At Atlanta Forum, Keisha Lance Bottoms Calls Out Slick Rick For Profiting Off of Data Centers

ATLANTA — Democratic gubernatorial nominee Keisha Lance Bottoms spent the weekend emphasizing her plans to pause the new construction of data centers, while Slick Rick Jackson is forcing data centers on a Texas community and hiding behind confidentiality agreements. 

Keisha participated in a moderated conversation with the Georgia Courier hosted by Don Lemon in Atlanta to discuss what's at stake in this year’s election for Georgia voters and her priorities as governor. During the forum, Keisha highlighted her ethics plan, that will take on insiders like Slick Rick who centers his whole business model off our broken health care system. 

Also today, in an interview with The Breakfast Club, Keisha emphasized the need for Medicaid expansion to increase access to affordable health care statewide and discussed her plans to lower costs for Georgia families.

Georgia Courier Forum Hosted By Don Lemon

“We need to pause in Georgia. People are rightfully deeply concerned about their electricity bills. They are concerned that it is taxing our environment. They are concerned about their property values. They are concerned about the unknown health impact of these data centers coming up in residential areas. Slick Rick Jackson says that he supports data center construction. He claims that he wants local communities to decide, but in Bowie, Texas right now, the local community is saying we don't want it and they're still trying to push it through.”

“When I was mayor of Atlanta, we had a platform called Open Checkbook. You can go online right now, you can see all of the spending in the city of Atlanta from whether it's a box of pencils to a multi-million dollar contract. I want to create a functional platform for the state government and to close what's called the ‘Rick Jackson loophole.’ He has $700 million in no-bid contracts that he got, that have been extended.  He said that he would unwind his business with the state and he just extended one of those contracts into 2027.”

“We are one of 10 states that have not expanded Medicaid. So, it is costing people. Our rates of uninsured are very high. We are trending above the national average…If we can be best in business in the nation, then why can't we be best in health care and education?...When we don't have Medicaid expansion in this state, it fractures our entire health care system… Slick Rick’s whole business model is built off of this broken medical system.”

Breakfast Club Interview 

“When I was mayor of Atlanta, we created an affordable housing trust fund to help people with property taxes and to help give people down payment assistance and renters assistance. I want to do that statewide, but also I want to suspend or end —where local budgets can absorb it —the grocery tax. Everybody needs food daily. Also we tax diapers and feminine hygiene products in Georgia — I want to end that.”

“Everybody wants great access to health care. We have not expanded Medicaid in Georgia, so after the Big Ugly Bill 300,000 people didn't have health insurance. It's a reason why I keep talking about Medicaid expansion because especially in our rural communities, you've got doctors leaving these communities because they can't make a living in these communities…At the end of the day, it's about providing quality access to care in a way that people can afford it. By making sure that we've got a way to review and reduce prescription costs, and that we're able to deliver services to people where they are and in the way that they need and deserve to have them.”