Governor-elect Bottoms announces transition team

Good morning, everybody. Thank you all for being here. I First of all, I want to acknowledge the devastating floods in North Georgia and the families and communities that have been affected. Our team is in contact with Governor Kemp's team, and we will continue to monitor these developments as closely as possible. As possible and provide whatever assistance that we can during this time, Georgians made a very clear choice on Tuesday, up and down the ballot. We asked for a state government that works on behalf of everyone. I am grateful to every single voter who supported our campaign and even those who did not but didn't think it robbery to participate in this thing that we call a democracy. Thank you to my family of course and to our volunteers across the state, our entire team and the many Georgians who believed in our campaign. Now the work begins. I am so happy to be joined here today by so many members who will help lead our transition. I've spoken with Governor Kemp. We had a very good conversation. He has offered to provide whatever resources and support that he can to make this a smooth and orderly transition. Our transition will be called Georgia's Promise because the work of keeping our promises to Georgians starts now, well before Inauguration Day. Governing begins with the people and the decisions that we make over the next few weeks about who will lead our agency will shape how we will deliver for all of Georgians over the next four years. Our goal is simple, to be ready to govern on day one. I am pleased to announce John King will serve as our Chief Operating Officer of Georgia's Promise. John, can you wave your hand? John is a distinguished military veteran and also served as our Chief Operating Officer at the City of Atlanta during our administration. I would also like to introduce our transition co-chairs, many of whom are standing behind me, some of whom don't need, some of whom need no introduction. They include Arthur Blank. Of course, the founder of the Home Depot, a very respected community member and leader throughout our nation, Roz Brewer. Thank you, Roz. Roz is one of the most accomplished executives in America. She's former CEO of Walgreens Boots Alliance and former interim president of Spelman College. Jason Carter, the Honorable Jason Carter, who couldn't join us today, but leads the work on behalf of the Carter Center and was also a distinguished member of our State Senate. Carmen Chubb. Hi, Carmen. Carmen served as my former chief of staff when I was mayor of Atlanta and is a national leader on affordable housing with 25 years of experience at the State Department of Community Affairs. Richard Cox. I'm a proud graduate of Frederick Douglass High School, might I add. Richard also served as our Chief Operating Officer during my term as mayor. He's a proven operations leader and is now a senior executive at Delta Airlines. Jane Kidd. Is Jane here? Hi, Jane. Jane is a former state representative from the Athens area and former chair of the Democratic Party of Georgia. And she carries forward her father, Governor Ernest Vandiver's legacy of public service. Michelle Nunn, who is not here with us. Michelle Nunn is a Georgia civic nonprofit leader who has spent almost four decades focused on civic engagement, economic opportunity, and social services. Vicki Palmer. Vicki is a retired Coca-Cola Enterprises executive and longtime corporate board leader and community leader. And she just also happened to chair my mayoral transition. So she knows a little bit about helping build teams. Tyler Perry, an entertainment mogul who is also a huge philanthropist part of our Georgia community and owns Tyler Perry Studios in Atlanta. Rashad Taylor. Rashad is a former state representative who helped build our One Atlanta platform and was our city's first office of equity, our city's first leader of our office of equity and also served as a senior advisor. And then we have some other distinguished leaders joining us today. Let me make sure I can see everyone. I'm Peter Hubbard from our Public Service Commission. who will serve as one of our honorary co-chairs. Thank you Philip Gelman for being here. Philip also is a distinguished leader in state government and in affordable housing and will be helping to support this work. Our leader Carolyn Hughley. Thank you Leader Hughley who will also serve as an honorary co-chair. And then there's another guy who won on Tuesday. Let's give it up for our new Lieutenant Governor-Elect, thank you. Leader Harold Jones, thank you, Leader Jones, who will also serve as an Honorary Co-Chair, thank you. And then my friend, our leader, the Dean, Calvin Smyre, thank you, who will serve as an Honorary Chair. So I will read the rest of the names of our honorary co-chairs. They include Attorney General Thurbert Baker, Governor Roy Barnes, Commissioner David Burgess, Speaker Terry Coleman, Secretary of State Kathy Cox, Senator White Fowler, Governor Joe Frank Harris, Lieutenant Governor Pierre Howard. I mentioned Peter, House Minority Leader, soon to be Majority Leader, excuse me, Commissioner Alicia Johnson, also Senator Sam Nunn, Senator John Ossoff, Commissioner Tim Rouse, Lieutenant Governor Mark Taylor, former Labor Commissioner and DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond, U.S. Senator Raphael Warnock, and Ambassador Young. So what comes next? There will be a series of announcements that you all can anticipate. In the days ahead, we will introduce additional members of our transition team, including additional co-chairs, policy leads, and senior transition staff. We are taking a very deliberate approach, and we will make sure that we get these decisions right rather than trying to move things quickly. We want to make sure that there's a smooth transition, which I have mentioned. Governor Kemp has ensured there will be, and I have no reason to think differently. We are going to continue to focus on those issues that we've heard loud and clear. Over the last year and a half of this campaign, those issues related to concerns surrounding the cost of living, all things related to affordability, expanding access to quality and affordable health care, and investing in our public schools, our teachers, and our students. Leadership has taught me a thing or two, many lessons learned. The most important lesson that I believe I've learned goes back to that old proverb that says, when you want to go fast, go alone, but when you want to go far, take others. So as we take others with us on this journey into January and beyond, we want to make sure that people across the state of Georgia, from our rural communities to our urban centers, are heard. That we are responsive and that we are doing the work that we have been elected to do. And I don't know who this group of young people are standing in front of me, but I want to thank you all for being here because so much of this work is about your future. So thank you. They're waving, so you all wave back, please. Yes, thank you. And with that, I will open up for questions In my conversation with Governor Kemp, he did say that they would go back into session to focus on some budgetary priorities. He didn't share much beyond that, but he made it clear that those would be the parameters around the session. That the special session, he would, well, let me back up, let me be clear. He didn't say that he would, that he was leaving the door open to calling a special session to address some of those budgetary priorities, but he didn't commit to doing that. I haven't read the story today, but when we started this campaign, we talked about a $15 billion surplus that the state had. We've been tracking that. I believe it is on track to be between $1 and $2 billion by the time January comes, and anyone behind me can keep me honest on that number. But I do know that that budget surplus is a lot less than it was when we launched our campaign. So we will. We will take what's left and we will prioritize accordingly, working with Leader Jones and Leader Hughley and the rest of the delegation to be able to deliver on behalf of the people of Georgia. Well, I mean, obviously, you have to work with what you have, Greg. You know, I was able to balance our budget when I was mayor of Atlanta for four years in a row in the midst of one of the largest economic downturns in our world's history. So we're used to getting tough things done, but it will be about prioritizing how we deliver for the people of Georgia. Show me your budget, I'll show you your priorities. And the priorities that I believe will be consistent relate to all things related to the cost of living and how we can help relieve that burden for people, especially in the midst of the cuts that have come from the Trump administration. Hundreds of millions of dollars from Veterans Affairs to Public Health to our Department of Education to Housing. So we recognize that what we have had in the past and those dollars that we could count on are getting to be less and less, but we're going to act responsibly with whatever it is we have to deal with. A few things. So we've talked about Medicaid expansion. We know 300,000 Georgians didn't have Medicaid access to Medicaid because we've not expanded Medicaid. And then at the beginning of the year, more than 600,000 Georgians dropped their coverage because the ACA subsidies were not extended. And it's anticipated to be even more based on what you just said. Those premiums have gone up tremendously. We want to make sure that we have a system that works. I talked about completely getting rid of the Georgia pathways that I believe has not functioned as it should in finding a system that works on behalf of the people to offer their best opportunity for access to affordable health care. And whatever we can do and we need to do to help make health care access more affordable in this state, we're going to do it. Well, we have a cross-section of people whose reach extends far beyond just the metro Atlanta area. Jane is from Athens or lives in Athens, for example. Calvin Smyre is in Columbus, Georgia. Leader Jones is in Augusta. Leader Hugh Lee is in Columbus, Georgia. We're making sure that we are touching a cross-section of people. And in the same way that I've crisscrossed this state, Over the last year and a half, the work that this transition team will do will be to pull from the best and the brightest, best people, best ideas from across the state. So our representation is here, and we have many leaders here who represent their district very well, and I'm sure their voices will be heard. Thank you. I certainly will. All things related to data centers will be on the table. We're going to get people around the table who are experts in this area, people like Dr. Johnson and Peter Hubbard and others who can give us the most comprehensive information that we need to make intelligent decisions about how we move forward as a state. I was very grateful to receive a phone call from Governor Kemp on the night of the election. It somehow got lost in all the other phone calls, so we did talk the day after the election. But Governor Kemp has said that he is going to make his staff available to help make this transition as smooth as possible. He's also said that he sees no need to call a special session to strip the powers. The governor and also a special session to redraw the line. So I'm very appreciative of that. And I've said it many times before. It may surprise you all, but Governor Kemp and I actually have a very cordial, friendly, personal relationship. Our politics don't always align. And that often spills over into the public discourse. But I, you know, I. I respectfully disagree with some of his policy positions, but as a person, I take him at his word. He's always been true to his word in our conversation. Again, with the guidance of Leader Jones and Leader Hubley, if we see a pathway to do something about it this session, then we're going to take that opportunity. And it may not be this session. If it's not this session, then we're going to take that the first opportunity that we Yeah, we know that. That whole ballot energy has helped us flip the House, and we have some very thin margins in the Senate. So we'll begin to have those conversations, and we'll see if it can be done soon. It is an honor, to say the least. And my husband put it in context. He said there have been a lot of black women in America over the course of history, and God has said you get to be the first. I don't take that lightly. I believe that it is representative of just the best of who we all are. That in this place, the South, with our very rich history, that Georgia gets to break that barrier. So I'm grateful. I look forward and as I've said repeatedly, I look forward to representing all of Georgia and I hope for young boys and girls across this state, no matter where they live, no matter their race, no matter their background, I hope they see some inspiration in this moment. I'm going to get these. Again, we're gonna do a deep dive on our budget and see what we can absorb. We've left 700 million on the table because we've not expanded Medicaid. It's my understanding that once we do expand Medicaid, that 90% of that cost will be absorbed by the federal government because we're paying into the system, we just haven't availed ourselves of the system. So the details will help us determine How quickly we can get it done, but it's a priority and we will budget accordingly. I've heard repeatedly from law enforcement concerns about access to mental health care and how it's impacting our criminal justice system, how it's impacting our correctional facilities. So that will be a priority, how we expand that access, how we fund that access, and how we can help alleviate the burden that it's causing in our criminal justice system. Oh, people. Across the state, again, and I hear it in every room that I go into with young people, especially, can we get expanded access to mental health? I know that the mental health care, the state has taken a number of steps in that direction and we just need to take it further. When I was mayor of Atlanta, we created a diversion program in conjunction with our courts and our judges, helping us to get the work done, our district attorney. That work needs to be expanded statewide. Governor Nathan Deal did a lot of work in this area, creating specialty courts, making sure they were properly funded. Even if we pick up the baton where Nathan Deal left off and keep that work moving forward, I believe we'll see a significant impact on our criminal justice system. So I've spent a lot of time with Governor Beshear of Kentucky. He is a Democrat who leads with a Senate and a House that are led by Republicans, and he's been able to get a lot of work done. I'll be looking not just to Governor Beshear, but to governors across this country to determine how best to navigate the Trump administration. How have they... Best been able, what have been their best practices in dealing with these budget shortfalls that have been coming from the Trump administration and how we weather the storm. But at the end of the day, it is about listening to the people. The people made it loud and clear what they care about. They want leaders who are going to address those kitchen table issues that are impacting their daily lives. I talked a lot during the campaign, but I did a lot of listening, and it's helped us shape our priorities, and that's the mandate that we're going in with. The people have spoken. Thank you.