Tag Archive for: Michelle Au The Atlanta Journal Constitution

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution


Senate district flipped by new map causes
first-term Democrat to eye House seat

State Sen. Michelle Au, D-Johns Creek, announced that after seeing the changes the Republican-dominated General Assembly made to her district during reapportionment, she will now campaign for a seat in the state House.
(Hyosub Shin / [email protected])

POLITICS
By ,
Dec 10, 2021

Recently approved maps redrawing lines for legislative districts have pushed a first-term Democratic state senator — and the first Asian American woman to serve in the Georgia Senate — to attempt to switch chambers after her seat was drawn in a way that drastically changed its racial and partisan makeup.

State Sen. Michelle Au, a Johns Creek Democrat, said she made the practical decision to switch races and run for the House seat now held by Democratic state Rep. Angelika Kausche, who isn’t seeking reelection.

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The Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Opinion


OPINION: GOP can slow change with redistricting, but they can’t make it stop

March 18, 2021 Atlanta – Asian American lawmakers including Sen. Michelle Au speaks to members of the press during a news conference on the shooting deaths of eight people, six who were Asian women, at spas, at the Georgia State Capitol on Thursday, March 18, 2021.(Hyosub Shin / [email protected])

POLITICS
By ,
Nov 16, 2021
 

The results of redistricting in Georgia this week have mostly turned out to be the calm after the storm, with the GOP majority giving up a handful of seats to the ascending Democrats, but stopping short of giving away their grip on the reins of either chamber in the General Assembly.

The future House map gives Democrats a new advantage in six seats of the 180-member House, while the Senate map draws at least one new Democratic seat in the 56-seat chamber. But Republicans keep a comfortable amount of breathing room in both. An AJC analysis predicts a 13-seat GOP advantage in the House and an 11-seat margin in the Senate.

“Although Republicans control everything, they have nonetheless given ground, which I think is a realization that the state is indeed changing,” Dr. Charles Bullock said. “Of course the maps haven’t changed as much as Democrats would like to see. But it is a recognition that Republicans probably can’t protect everything that they protect currently.”

Bullock is the UGA political science professor who is the state’s leading expert on redistricting. He’s called past maps examples of parties in power shooting themselves in at least one foot, and sometimes two. But Republicans in 2021 have at least recognized reality, he said.

The reality at hand is the 2020 Census, which showed 1 million new Georgia residents in the last 10 years, and a population that is significantly more diverse, better educated and older than it had been.

The Black population has grown by 13%, the state’s Asian population jumped by 53% and its Hispanic population increased by 32%. The state barely remained majority white, at just over 50%.

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AJC: Opinion


Ways to boost Ga.’s vaccination rate

OPINION
By Michelle Au
Aug 9, 2021
 
Georgia, like much of the country, is in the midst of a cresting “fourth wave” of the COVID-19 pandemic, and finds itself among the states seeing the highest jump in hospitalizations over the last two weeks.

With only four in ten Georgians fully vaccinated against the virus, and a new school year upon us as the delta variant continues its relentless blitz through our population, there has never been more urgency to protect our communities from further illness, injury, and death by taking bold moves to help more of our population get vaccinated.

Yet in a press conference last month, Gov. Brian Kemp, while acknowledging the importance of statewide vaccination, seemed to have all but given up on any further efforts to reach the eligible Georgians who remain unprotected.

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AJC: Get Schooled Blog


Universal pre-K is not government overreach or massive subsidy

GET SCHOOLED BLOG
By , The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
May 3, 2021
 

In a guest column, state Sen. Michelle Au, D-Johns Creek, applauds the push by President Joe Biden for universial pre-K.

In his first formal address to Congress five days ago, Biden said, “The great universities in this country have conducted studies over the last 10 years. It shows that adding two years of universal, high-quality preschool for every 3-year-old and 4-year-old, no matter what background they come from, puts them in the position of being able to compete all the way through 12 years and increases exponentially their prospect of graduating and going on beyond graduation.”

Investments in early childhood programs not only improve outcomes for the children who participate but for Georgia and the nation as a whole, says Au.

By Dr. Michelle Au

Perhaps the most surprising thing about President Biden’s call for universal pre-K in his American Families Plan is that anyone is surprised at all. Universal pre-K — that is to say, broad access to quality preschool education — is the norm in most wealthy nations.

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The Atlanta Journal-Constitution


Feds temporarily halt approval
of Kemp’s Medicaid overhaul

October 15, 2020 Atlanta – Governor Brian Kemp and Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) Administrator Seema Verma celebrate with fist bump after they signed on healthcare reform at the Georgia State Capitol on Thursday, October 15, 2020. The federal government approved Gov. Brian Kemp’s plan to reshape Medicaid and individual insurance in Georgia under the Affordable Care Act, the governor and a top Trump administration health official announced on Thursday. (Hyosub Shin / [email protected])

POLITICS
By
Feb 13, 2021
 
The Biden administration pulled back approval of Gov. Brian Kemp’s plan to provide Medicaid coverage to thousands of low-income and uninsured adults in Georgia who meet a work or activity requirement because the still-raging coronavirus pandemic make…
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Why suburban Atlanta women are a top Georgia 2020 focus


Both presidential campaigns are zeroing in on suburban women. What do Georgian’s think?

POLITICS | Sept 25, 2020
By Tamar Hallerman  & Greg Bluestein

Carol Geraci describes herself as politically “middle-of-the-road,” the kind of person who can get along with anybody.

For more than four decades, the Smyrna grandmother voted for Republicans, but in recent years she believes the party has drifted too far to the right. In November, she plans to cast her ballot for Democrat Joe Biden, less because of his platform and more to register her opposition to President Donald Trump.

“I go on character,” Geraci said, “and Trump doesn’t have character.”

Sabrina Mao of Marietta is firmly in the opposite direction. To her, the protests that erupted during the social justice movement prove that Democrats have no “moral grounding.”