As a new face and voice in the political world, north Fulton native Krish Bralley said he aims to ‘breathe new life’ into the Georgia State Legislature.
Bralley, who once worked as an electrician and later evolved into a community-based entrepreneur, has now emerged as a candidate for the 49th district Georiga House of Representative seat.
“You really have to decide too, are you just going to put your name on the ballot or are you going to really try to win,” he said. “And, I decided I really wanted to try to win.”
Bralley resides in Alpharetta, GA with his wife and three children, including a newborn baby girl. His company, Expansion Electric, services households in North Fulton and surrounding areas. Surprisingly, his experience as a licensed electrician ultimately prompted his participation in politics.
Bralley declared his candidacy earlier this year after learning that his opponent Representative Chuck Martin would otherwise be running unopposed. As an incumbent candidate, Martin is currently serving his fifth term in office.
“Six months ago my wife was sitting on the couch, scrolling through her phone, and she goes, ‘you know no one is running against Chuck Martin again this election coming up.’ I had heard the name, but I wasn’t really into politics,” he explained. “ I was very much into work. I looked over at her and said, ‘I’ll do it.’ She thought I was joking.
“A few days later, we’re down at the Capital building to get paperwork to qualify,” he continued. “She looked at me right before we signed it and asked me, ‘Are you sure you want to do this?’. I said, ‘Yeah, I’m sure.’”
Despite Balley’s lack of political experience at the onset of his campaign, he has gained the support of many Democratic supporters.
Embracing a liberal progressive platform, Bralley has enlisted the participation and engagement with millennials. He plans to utilize the forward-thinking attributes and behavior of millennials’, to further help solve problems in Georgia.
Through his desire to assist people of all backgrounds across district 49, Bralley established his campaign on the foundation of reproductive rights, ending gerrymander, gun law control, transportation road improvements, Medicaid expansion, criminal justice, and education reform.
On the issue of Education reform, Bralley said he emphasizes with the challenges that youth face, being that he had reading and social disabilities. His mission now is to be an advocate for youth who too struggle with learning and social disabilities.
Along with an increase in teacher salaries, Bralley has also endorsed the implementation of universal preschools. The movement will help combat the school-to-prison pipeline, by allowing all families, regardless of the child’s abilities or family income, access to high-quality preschools.
“It’s sad to see how kids can get discouraged at a young age, and as years go by they’ll just get more and more bitter,” he said. “Then they end up in prison.”
“The right life starts very young. We need to as a society for everybody’s good, to keep Georgia Pre-K fully funded. And to keep these kids educated and safe.”
He’s administered his healthcare reform campaign, in alignment with the platform of Democratic Party Governor of Georgia candidate Stacey Abrams.
In collaboration with Abrams, Bralley said he is dedicated to expanding Medicaid to provide rural health care access.
According to the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute, Georgia’s uninsured health care rate of 12.9 percent is fifth worst in the country. Also, in rural Georgia, the uninsured rate could climb to more than 25 percent by 2026.
Georgia is among one of the only 17 states that do not participate in Medicaid expansion to close the health care coverage gap.
“We can afford it. We don’t have a huge state debt. We have money,” he said. “If we paid about two percent of our state budget, we would be reimbursed two billion by the federal government.
“That’s money on the table we’re leaving there,” he added. “It’s just purely I don’t want to pay for anybody else’s anything, even if it means closing hospitals in rural counties.”
