Forsyth County deserves better. We're building it.

Our Commitment

We are your neighbors, your coworkers, your children's teachers, and your local business owners. The Forsyth County Democrats are a growing community of residents who believe that Forsyth — one of Georgia's most dynamic and rapidly changing counties — deserves leadership that works for everyone, not just those at the top.

Forsyth County is home to more than 280,000 people and growing fast — bringing new families, new businesses, and new challenges. Our schools are strained, our roads are congested, our housing is unaffordable for working families, and our county government has not kept pace. We believe Democrats have the answers: smart investment, fair governance, and policies that give every family a real shot.

This platform is rooted in the values of the Democratic Party of Georgia and shaped by the specific realities of life in Forsyth County. It is a living document — guided by our community, updated by our members, and offered to every Forsyth resident who wants a county that is just, prosperous, and welcoming to all.

Economic Security & Jobs

Forsyth County's rapid growth has created wealth for some and cost-of-living pressure for many. We support policies that build an economy where every working family can get ahead.

• Living wages and safe workplaces for all Forsyth workers - from logistics centers on Hwy 20 to restaurants and service businesses along GA-400.

• Support for small businesses as the primary engine of local job growth; Democrats champion Forsyth entrepreneurs over out-of-state corporate chains.

• High-speed broadband for every home and business, including the underserved rural western portions of the county where connectivity gaps remain.

• The right to organize and bargain collectively, including public sector workers in Forsyth County's schools and government offices.

• Workforce housing - Forsyth's teachers, firefighters, and service workers deserve to afford living in the county they serve. We support dedicated affordable housing programs for essential workers.

• Expanded childcare, apprenticeship, and job training programs to grow skilled local talent and keep Forsyth families economically secure.

• Economic diversification beyond retail and construction, Forsyth should be competing for tech, healthcare, and advanced manufacturing employers that provide high-wage careers.

• Fair impact fees that require new development to pay its share of the infrastructure, schools, and services that growth demands.

Education

The Forsyth County School District serves over 60,000 students and is one of the largest and fastest-growing in Georgia. Keeping it excellent requires investment, not politics.

• Full funding for Forsyth County public schools that keeps pace with enrollment growth — without cutting classroom quality or teacher pay to balance budget shortfalls caused by inadequate state funding.

• Fair pay and real benefits for teachers and support staff, who are increasingly priced out of living in Forsyth County by the same housing market their salaries can't keep up with.

• Hands off our school libraries. Parents have every right to manage their own child's reading — not to ban books from other families' children. We oppose the censorship campaigns that have repeatedly targeted Forsyth County schools.

• Mental health support in every school — a counselor, social worker, or psychologist in every Forsyth County school building to address the youth mental health crisis.

• Safe and welcoming learning environments for all students — LGBTQ+ students, students with disabilities, students of all faiths and backgrounds, and students from immigrant families.

• Universal Pre-K access and expanded nutrition, transportation, and extracurricular opportunity for every Forsyth student regardless of zip code or income.

• No voucher expansion that diverts Forsyth public school funding to private institutions with no accountability to local taxpayers.

• Expanding HOPE scholarships and grants to include trade schools — Forsyth needs skilled tradespeople as much as college graduates.

Healthcare

Forsyth County's explosive population growth has outpaced its healthcare infrastructure. Every resident — regardless of income or insurance — deserves access to quality care close to home.

• Expand Medicaid in Georgia now. An estimated 15,000+ Forsyth County residents fall into the coverage gap — working people who earn too much for traditional Medicaid and too little to afford private insurance.

• Expand hospital capacity and urgent care access in Forsyth County, which is critically underserved in healthcare facilities relative to its population size.

• Protect reproductive freedom — access to abortion, IVF, and contraception is a personal medical decision, not a political one.

• Expand pediatric and adolescent mental health resources in partnership with the Forsyth County School District and local hospital systems.

• Address Georgia's maternal mortality crisis, which disproportionately affects Black mothers and which represents a failure of state leadership.

• Treat gun violence as the public health emergency it is — it is the leading cause of death for children in America. We support evidence-based gun safety legislation.

• Protect coverage for pre-existing conditions and work toward a universal healthcare system where no Forsyth family goes bankrupt due to a medical bill.

Housing & Community Development

Forsyth County is among the fastest-appreciating housing markets in Georgia. Rising costs are pushing out the very people who make this county function — teachers, nurses, first responders, and young families.

• Zoning reform to allow a broader mix of housing types — townhomes, duplexes, accessory dwelling units — in areas currently restricted to single-family homes.

• Affordable housing requirements tied to large commercial and mixed-use developments along GA-400 and Hwy 9, through community benefit agreements.

• First-time homebuyer assistance programs and down payment support, especially for essential workers and longtime Forsyth residents being priced out of the housing market.

• Renter protections including expanded legal representation for low-income tenants in eviction proceedings.

• Regulate short-term rentals (Airbnb/VRBO) to ensure housing remains available for long-term residents — not converted en masse to non resident, investor income properties.

• Affordable senior housing for Forsyth County's rapidly growing elderly population that lacks adequate options for aging in place.

• Sustainable development standards requiring energy efficiency, green space, and infrastructure capacity for all new construction receiving public subsidies.

Environment & Infrastructure

Forsyth County's quality of life depends on clean water, green space, and infrastructure that keeps pace with growth. We cannot develop our way out of a traffic crisis or grow our way into a water shortage.

• Protect Lake Lanier and Forsyth's watersheds from runoff, overdevelopment, and inadequate stormwater management — the lake is a regional resource and Forsyth's crown jewel.

• Expand transit options — Forsyth County's traffic on GA-400 is a quality-of-life crisis. We support GRTA/Xpress bus expansion, commuter rail investment, and multimodal transit connecting Forsyth to Atlanta.

• Oppose unchecked data center sprawl that consumes massive amounts of water and energy while contributing little to local employment, tax base, or community quality of life.

• Protect tree canopy and require meaningful replanting standards to combat heat islands, stormwater runoff, and neighborhood character loss from rapid clear-cutting.

• Enforce land clearing and grading regulations to protect adjacent properties, waterways, and community character during development.

• Clean energy transition — reduce statewide carbon emissions 50% by 2030 and 100% by 2050, with investments in solar, electric vehicles, and energy-efficient buildings across Forsyth.

• Adequate roads and water infrastructure funded by developers and the state — not shouldered solely by existing Forsyth County taxpayers.

Democracy, Voting Rights & Good Government

A democracy only works when every eligible voter can participate. Forsyth County's voter infrastructure has not kept up with its population — and that is not an accident.

• Expand early voting locations in Forsyth County — particularly in growing residential areas and apartment communities that currently lack convenient access to polling places.

• Same-day voter registration, automatic registration at government offices, and an election day holiday so that working Forsyth residents can vote without taking time off.

• Protect election administrators from political interference, intimidation, and removal for doing their jobs fairly and by the law.

• Restore voting rights to Georgians who have completed their sentences and rejoined our community — democracy is strongest when everyone has a stake in it.

• Independent redistricting to end partisan gerrymandering that has diluted Forsyth Democratic votes for a decade.

• Transparency and ethics in county government — public officials must be held to the highest ethical standard, with meaningful enforcement and real consequences for violations.

• No government retaliation against residents, businesses, or organizations based on their political affiliation or speech.

Justice & Public Safety

Every Forsyth County resident deserves to feel safe and to be treated fairly under the law. We support smart, evidence-based public safety approaches that build trust across our increasingly diverse community.

• Community policing initiatives that build genuine trust between law enforcement and Forsyth County's growing South Asian, Latino, and other minority communities.

• Co-responder programs that pair social workers and mental health professionals with law enforcement — keeping both residents and officers safer in crisis situations.

• Hate crime protections for all Forsyth residents — including protections based on race, religion, national origin, gender identity, and sexual orientation. Forsyth's history of racial exclusion makes this a local priority, not just a national one.

• Mandatory body cameras for all law enforcement and accountability measures including independent oversight of officer conduct.

• Criminal justice reform — eliminate cash bail for nonviolent offenses, reform record restriction laws, and expand diversion programs that address rehabilitation rather than just punishment.

• Protect victims of domestic violence, stalking, and online harassment with stronger legal tools and better-resourced victim services in Forsyth County.

• Affirm that all Forsyth residents are welcome here. We believe acknowledging Forsyth County's history is essential to building a truly inclusive community — and that every resident, regardless of background, deserves dignity and equal protection under the law.

Agriculture & Rural Forsyth

Even as Forsyth urbanizes, the county retains working farms, rural communities, and agricultural heritage. We are committed to protecting them — and ensuring that growth doesn't swallow them whole.

• Protect remaining agricultural land from speculative overdevelopment through conservation easements, land trusts, and agricultural zoning that reflects community intent, not just developer pressure.

• Support Forsyth family farmers with access to financing, fair markets, and protection from corporate monopolies in food distribution and seed supply.

• Promote agritourism as an economic and cultural asset — Forsyth's farms, orchards, and rural destinations are part of what makes this county worth living in.

• Address food access gaps in the fastest-growing parts of Forsyth where residential development has outpaced grocery store and fresh food availability.

• Protect agricultural workers' rights — fair pay, safe conditions, and the ability to report violations without fear of retaliation, regardless of immigration status.

Veterans & Military Families

Forsyth County is home to a significant veteran population. Their service earned them real support — not just rhetoric.

• Expand VA services and veteran mental health programs across North Georgia — veterans are 1.5x more likely to die by suicide than civilians, and Forsyth County needs local access to prevention resources.

• A county-level veterans' affairs office or liaison to connect Forsyth's veteran community with benefits, housing, and mental health services.

• Partner with Georgia National Guard families in Forsyth County to ensure deployment support, healthcare continuity, and family stability during active service.

• Combat veteran homelessness through targeted local and state programs — no veteran who served this country should sleep without shelter in our county.

• Protect LGBTQ+ service members and ensure reproductive healthcare access for all military families stationed in or returning to Georgia.

Inclusion, Equity & Belonging

Forsyth County is one of the most rapidly diversifying counties in Georgia. We embrace that change. The new Forsyth — with its South Asian temples, its Latino businesses, its Korean churches, its LGBTQ+ families — is a stronger, richer community than the one that came before.

• County services in multiple languages to serve Forsyth's growing multilingual population — including Mandarin, Hindi, Spanish, and Korean-speaking communities.

• A county-level human relations commission to address discrimination complaints and promote dialogue across Forsyth's increasingly diverse population.

• Protect immigrant families — no family in Forsyth County should live in fear of separation. We support pathways to legal status and oppose the weaponization of local law enforcement against immigrant communities.

• LGBTQ+ inclusion in schools and public life — every Forsyth student deserves to feel safe and respected, and every Forsyth resident deserves equal treatment under county law.

• Diverse hiring and contracting in county government — Forsyth's government workforce and vendor base should reflect the full diversity of the community it serves.

• Disability access and inclusion in all public spaces, county services, schools, and government facilities.

• Affirm that Forsyth County belongs to everyone who calls it home — regardless of race, religion, national origin, gender, age, disability, or who they love.

JOIN US IN BUILDING A BETTER FORSYTH COUNTY

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