.

Very much, sir.

Dr.. Reverend Fauntleroy, appreciate that.

Okay.

Now, Zoe, your question.

Yes, doctor Lester, I have one for you.

Um, there's been several proposals in the state legislature throughout the years to expand Medicaid.

And some of you guys touched on it as well.

But, um, would you be in support of expanding Medicaid in Georgia, and how would you work with state leaders to accomplish that?

Um, I'm for expanding Medicaid.

I think the death of most of our hospitals is because we don't have Medicaid, especially in the rural areas.

How would I work with the state leaders to get them to do so?

It looked like we at a time right now, we almost need to change state leaders because these people are pretty much set on the policies that they have.

So, yes, I believe expanding Medicaid, but also go further than expanding Medicaid.

We need to change the reimbursement rate for Medicaid for physicians that are treating those patients.

Thank you very much.

Donnell Suggs you have a question for a candidate?

Yes.

I want to go back to Dr.

Fauntleroy.

You were speaking about global politics.

Politics.

That being said, do you think they're doing a good job in Congress right now in D.C., Congress as a whole?

No, sir.

Why not?

Not at all.

I think too much money is being expended on senseless wars, and it's a money grab for the Trump family.

Uh, one of the sons have just landed a contract for drones.

Another one landed a contract for cryptocurrency.

And, uh, it's just a money grab.

Thank you.

Zoe Seiler, do you have a question for a candidate?

Yes, doctor Blair, I know you have experience serving on the school board and in education.

So what role do you think the federal government could play in improving education outcomes in like K through 12 schools?

Great question.

I have seen this firsthand, and that's a part of the reason why I got into politics, because that's where the purse is, and that's where the purse is the biggest.

Um, in 2016, I was on the Obama White House as a fellow in the Educational Initiative on African American Excellence and everything we worked hard for to achieve.

Donald Trump immediately gutted thereafter.

And now he's threatened to defund the Department of Education writ large, which will have the most devastating impact on our title one schools.

The majority of the schools in Congressional District 13 are title one schools, which means more than ten, probably upwards of 15% of the federal funds will require honestly US to foot the bill.

And that cannot be so.

We need a strong advocate who will make sure that our teachers have everything that they need, because they are way too saddled right now.

And the burdens that our students are coming in with are more and more intense.

So as somebody who has always fought to increase our teacher pay, to give our students more services, to make sure that they have early intervention and college and career readiness, I'll continue to do that in the halls of the United States Congress.

Thank you very much.

Donnell Suggs your turn for a question.

I wanted to ask Dr.

Lester, did you ever think you'd be running for Congress against another dentist?

Serious question.

Um, I don't know.

I don't know how to answer that, but it's been a pleasure to dentists from Meharry Medical College running in the same race to lead our country.

That says a lot for HBCUs.

And it's been really a pleasure.

I spoke to Dr.

Heavenly a couple of weeks ago.

I told her it's a pleasure to sit next to you coming from Meharry Medical College, both of us a little bitty school in Nashville.

We're making a big impact on our community, not just with dentistry, but in leadership.. Thank you very much, doctor Clark, I was wondering if you would answer the question.

What do you think is the most critical need for the constituents in district 13 today?

Absolutely.

I believe that it's affordability.

I know that's the buzzword right now.

But I mean, the truth is people are going to the gas pump and they are seeing the price and they're getting sticker shock.

They're going to the grocery store, they're getting sticker shock, and they're having to make some very difficult decisions.

They have lost their health care.

You know, when the ACA premium tax credits did not continue and were allowed to expire at the end of the year, it was projected that 200,000 people would drop their insurance because the cost would triple.

And what we actually saw is that half a million Georgians, 500,000 Georgians dropped their insurance.

That has an impact on our hospitals.

That has an impact on our doctor's offices.

And that has an impact on the people who no longer have access to care.

And here's the thing.

Before that even happened, Georgia was already already one of the lowest insured states.

That means we had the most people without insurance in the entire country, or we were at the.

We are definitely at the bottom of the list.

And so, you know, health care.

Thank you very much.

Same question for you, sir.

Senator Jones.

Jobs by far.

It's not even close because without a job, a person cannot be cannot, cannot afford anything.

Affordability really isn't an issue if they don't have a paycheck every single week.

And I believe that the critical issue in the Senate, district and Congressional District 13 is to provide opportunities to create jobs.

We got to recognize in this economy, a lot of businesses have fallen by the wayside.

But if we can find a way to lower the interest rate and create through the SBA a mechanism to loan to business people, uh, so that we can start incubating more and more businesses in Congressional District 13.

This is an opportunity that we must take on.

This is a challenge that we must have, because the times are so dire.

Um, where I live down in DeKalb and Henry counties, uh, I only need to walk out my door and see that the unemployment rate is up.

And I pray that I will certainly get that done.

Um.

Thank you very much.

We have time for one more question.

Zoe Seiler, you get to ask that of your candidate of your choice.

Yes.

Um, Dr.

Kimes, uh, speaking of affordability and what other ways, if elected, would you, uh, work to help just the people within the district who are struggling with rising costs overall?

Absolutely.

Thank you for asking that question.

This is the reason I ran for office, is health care.

People are struggling right now, just not with affordability, with health care.

And I see people every day struggling to whether they want to pay their light bill or pay for their prescription drugs.

I think that that's definitely a problem in the richest country in the world.

I think that we definitely should have Medicaid for all.

I think that we should make the ACA permanent.

And I also think that we should make time and make sure that we have room for people with special, special problems, with mental health challenges and autism.

If you look at the big, beautiful bill, people are being left out.

I think that we definitely need to look at a part where we can actually add them.

They cannot hold a job.

They cannot hold a job for 80 hours.

They cannot work.

They some of them cannot even read.

And that Georgia pathway system actually is very difficult to maneuver.

So health care is definitely a problem for us.

Thank you, Dr.

Kimes.

That's all the time that we have for questions.

The candidates will now have 60s to make a closing statement.

And Dr.

Kimes, we're going to begin with you.

Yeah.

Thank you.

I feel like health care is broken.

I, I feel like education is broken.

I feel like people are struggling.

And I feel like politicians have had their chance.

And I feel like Washington does not need another politician.

We need someone that just does not just understand just the struggle, but they need to have to understand the solutions as well.

Like I said, we must expand Medicaid for all.

We must make the Affordable Health Care Act permanent, and we must take care of our seniors and our veterans, people who have paid their dues and deserve to live with dignity.

Every child deserves a quality education, no matter their zip code.

And the choice is simple.

Would you choose who would you trust?

Who would you trust to fight for you?

In Washington?

Politics as usual, or someone who understands your struggle because she's lived it?

I truly believe God is calling people from unexpected places.

And, um, and he has not forgotten about us.

He has not forsaken us.

And I'm not for politics.

I did not go to law school.

I went to dental school.

But most.

Importantly, Dr.

Kimes, appreciate that.

Jasmine Clark now, a closing statement from you.

I want to close today by telling you all about one of my heroes, and that's my dad.

So back in 2022, he was diagnosed with prostate cancer, the same cancer that took his father in the early 80s.

And his youngest brother just a few years back.

All too many in our community know that fear, that vulnerability that comes with a with a cancer diagnosis.

But unlike in the 80s, where there were few options for testing and treatment, scientific research and innovation have advanced the field of cancer treatment, giving my dad and others more options and more time.

So when people like Elon Musk and RFK Jr.

Cut funding to cancer research or to combating maternal mortality or other health issues that desperately impact many people in this district, who's standing in the gap and fighting back from a research lens.

Who's the science voice in the room?

My name is Dr.

Jasmine Clark, and I'm asking you to send me to Congress so I can be that voice.

Thank you very much.

Next, a closing statement from Dr.

Joe Lester.

I struggled all night trying to come up with just the right words to close with, and I didn't come up with anything.

I just want y'all to know who I am, know where my heart is.

The truth is, I'm just a little old country boy from Hawkinsville, Georgia, who went to Fort Valley State University on a Pell Grant.

I went to Meharry Medical College on a national health scholarship alone.

I'm reminded at this point of a scripture lean not onto your own understanding, but trust in God in all you do, and he'll direct your path.

Y'all, I'm here on a faith, right on a on a faith journey, on a journey of trust.

This evening I'm asking you to come take this trust.

Ride with me.

Let's go together to Washington, D.C.

And make our community a better community.

Thank you.

Thank you, thank you very much.

Now, a closing statement.

1 minute.

Emmanuel Jones.

Thank you.

And thank you to the audience that's listening to this debate.

And I would like to say that I am the only candidate up here that has the experience and the proven leadership for the role as your next congressperson, I'm asking you to judge me on my record, not judge me by those things that I'm saying.

And I say that because from the 22 years that I've been in the General Assembly, I've passed more bills as a Democrat, which speaks to my ability to work across the aisle.

I would do exactly that when I go to Congress as well, from dealing with zero tolerance laws to dealing with PBIs to dealing with racing and laying tracks in the community, to dealing with.

People that just really don't have access to the General Assembly.

Those are the things that I've done in making myself available and making sure that those that I represent, their voice is being heard in the General Assembly.

And it's very easy to do.

You just have to be available.

You have to be present.

And for 22 years I've done just that.

Thank you very much, sir.

Jeffrey Fauntleroy, your turn.

Certainly.

So I disagree with Senator Jones.

I also have the experience necessary to become an elected member of the United States House of Representatives.

You see, people with education background, I have that.

You see people with a business background.

I have that, but I also have a community based law enforcement background that understood that you can't incarcerate your way out of a problem.

You have to be community minded.

And we did that.

We made sure that when we got people off the street, we made sure that we could get them into rehabilitation clinics, job training centers.

As a minister, I've served the community for over two decades as a husband, as a father, as a grandfather.

I want the best for my family.

So I want the best for district 13.

I'm on board.

I'm Unbossed.

I am a candidate that is for the people because that's where I've been fighting for the people.

If you want to know more about me, you can go to my website at Dr.

Jeff Baker district thirteen.org.

Thank you.

And thank you.

And Everton Blair, you get the final closing statement.

Thank you.

And thank you for a great debate.

If you're tired of politics as usual, I'm your guy.

We've been running this race many of us for over a year, and I'm proud to say that I've not taken a dime from a corporation, a corporate PAC, or a special interest.

I'm not propped up by any corporate PAC or special interests.

I'm also not giving my campaign six figure loans.

I'm not a multi-millionaire, but I feel and see the issues directly.

And as somebody who has seen broken systems my entire life, I've sought to fix them.

This is home for me.

It will always be home for me.

And I'm doing this because I actually want the job, and I'm going to do a really, really good job for us.

I want to build relationships to advance an agenda that actually lifts all of us and gives us more economic prosperity, more educational opportunity, stronger health care access, and jobs that can pay all of our bills with just one full time job, we weren't able to cover everything in this debate, but I want you to join me at everton.com or on socials at Everton.

Blair.

Check out my black economic agenda.

Check out where I stand on the issues and pick somebody who's brave and bold enough to do exactly what they say.

Thank you very much, Mr.

Blair.

Everyone.

Early voting starts today, April 27th and runs through May 15.

Election day is Tuesday, May 19.

We thank all the candidates and our panel of journalists, and we'd also like to thank the Atlanta Press Club and Georgia Public Broadcasting for arranging today's debate.

I'm Candace Pressley, thank you for joining us for the Atlanta Press Club Loudermilk-Young Debate Series.