SPLC Action Fund Endorses Candidates in Georgia School Board and County Commission Races

ATLANTA – The SPLC Action Fund today endorsed local candidates for school board and county commission in Cobb, Fulton, Gwinnett and Newton counties. These candidates include:

• Lyndsey Coates, running for Fulton County School Board District 1, is a native to Roswell and a product of the Fulton County School System. She is a community volunteer with a demonstrated passion for expanding access to early childhood education and defending diversity and inclusion in schools.
• Tiijon DaCosta, Sr., running for Newton County Commissioner District 5, a local financial manager and community advocate, is committed to bringing diversity and equity to the county commission. He strongly believes in increasing access to the ballot box and dismantling the school-to-prison pipeline.
• Tarece Johnson-Morgan, running for reelection to the Gwinnett County School Board District V, is committed to ensuring the school system is inclusive, including for LGBTQ+ students, dismantling extremist ideologies in the classroom and continuing her work to end the school-to-prison pipeline.
• Laura Judge, running for Cobb County School Board Post 5, is a Navy veteran and an advocate for educational justice. She is a member of the Parent Teacher Association and hopes to bring her advocacy skills to enhance the safety of students in schools and boost literary rates across the board.

“The decisions local elected officials make have a tremendous impact on the daily lives of citizens,” said Madison Hollon, program manager of political campaigns for the SPLC Action Fund. “That is why it is essential that we elect people who will put people first. From choosing curriculum to setting budgets, local officials make a huge difference in our daily lives. We hope Georgia voters will turn out for local elections this spring.”

The SPLC Action Fund is focused on lifting up communities of color, particularly in the Deep South, who face systemic oppression, poverty and structural racism. To overcome these injustices, the organization is committed to reimagining the political, economic and social systems that sustain them to create a world where all people can thrive.     

In pursuit of this bold agenda, the SPLC Action Fund supports candidates who share its commitment to addressing the deep inequities that plague our nation.    

These positions will appear on their respective county ballots in the May 21 election.