Transportation 

District 51 is considered a “donor” community as far as contributions to the state DOT and infrastructure project. Alex Kaufman will propose legislation to ensure that our tax dollars are spent in our communities. Alex will fight for our share of existing transportation dollars and NOT support any tax increases. 

Alex Kaufman supports the formation of the “ATL” Unified Transportation system which was created last year by Fulton Delegation members that included Senator Brandon Beach, Senator John Albers and Representative Jan Jones. Other transportation options supported by Kaufman include utilizing autonomous vehicles, rideshare, and smart technology as soon as it is determined to be safe. Kaufman also proposes to utilize existing resources to improve efficiency and invest in the most efficient new technologies – such as flex hour incentives, syncing traffic signals, and supporting legislation which will help deploy the new 5G mobile network. 

The increase in efficiency from these new technologies will result in lower costs due to fewer traffic related issues. This will allow for local governments and tax payers to save money and drive safely. 

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Fulton County Government 

Fulton County government is completely out of control. In August of this year – the County Commission broke its commitment to keep property taxes capped at the current rate. The tax increase against Fulton County homeowners comes just months after the Fulton County tax assessment disaster and the massive assessment increases for 2018. Kaufman is committed to reining in Fulton County and protecting the taxpayers from unnecessary and abusive taxes. My opponent has ignored the tax issue and, as a matter of fact, has never gotten a bill passed during his term as a legislator.

 

 

Education 

Alex Kaufman would fully fund the k-12 system to support our educators. Kaufman believes that all children should have the opportunity to be educated and particularly recognizes the need for elementary aged students to learn to read at grade level or above. Kaufman supports early education services for Georgia’s children of all ages and will endeavor to ensure that education opportunities in Georgia are efficient and effective. 

Alex Kaufman will work with local governments and education leaders to create a local school system for North Fulton County and the cities contained therein. This would be achieved by a constitutional amendment or local legislation. The purpose of this legislation is to empower parents to have the greatest choice available to them and provide the best possible education for our students. 

Educational freedom is a bipartisan issue, and Kaufman supports parental school choice as parents have other choices in raising their children-- including what doctor they may pick for their son or daughter. Not all may exercise that choice, but education is the ONLY service in which parents are told they must conform to government rules. Kaufman supports empowering parents to have choices in how and where they chose to have their children educated. 

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Along with the aforementioned priority of local public schools, Kaufman believes that it is time to move Georgia forward with a flexible education model in which the dollars follow each student so that a choice can be made for what’s best for them. To make that happen, he will work to expand our state’s tax credit scholarship program, give foster children and other challenged students other opportunities with scholarships and create an education savings account plan so parents can decide how their state education dollars should be spent. These parent earned education dollars should address: 

* Online learning 

* Tutoring 

* Special needs 

* Tuition 

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Furthermore, there are tens of thousands of Georgia children who have learning challenges from needing a smaller class size, to a specialized curriculum, to a school with stricter classroom discipline and to students who perform better by studying and learning through online education. 

Alex believes that all parents deserve a choice and a say in how their children are being educated. 

Kaufman pledges to continue to support our public schools. Kaufman has worked closely with and is supported by many Fulton School Board Members and will continue to work side by side with them to continue the upward trajectory of the schools located within the district and at the same time give parents options and empower teachers and local communities to address educating the next generation as they see fit. They are not mutually exclusive. Kaufman believes that providing 

quality education to Georgia’s children is not only everyone’s responsibility but also good for business. 

Kaufman has walked the walk by volunteering as the President and past Chairman of the STAR House board of directors. He currently serves as a board member – as he has for the previous 8 years. The STAR House non-profit organization focuses on early childhood education and opportunities for “at-risk” students in North Fulton. STAR House serves approximately 300 students per year and emphasizes reading skills and utilizes a broad community commitment to support these students. 

 

Economic Development/Revitalization 

Alex Kaufman have served on the Economic Development Committee called the “2030 Comprehensive plan committee” which examined future economic opportunities for Roswell and our district. Kaufman currently serves as a member on the Roswell Economic Development & Tourism. These groups work with Chambers of Commerce as well as the Georgia Economic Development Authority to promote opportunities and protect businesses. 

Alex Kaufman’s five point plan 

1. Attract new businesses with the cooperation of state and local leaders; 

2. Seek local legislation to create an economic opportunity zone along Roswell Road in Sandy Springs and Roswell and along Holcomb Bridge Road until it reaches the Gwinnett County border; 

3. Increase connectivity and traffic management to help attract businesses; 

4. Fight to keep Georgia’s income tax reduction and fight for an even lower tax burden; 

5. Support continuation of a merit based HOPE scholarship and investment in technical programs for high school and college students to be prepared for future employment opportunities. 

 

Opioid Crisis 

Like many in this community Alex is keenly aware of this opioid epidemic that is, in particular, harming children. Alex pledges to continue working with community leaders, the Rotary Clubs, schools, and federal, state, and local governments to fight this problem. Alex supports tougher criminal sentences for those distributing opioids to minors as well as increased education and awareness to students, families, and prescribing medical professionals and pharmacists. Alex supports includes but is not limited to increased database awareness of prescriptions written in the community, limitation guidelines on the number of opioid pills that can be obtained at any one time and increased pill turn in locations. 

 

Human Trafficking 

Kaufman will work with law enforcement, community leaders, religious institutions, civic organizations such as the Rotary Club, as well as local, state, and federal agencies to fight this despicable practice. Kaufman is aware that human trafficking is a problem within the 51st District and effects both males and females within our community. Kaufman supports increasing awareness of this problem as well as tougher criminal penalties against anyone that is involved in any manner whatsoever in trafficking or sexually 

abusing any person. Kaufman supports civil legislation specifically giving a civil cause of action to a victim which shall have an expanded statute of limitations and afford the victim the opportunity to recover their costs and attorney’s fees as well as punitive damages. 

 

Environment 

Alex loves the outdoors and as someone who grew up enjoying nature, and the Chattahoochee River in particular, maintaining a safe and clean environment for everyone to enjoy in perpetuity is a priority. Alex and his wife and dog Reagan regularly use many of the beautiful parks within House District 51 – which is blessed with wonderful parks in Sandy Springs, Roswell, and Johns Creek (Reagan’s favorite is Newtown). 

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As a native of House District 51, as a child Alex and his sister learned to ride bicycles along the banks of the Chattahoochee River off of Azalea Drive and in high school Alex learned to row crew out of the very same park. Today, Alex’s wife is a rowing coach teaching the next generation to row crew and love the river just as much as she and Alex do. 

Alex is committed to preserving our parks and water so that the next generation can have clean drinking water and the opportunity to love being outside as much as he does.