Scores of Georgians are juggling higher utility and general costs, and a shake-up in the Public Service Commission this November could shape public health policy for many residents. Recently qualified District 2 candidate and Savannah native Dr. Alicia Johnson highlighted healthcare and access to it to help define her campaign.

“Largely, I’m about access to quality healthcare and also having economic inclusion,” Dr. Johnson said during a “meet the candidate” event hosted at the Georgia Conservation Voters office in West End Atlanta.

“Part of that, to me, is about clean energy and leveraging opportunities at the community level to build socio-economic resilience.”

This event was one of Dr. Johnson’s, who obtained her Doctor of Business Administration from Northcentral University, first public appearances before qualifying for the race. She began her candidacy for the commission that, among ruling over eminent domain and the operation of railroads, is responsible for regulating the utility industry in the state—namely, Georgia Power. Nearly 20 people filled the room where the candidate introduced her vision for a commission that “works for the people [of Georgia], not for industry.”

Industry in Georgia continues to grow as economic and environmental policies create pathways to expansion while local populations deal with the effects.

In 2023 and 2024, the PSC voted and approved a 23.7 percent rate increase for ratepayers to offset costs for Units 3 and 4 as a part of bringing Plant Vogtle online. Georgia Power initially heralded the project’s impact to “deliver long-term savings for Georgia customers.” Johnson alluded to Tim Echols, the commissioner she is looking to unseat, himself voting for each of the six rate increases customers saw in the last two years.

“[Echols’] voting record says that he does not support families in Georgia,” Johnson said. “I’m ready to bring fresh ideas, real solutions, and unwavering commitment to the people of Georgia.”

For most of her visit, Dr. Johnson focused on making sure the room of potential donors heard her commitment to people-centered policy and the campaign’s staunch focus on rural cities and decentering major economic areas like Atlanta and the metro areas. 

“I like to say ‘community is medicine,’” Johnson told attendees. “It builds the socio-economic resilience at the community level, where people can feel it, and that typically energizes people and engages them to use their own agency.”

A report from the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute in 2024 documents how healthy a community is is overwhelmingly affected by factors like household income, air quality, and access to housing.

According to research published by the public policy organization Science for Georgia (S4G), “rural areas face many healthcare access problems such as hospital closures, provider reduction, specialty care, and minority healthcare resources.” Rural Georgians also live with higher rates of death caused by heart disease and strokes and increased rates of chronic diseases, according to the same report.

GBPI points out that “rural counties are living shorter lives than their non-rural counterparts on average in part due to economic disadvantage.” Rurality is not the only contributing element to unhealthy Georgians, as race is a predominant roadblock to health in the state.

Black Georgians live with historically discriminating policies amounting to redlining and lack of access to healthy environments, secure housing, and nutritional foods. Richmond County in Augusta, for instance, has a nearly 70 percent Black resident population and, due to rampant air pollution and corporate policies, has an average life expectancy that is four years lower than the state average, research shows.

Dr. Johnson, a self-described product of rural Georgia, works in the public and private sectors to advance initiatives to give rural and disadvantaged communities more options to better their health despite socio-economic roadblocks. “I’m an everyday Georgian,” she said.

I’m a born and raised Georgian and am about three generations away from poverty, and I have family that lives in rural Georgia. [I’ve] had the opportunity to serve and be in every county in Georgia; my work has taken me to all 159 counties, and I think it’s going to be a crucial part of our campaign to educate people [across the state] about what the PSC does and why they should care.”

Dr. Johnson previously worked with healthcare provider Wellcare of Georgia, heading up the company’s outreach across the state through membership advocacy.  She was most recently Georgia’s managing principal at Health Management Associates, where she focused on building strategic pathways to economic equity and inclusion.

She is running unopposed in the Democratic primary for District 2.

“I think it’s very important for elected officials not just to go live [on social media], but to have a communication strategy that engages their electorate,” said the former executive director of StepUpSavannah, a non-profit focused on shifting policy to aid those suffering under poverty.

Having never served on the Public Service Commission, I can tell you that we only [information on decisions] after they happen, or we develop talking points for our mayor or our senator at the community level for them to take up for a public hearing, and then we have to wait to hear. I don’t think that’s the right thing to do. I think people don’t even know their public service commissioner.”

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The incumbent Echols-R and Lee Muns-R are also vying for the District 2 seat. The Republican primary for candidates will take place on June 17th.

Update: This reporting was updated on April 17th to correct an error. To submit errors for fact-checking, please reach out to frontdesk@gapeachpit.com.

Daniel Richardson

Daniel Richardson is the managing editor of The Peach Pit. The formative years of his career were rooted in people-centered news coverage, particularly  in the Atlanta and metro areas. His work has appeared in the Covington News, The Georgia State Signal, and others. After graduating from Georgia State University, he transferred his scholarship in Black, diasporic studies in movement journalism.