Local democratic lawmakers held a town hall meeting discussing everything from mental healthcare to education and school camera citations. It was the last listening session before the general assembly convenes Monday January 13, 2026.
State Representative Debbie Buckner said one word sums up what she’s hearing from her constituents: affordability. “Most of the people that I’m talking to on the streets are talking about the price of things and whether they can afford things and what the economy might do and what’s happening. They’re concerned about just everyday expenses. They’re worried about will groceries go up, will gas go up, those kinds of things so I think we need to look at how we can help them out as best we can to keep things affordable and take care of our working families that are out there trying real hard to make all the ends meet.”
Representative Teddy Reese echoed those sentiments saying “I think about hungry people in our community today, I think about us threatening to hold back SNAP. I think about our seniors struggling to pay their prescription bill or pay their light bill and we just shouldn’t be in these positions and then there are those that act like they don’t see the challenges and that’s the part that bothers me the most.”
Reese was quick to note his history of working across the aisle to get things done in Atlanta. “I want to be absolutely clear; I work with some amazing people on both sides of the aisle because I’ve taken time to get to know them and we’ve built relationships. About 95% of the stuff that we pass in Atlanta passes unanimously except for one or two people that are always gonna vote no on everything.”
State Senator Ed Harbison told NowGeorgia.com “In Columbus like probably elsewhere in the state I hear things about people what they feel in the atmosphere, is there ease, are people happy but I feel there’s a concern about crime, there’s a concern about property taxes, there’s a concern about the things we’re dealing with now income tax and those kinds of things. It’s incumbent upon us to try to figure out a way to put their concerns into action as best we can.”
Representative Carolyn Hugley said she is drafting a bill after hearing from citizens opposed to appointing people to fill vacancies on city council and the school board. “Citizens said they were left out of the process,” she said of the most recent appointments on city council. The proposed legislation would require a special election to fill a vacant seat on the city council and school board.
