Ray Smith
DemocraticQ1 Georgia is becoming a hub for data centers due to tax breaks, amenable regulations, and available land (Perdue, 2025). While data centers may grow the tech industry in Georgia, data centers also have environmental and health impacts, such as significant water and electricity usage, as well as noise pollution (Science for Georgia, 2026). How will you protect Georgian health and property values with data center legislation?
I’m in favor of a one year moratorium to give us time to properly regulate these projects. We don’t currently have sufficient safeguards to ensure that the costs, both financial and environmental, don’t fall disproportionately on local residents. We should require them to cover the full cost of transmission and generation upgrades that are built to supply them with power.
Q2 How will you ensure communities have meaningful opportunities to provide public comments that inform state and local decision making?
On public input, no elected official or public employee should sign a non-disclosure agreement about a project that needs a public vote. The public has a right to know what impacts these projects will have on their local communities and have an opportunity to bring their concerns before the local government before the projects are approved.
Q3 How have you learned about data centers in the past, and how will you stay abreast of important findings based on scientific research regarding data center impacts on energy affordability and the environment?
On policy I go to primary sources: Georgia Power’s filings at the Public Service Commission, where I submitted public comment on its All-Source RFP, state audits of the tax exemption, and EPD permit records. In office I’d lean on researchers at UGA and Georgia Tech and groups like Science for Georgia.
Q4 How will you work and communicate with voters to ensure your policy decisions around data centers reflect the values of your constituency?
I will be as responsive as possible to calls and emails from constituents, and I’m always happy to talk about someone’s concerns. I plan to hold monthly town halls for the duration of my term. I encourage anyone to reach out.
Q5 Extreme heat is a serious public health issue and vulnerable populations are most at risk (Bell et al., 2024; Ebi et al., 2021; Hess et al., 2023). Additionally, the number of annual extreme heat days have increased statewide and are projected to increase in the future (McCullough, 2026). At the same time, Georgia is projected to experience more frequent and intense droughts (National Integrated Drought Information System, 2026). What policies do you plan to implement to mitigate the rising health risk of extreme heat and drought on Georgians?
Georgia has no heat standard for workers, and neither does the federal government. I support a state standard guaranteeing water, shade, rest breaks, and time to acclimate, indoors and out. Workers aren’t the only ones at risk, so I’d fund cooling centers and weatherization for seniors and low-income households and protect families from utility shutoffs in extreme heat. On drought, large water users, data centers included, should report their consumption publicly and follow the same restrictions as everyone else, and the state should invest in leak repair and water reuse.
Q6 PFAS, or forever chemicals, are common, long-lasting chemicals used in dyes, pesticides, and common household products, like water-resistant clothes, cleaners, and cookware (EPA, 2026a). Forever chemicals have contributed to high risk of thyroid disruption, developmental delays, and cancer (EPA, 2026a). The EPA recently rolled back regulation on some forever chemicals and extended the deadline for utility companies to limit exposure to contaminated water (EPA, 2026b). What policies or investments would you support to improve drinking water safety in Georgia?
I will support expanded testing programs to screen for major sources to eliminate the most harmful. I will also support additional testing and reporting requirements for companies that use PFAS in their products to monitor any potential contamination or exposure. We need data driven reporting and concrete mitigation procedures to prevent harm to human health and the environment.
Q7 Environmental harms are not distributed evenly: landfills, industrial plants, and waste treatment facilities are disproportionately placed in communities of color and low income neighborhoods (Deganian & Thompson, 2012; Jbaily et al., 2022; Liddie et al., 2023). For example, the Pittard Road and Pinewoods communities in Athens have struggled to gain access to safe drinking water for decades (Dua-Swartz, 2025). Such environmental burdens cause generational health and economic impacts (Colmer & Voorheis, 2025; Grineski et al., 2025). How will you address environmental injustice in your district?
I’d require EPD to weigh cumulative impacts on the surrounding community before permitting or expanding a landfill or industrial site, with early notice and public monitoring data. And I’d direct state infrastructure money to water lines for communities that have been passed over. Currently there are site suitability studies that are required, but not a comprehensive community impact study.
Q8 Nitrate run off and pesticide use have been correlated with risk of long-term illnesses, like cancer, and ecosystem degradation, for example water deoxygenation and “dead zones” (EPA, 2013, 2015; European Commission, 2026; Zhao et al., 2026). How will your policies balance farmers’ technological needs while reducing the impact of previously restricted pesticides and overfertilization on agricultural workers, their neighbors, and our water systems?
I’d expand cost-share funding and UGA Extension support for soil testing, precision application, cover crops, and stream buffers, so using less fertilizer is the cheaper choice. For pesticides once restricted for health reasons, the people closest need protection: training and protective equipment for farmworkers, notice before spraying near homes and schools, and state monitoring of wells and streams in farm country.
Q9 The construction of data centers has triggered the call for an expansion in energy production (Science for Georgia, 2025). Georgia, and its largest energy provider, Georgia Power, derives 87% of its energy output from natural gas, coal, and nuclear sources, while 6% comes from renewables (Georgia Power, 2025). GA Power is proposing an expansion of a “natural gas” pipeline through Georgia and Alabama to meet their projected energy demands; however, there are several viable options for expanding solar energy, including plug-in solar panels, agrivoltaics, and parking lot solar systems, that would give consumers power over their electricity bills (Science for Georgia, 2026). What policies do you support to expand consumer energy choice and renewable energy?
Georgia is one of four states with no consumer advocate at the Public Service Commission. I’d restore the Consumers’ Utility Counsel so ratepayers have a lawyer in the room in rate cases. I’d lift the cap on net metering for rooftop solar, pass community solar so renters can take part, legalize plug-in solar, and open virtual power plant programs that pay customers for batteries and smart thermostats they already own. The state should lead by moving its own fleets to electric and hybrid vehicles.
Q10 The globalization of groceries has given us access to a diverse selection of produce products. At the same time, international supply chains can heighten the risk of foodborne illnesses. Recent outbreaks of foodborne illnesses, like Cyclospora and Salmonella, have resulted in recalls of common foods, including lettuce, blueberries, and eggs (Vollers, 2026). What actions should we take on the state level to track and reduce foodborne illnesses?
Georgia is one of ten FoodNet states, CDC’s active surveillance system for foodborne illness. In July 2025, CDC cut the pathogens FoodNet requires states to track from eight to two, and Cyclospora was one of the six dropped. That doesn’t cause outbreaks, but we find them later, after more people are sick. I’d fund the Department of Public Health and the state lab to keep full active surveillance of all eight, and fund enough inspectors to trace an outbreak to its source quickly.
Q11 What assistance, if any, does GA need from the federal government to track and reduce foodborne illnesses?
Restore FoodNet funding for all eight pathogens, and give states stable multi-year funding through the Emerging Infections Program so we aren’t rebuilding capacity every budget cycle. Most recalled food crosses state or national borders. Only the federal government can inspect imports and coordinate recalls across state lines.
Q12 About 17% of Georgia adults lack health insurance (The Commonwealth Fund, 2025). Since tax credits for Affordable Care Act plans expired in December 2025, more than half a million Georgians have lost health insurance (Hart, 2026). What are your views on medicaid expansion, and what policies will you support to assist Georgians struggling to access quality healthcare?
We should fully expand Medicaid, and with the ACA tax credits gone it’s more urgent than a year ago. Coverage doesn’t help if there’s no one to see you. I’d let nurse practitioners practice to the full extent of their training without a physician protocol agreement. And I’d fund LPN-to-RN bridge programs along with the nursing faculty positions that limit how many students those programs can admit.