Hello, I'm Archana Seshadri, Atlanta bureau chief and anchor for Nexstar Media Group.

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 and Blank Family Foundation and the Robert Charles Loudermilk Senior Foundation.

This is the debate for candidates running for Georgia Commissioner of Insurance and Fire Safety.

We have two journalists who will question the candidates.

Ariel Hart is a health care reporter based in Atlanta, and Doug Richards is a political reporter at 11 Alive in Atlanta.

I'm going to kick off the debate, asking each of our candidates to introduce themselves and tell you why they should be the next Georgia Commissioner of Insurance and fire Safety.

Candidates.

You'll have 60s to introduce yourselves.

We'll go in alphabetical order, starting with John King.

Well, thank you so much.

I want to thank the Atlanta Press Club for the opportunity to be here this evening.

I started my career as an Atlanta police officer walking what I used to call a high crime foot patrol on Auburn Avenue.

And that's where I started my life of service to the community, served with the Atlanta Police Department for many years, then went to Doraville to be the Chief of Police.

I also joined the Army National Guard here in Georgia, and I started as a private and retired four years ago as a major general and a lifetime of service.

Well, Governor Kemp asked me to serve to repair the damage of the Insurance Commission because the previous insurance commissioner was corrupt and went to jail.

And so that's what I've been doing for the last 7.5 years, repairing the damage, getting an agency, serving back the the people of the state of Georgia.

We have a lot of opportunities to discuss tonight, some of the successes and of course, many of the challenges still face us.

And I'm looking forward to that conversation.

John.

Thank you.

Keisha.

Waites.

You may now introduce yourself to our viewers.

Thank you so much for the opportunity.

Again, I am Keisha Sean Waites.

I'm running for insurance Commissioner of Georgia.

Like most individuals who have experienced the skyrocketing premiums as it relates to automobiles, health as well as homeowners premiums, they've continued to skyrocket.

And these colossal rates are crippling fellow Georgians.

I've spent my career serving the people of Georgia.

I had the privilege of serving three terms in the Georgia House of Representatives, also briefly served on the Atlanta City Council, but most importantly, I spent over a decade serving for the Federal Emergency Management Agency.

So I understand when insurance works well.

And I've also seen when insurance has failed.

Insurance is a promise to the people of Georgia that when disaster strikes, the insurance companies will be there to protect us.

And it is my belief at this point we have had a colossal failure as it relates to this office.

Thank you so much, Keisha, for the full set of debate rules, you can visit the Atlanta Press club.org.

Again, that's Atlanta Press club.org.

We're going to kick start this debate firstly with Keisha Six Flags under Georgia having a lot of scrutiny over the last 24 hours, what would you do differently had you been in this position to prevent such a tragedy?

Well, for those individuals who are not aware, the Insurance Commissioner's Office is charged with inspecting, permitting and regulating amusement parks throughout the state of Georgia.

So a couple of things I'd like to do or I would have done, and that is ensure that there's an inspection at that particular facility as time permits, in addition to that, to ensure that any challenges that we've had in the past, that they were investigated thoroughly.

It's my understanding that the park is planning to open on Friday, and prior to that opening, I would ensure that all of the amusement park rides have been inspected thoroughly.

In addition to to make sure that this will never happen again in the state of Georgia.

Thank you Keisha and Jon, you are the current incumbent in this position.

Do you take any accountability?

I understand your office is currently investigating what happened at Six Flags Over Georgia.

Clearly, clearly, this is one of our primary duties when it comes to the Safety Fire Department.

Our our very professional inspectors have inspected every one of those before the park season even started.

And they're currently on the ground looking at every nook and cranny, conducting interviews and conducting a thorough review of what happened.

It's a little premature to be able to make a whole lot of comments about this, because obviously this is an ongoing investigation, but I look forward to being able to report back to the Georgia public that these these rides are safe.

They will continue to be safe, and we will continue inspecting them from top to bottom.

Thank you so much, John, and our hearts and prayers go out to the family who did lose their loved one.

Now let's go to the panel who ask a question to the individual candidate.

We'll start with Earhart.

You will ask a question to Keisha Waites.

Again, you'll have 60s to craft your response.

Ariel.

Councilwoman, you mentioned your experience as a representative.

Um, looking specifically at the insurance industry, what would you do specifically?

What levers would you pull concretely that your opponent isn't to lower costs for Georgia insurance consumers?

Well, I'm going to start with the program.

Georgia Access.

Georgia Access is a wolf in sheep's clothing currently.

Right now, all of the accountability and liability is passed on to the consumers because employers are given a fixed rate for insurance.

And so at the end of the day, those rising premiums and costs are going to be passed on to the employees and the consumers.

So, one, I would revamp that program completely to make sure that any liability that is spread across the board.

So that's the first thing that we would do.

The next thing is Senate Bill 444 gave the insurance commissioner or the office holder the opportunity to put guardrails in place.

And again, this represents a colossal failure.

Tort reform certainly has not served us in terms of Senate Bill 344, because right now, the insurance premiums continue to go through the roof.

And again, the consumers are paying more and still getting less.

All right.

Thank you.

Keisha Doug Richards, you may now ask the first question to John King.

Commissioner King, I want to ask a follow up question regarding the roller coaster situation.

You said that there was an inspection conducted at the start of the season, which was several months ago.

Is there any indication that the inspection itself was faulty?

And is there any indication that too long a time has passed since that last inspection?

Well, Doug, I would love to be able to get into a lot more details, but this is, you know, 24 plus hours since the incident occurred.

And right now we're gathering information.

You know, that it would be inappropriate for me to make a lot of guesses.

We deal with facts.

We're going to conduct this incredibly thorough review, working very closely, not only with Cobb County, but Cobb County Fire, Cobb County Police, and working very closely with our partners.

And we're going to interview everybody.

We're going to take we're going to go with this where the facts take us.

All right, John, thank you so much for that.

Doug, now your turn to ask a question to Keisha Waites, our other candidate.

Uh, Miss Waites, uh, if you get elected, to the office, you're seeking insurance Commissioner.

Um, there would likely be a Republican majority of sorts still in the state Capitol.

Um, what what steps would you take to make inroads with the opposite party if you have to work with them as insurance commissioner?

Great question.

So access to affordable care and health insurance or automobile insurance is not really a partisan issue.

It's something that Democrats and Republicans, we all desire.

I can point to my record of service, having served in the Georgia General Assembly, passing legislation in a trifecta where our governor was a Republican, as well as the House and Senate, was both controlled by Republicans.

House Bill 54, which is the fallen hero legislation that I authored, was cosigned by Alan Powell, the chair of the Public Safety Committee.

And so I'm very proud of my record of service across the board.

At the end of the day, the conversations that we're having today have nothing to do with Partizan appeal.

It's about people.

And I can assure you the folks that are down in Albany and Augusta who were impacted negatively by Hurricane Helene, are not interested in Partizan conversations right now.

The bulk of the calls that I have received from individuals that are needing support come from.

All Keisha.

We are unfortunately out of time to keep the rules fair.

Let's go to Ariel now to ask the last question of this round to John King.

, High Commissioner.

So we've been talking about affordability and the premium prices that have soared since Congress let subsidies expire.

Um, there'll be another increase in even higher premiums next year.

Um, and, you know, talking about that on the way over here, my hairdresser told me that her ACA Georgia access premium has quadrupled.

Would you advocate to the legislature that Georgia do as another state did and replace those subsidies from the state budget?

You know.

We've talked about this for probably about five years.

You and I have talked a great deal about this, but the challenge here is that these subsidies were focused on Covid and the Covid response, and the insurer in the cost of health care did not go down.

And that's the challenge that we're trying to you know, when we when I first took office, we had 400,000 Georgians with private quality, quality, private health insurance.

We were able to grow it to almost 1 million, a little over 1 million.

We lost about 300,000 because of the subsidies being removed.

But now we are we are we have close to 1 million Georgians with private health insurance.

And the key there is to go and hold insurance companies accountable.

And we've done that.

We've fined insurance companies for violations of Georgia rules more than all insurance commissioners combined.

We've been able to recover over $100 million back to consumers pockets as a result of our investigations.

And so we're holding the companies accountable.

The challenge here is to be able to reform, because the ACA has not worked for Georgia.

If nothing else, it has brought the cost of insurance.

John, thank you so much.

That concludes our time for this first round.

We're going to move on right along to round two.

And this round, each of the candidates will ask a question for their opponent.

You'll have 30s to ask the question.

And the person then who asked the question will also get a 32nd rebuttal and 60s to respond to the question.

And John King, we're going to start with you in round two.

Keisha you.

You ran you've run for office almost, I think, 15 times.

You've held two elected offices and resigned for both of both of them before completing the job.

What are you trying to accomplish and why should Georgians trust you to complete the task?

If you are successful being an insurance commissioner?

So I'll start this way.

I was actually elected three terms to the Georgia House of Representatives.

So three of those elections, I was elected to the Georgia House.

I was also elected to the Atlanta City Council.

So that would be four.

I'm not sure about the.

15 but I will state this.

Two years ago, you embarked on a campaign to run for the United States Senate, and it's my understanding that when Mr.

Trump did not endorse you and instead chose someone else, you made the decision to continue running for the insurance commissioner.

So I will ask you the same question.

Are you interested in continuing to serve the people of Georgia?

Because it is my understanding, based upon your record, based upon the failures that I am looking at in terms of your record of service, which I'm happy to share that with you, that the voters have not had any support.

In fact, many of them feel left behind and ignored as it relates to denials, as it relates to delays.

Jon King you get a 32nd rebuttal to Keisha's question.

Well, thank you so much.

You know, I came to this job because Governor Brian Kemp asked me to come and clean up.

The corruption and the ineptitude of the department.

And that's exactly what we've been able to achieve.

And we've been able to focus on.

I've held insurance companies accountable better than all insurance commissioners put together, and we've recovered over $100 million back to consumers pockets as a result of our direct action.

I'm not owned by insurance.

I'm not an insurance guy.

I will always be a cop, and I will always be a soldier.

Protecting Georgia consumers.

All right.

Thank you.

Jon.

Keisha.

Waites.

That is now your turn to ask.

Jon King a question again.

You get 30s, you get 60 to respond, and then you get a 32nd rebuttal.

Keisha.

Commissioner.

King.

In 2025, you supported Governor Kemp's tort reform legislation, which presented a way to stabilize insurance costs, bring them down, and provide sorely needed relief to Georgia families.

That legislation took effect in April of 2025, with those additional provisions taking effect in 2026.

The General Assembly passed another major reform bill, which was 13 44, giving your office the enforcement authority to strengthen protections for consumers.

Yet consumers continue to face rising premiums, difficulty obtaining affordable coverage, constant cancellations and delays.

My question is very simple.

When will these reforms actually translate into meaningful relief for fellow Georgians?

Farmers small business communities, as well as those individuals who are hurting right now, who can no longer afford the skyrocketing premiums that are happening to them.

Well, thank you for.

That question.

I will tell you, it was clearly you haven't been paying attention to the public releases that our office has generated.

We had over 41 insurance companies already reduced their rates, and we're continuing to keep a close eye on the rest of them.

So at a very short period of time of implementation, we're making a meaningful impact on the rates.

Clearly, the rates are still too high and we're going to continue to focus on fighting to make sure that Georgia consumers and Georgia insurance companies don't take advantage of consumers because they're struggling.

Clearly, I think we have a violent agreement here that the consumers are struggling, and we have to do everything we can within the the regulations and the authority of this office has.

And we will it will not give up.

I have never quit on any tough missions, and I will not stop today.

You got a 32nd rebuttal.

Thank you so much.

So I would submit to you, Mr.

King, that I am terrified of what will happen in the next four years.

Right now, when you look at the record number of increases that we have seen in Georgia, all of them happened within the last seven years under your watch.

So it is my hope and prayer that Georgians cannot at least afford the future relief under your administration.

And I'm hoping we can make some changes.

And I'm asking the voters of Georgia to elect me so that we can start moving in the right direction.

All right.

Keisha, thank you so much.

And thank you, John.

You are watching the general election debate for Georgia Commissioner of Insurance and Fire Safety.

I'm going to give it back to our panelists, our candidates, rather, to ask a question specifically about if you are elected.

And we'll start with you, John, what is something that you will accomplish in the first year in office going forward, that there will be tangible results for Georgians?

I think we have to keep a very closely.

Close watch on what insurance companies are doing, especially the use of AI products are generating a lot of the the the policies are being generated in Georgia, but also we have to.

I have to do a better job.

And I think our agency is really focused on this and educating consumers that they're not alone in fighting against insurance companies, that they have an ally.

There's only a phone call away that is only an email away to fight with them.

Again, our results are tangible.

They are clear.

We've been able to recover $100 million back to consumers, and we've also fined insurance companies more than all insurance companies.

Commissioners put together in Georgia's history.

We have results.

We have the proof.

We want to continue that.

And with Georgia voters, you know, supporting us, we will continue this fight.

All right.

John, thank you so much.

And same question to you, Keisha.

What is something tangible that you would do if elected into office in the first year to help Georgians?

Well, the first thing I want to implement is a consumer protection unit, and I'm going to challenge every single fellow Georgian, your farmers, small business owners and families right now to reach out to the Georgia Insurance Commissioner's Office and see if anyone answers the phone or responds.

To respond to an email.

I have been traveling the state of Georgia, Albany, specifically Augusta, Macon.

These areas who were devastated by Hurricane Helene and each one of them are stating they are still waiting for support from the Georgia Insurance Commissioner's Office, given that they have appealed their denials and delays.

And so what I'd like to do is restore this office to its original intent, and that is to protect Georgia consumers, because Georgia consumers have no chance against $1 trillion industry that lawyers up and basically does nothing to support the everyday consumer.

All right.

Keisha, thank you so much for that.

Let's go back to our panel, who will now continue in round three to ask questions to the candidate of their choice until we run out of time.

We'll start with you, Doug Richards.

You may now ask a question.

I want to follow up on Commissioner King's question to you.

Miss Waites.

You have been elected to the state House of Representatives, and you have been elected to the City Council, but you have a remarkable appetite for getting into other elections.

Um, you've run for Congress twice, the PSC once Fulton County Commission, three times.

Um, clerk of Fulton County Superior Court, um, is it, uh, should voters expect you to stick with this office if you got elected to it?

I think it's a fair question.

And one of the things that I do want to talk about is my record of service that I am tremendously proud of.

When we started the conversation today, I mentioned House Bill 54, which provides tuition to fallen heroes.

These are first responders that are killed in the line of duty in the state of Georgia.

That bill was passed with bipartisan support, to which I'm extremely proud of during my tenure on the Atlanta City Council.

You may remember we passed a curfew to protect our young people.

Uh, many people remember the young bartender, Miriam.

That was hurt.

I worked with the General Assembly as well as Fulton County to pass legislation to ensure that predators will remain behind bars and never go back out on the street.

In addition to that, Erica's law.

Many of you may remember when we had a number of individuals that were speed racing and driving recklessly throughout the state of Georgia, we implemented a law that would pretty much address those types of issues.

So I've always been a public safety advocate, and my record speaks for itself.

All right.

Keisha, thank you so much for that.

Earhart you get the next question to our candidates?

A question for both candidates.

So a study this summer, it was national but had a Georgia component, found that black homeowners in Georgia pay more for homeowners insurance than white homeowners do.

And that's after controlling for other factors.

Is that something that your office would consider studying?

And we'll start with Councilwoman.

Absolutely.

Uh, you know, living in southwest Atlanta, we have experienced redlining probably prior to me being born.

And so I am interested in working with my former colleagues in the General Assembly to ensure that credit scores and zip codes are not a factor in terms of assessing rates in the state of Georgia.

And that is something that I look forward to doing on day one.

As the new insurance commissioner.

Commissioner.

But something very clearly, very concerned about, and this was part of our discussion when we were trying to get tort reform, because I realized how areas that I was a police officer in southeast Atlanta and Lakewood, areas where they were coming food deserts because people and businesses could not purchase health, you know, uh, property insurance.

And so it was a very concerning.

And we constantly look at and I've sanctioned several companies for using and camouflaging redlining and using AI systems to be able to, to camouflage some of the rates.

And we've stopped them.

We continue to be watchful and very mindful to make sure that insurance companies don't redline areas that are very near and dear.

Areas where I grew up as a young police officer protecting.

I'm very focused on that, and we will continue to watch why.

All right.

Thank you so much, Mr.

Jon.

King we'll now go back to Doug Richards.

Your turn for a question.

Yes.

I'd like to ask both of you.

Um, as I understand, the Commissioner's office, it generally is not allowed to intervene in insurance rates, rate disputes between policyholders and insurance companies.

Um, House Bill 221 signed into law in 2023, gives the insurance commissioner the authority to review auto rates that are submitted to the state from auto insurance companies, should that expand to include the authority to review or intervene in disputes?

Uh, Commissioner King.

Well, thank you.

Um, I'm very disappointed.

One of the things that I realized very quickly when I became insurance commissioner is the whole authority that had been taken away from insurance department to be able to intervene in rates, basically filing use and battling and going and asking the legislature to make sure that that authority got in.

I'm not going to give up on that.

I think it's essential for the Insurance Commissioner's office to regain that authority, to be able to review rates before they implement it.

Currently, we I can slow a rate down.

It takes effect in 45 days, but I'm not satisfied with that status quo.

And I'll continue fighting to make sure this office continues to has greater authority to be able to intervene when the rate is unreasonable.

Keisha Waites your turn.

Thank you.

For the last seven years under Mr.

King's administration, we have seen our automobile premiums skyrocket to some of the highest in the nation.

We're in the top ten and House Bill 221 certainly gave you the authority to address that.

And my simple, uh, position today is this you already have the job, Mr.

King.

You've had seven years to address all of these issues as it relates to health care.

The constant denials are referring individuals who have been on medication for numbers of years.

You've had the opportunity to address the skyrocketing homeowners premiums for individuals like myself, who never filed any claims whatsoever, yet they're continuing to skyrocket.

You've had the opportunity to address this.

And what I don't understand, respectfully, is what is it that you intend to do now?

Lastly, two years ago, you embarked on a run for the United States Senate.

When we were debating Senate Bill 444, as well as House Bill 221, and later made the decision after not being endorsed by Mr.

Trump to to stay in the commissioners.

All right.

Thank you so much.

And, Mr.

Jon King, we'll give you a 32nd rebuttal to respond to Miss Waites.

Well, thank you so much.

You know, clearly, uh, Miss Waites doesn't understand that the authority for Insurance Commissioner has to reside with legislation.

She was a member of the legislature, and she knows that the authority of the insurance commissioner resides is given to by the legislature.

And we focused very closely on being able to put every bit of pressure.

And currently what we're focused on is when an insurance company breaks Curran Georgia law, we hold them accountable.

The proof is in the fines that we've issued, and the key is also being able to hold insurance companies and recovering more money to our constituents.

Thank you so much.

We have time for one quick question.

This one's going to be a little bit of a different one.

I'm going to have each of you answer a 15 second question.

Miss Waites, we'll start with you.

Can you say something positive about your opponent, something that people may not know that you do admire in him?

I know some of the attacks can sometimes be a little contentious.

And same question to you in a moment.

Absolutely.

I know, Mr.

King, you served in public safety.

You've served as chief of police.

That is an honorable job in a very difficult job.

The fact that you even stepped up when Governor Kemp asked you to serve in this capacity means something to me, because I do understand that public service is not an easy job.

And so for that, I do commend you.

All right.

Thank you so much, Miss Waites and Mr.

Jon King, a compliment about your opponent.

I think the passion she brings to service, uh, you know, and to every bit of the jobs that she's had is quite commendable.

I think she's focused on solutions just like I am, but we're just bringing it from a different perspective.

And I think there's a lot of work that we can do.

Uh, but as long as we don't forget that the Georgia consumer is the center of our, of our world that we have to focus on.

All right.

Thank you so much to both of you.

And of course, that perspective now lies in your hands.

You, the Georgia voter.

That is all the time that we have for this round.

And our questions, the candidates now get 60s for a closing statement.

We'll start with you, Mr.

Keisha Waites.

You get 60s on the clock to convince voters why you should be elected.

Sure.

So insurance is a promise.

It is a promise that when disaster strikes, that insurance will be there, there will be an arm to be there to protect you.

Unfortunately for small business owners, for farmers, seniors and families in Augusta, Albany and different parts of the state of Georgia, there was no relief in sight for them.

They have experienced constant delays, denials, many of them mass cancellations.

They have reached out to me telling me they have contacted the office of the incumbent to no relief in sight.

They have never received phone calls and things of that nature.

I submit to you that I will restore this office to a consumer protection agency to make sure when disaster strikes, that the government is there to support you and to get you the relief that you so desperately need.

My name is Keisha Sean Waites, and I'm asking for your vote.

I'm asking for your support.

And I'm also asking Mr.

King to partner with me to bring down the insurance rates in the state of Georgia, so that we can provide the relief that every Georgian deserves.

Thank you so much, Miss Keisha Waites.

And certainly, last but certainly not least, Mr.

John King.

You get 60s for your closing statement.

Friends, I've never forgot where I started from.

I started as an Atlanta police officer walking a high crime foot patrol, escorting Coretta Scott King to her car every night to make sure she got safely.

I served as a soldier, fighting overseas, fighting against terrorism and making sure and protecting my soldiers that same attitude, that same passion has come to serving as insurance commissioners.

Insurance commissioners don't care for very much.

I have held them accountable.

I keep their feet to the fire and I will continue doing so.

And so I'm very proud of the work that we have done.

But I will continue fighting because the fight is not done.

My name is John King and I'm asking for Georgians to let me stay in the job so I can finish the task.

Thank you so much.

I appreciate the opportunity to come here before you.

Thank you so much, Mr.

John King.

Thank you so much to Miss Keisha Waites.

And also thank you for tuning in.

Early voting is underway in Georgia.

It runs through Friday, October the 30th.

Election day, is Tuesday, November the third.

We want to take a moment to thank all of our candidates and our panel of journalists for this discussion.

We'd also like to take a moment to thank the Atlanta Press Club and Georgia Public Broadcasting for this debate.

I'm your host, Archer Seshadri.

Thanks so much for joining us for the Atlanta Press Club.

Loudermilk-Young Debate Series here in Atlanta.

Thanks for tuning in.

Happy voting.