Candidates for Georgia House District 147 address key questions on voters' minds based on Listening Lab Results

Q: How do you plan to address rising inflation and its impact on everyday expenses for Houston County residents?

Ariel Phillips (D): "I think that the first and most important thing that needs to happen is raising the minimum wage because with inflation prices are going up but people aren't getting any more, that money is going somewhere. It needs to at some point go back down to the workers so then they can re-partake in society because they'll have money again. Also, I think that after you own two properties, that third property on should be taxed more heavily. There's a housing crisis and a lot of that has to do with too many people coming in and buying up properties and neighborhoods, flipping them for rentals. That's fine to do, but it's making it harder for the average person to go and own a home."

Bethany Ballard (R): "As a state government, we have very little to do with the rate of inflation that comes from mismanagement at the federal level. But what we have done in the House and in the Senate, we have returned $1.1 billion back to our taxpayers to hard-working Georgians. And we have lowered the tax rate. We accelerated that. So it's heading to 4.39. We've also doubled the child tax credit, which allows families to keep more of their money. The tax cut is also for small businesses. So when small businesses are not paying as much in taxes, they can pass that cost savings right on to the consumer."

Q: Do you believe that state-level interventions can effectively curb inflation or do you see it primarily as a federal issue?

Phillips: "It's primarily a federal issue. There's not a lot you can do as the Georgia legislature to stop inflation. Really, from my understanding, all you can do is put money back into the pockets of Georgians. Another way to do that also, I believe would be better fiscal responsibility at the capital. There are a lot of funds that have come in from COVID relief from the federal government that could be spread out better throughout the state governments that give people better access to resources."

Ballard: "It is a federal issue. The state government doesn't have a lot to do with inflation, but we can do things that mitigate that just to make it easier on our citizens and to allow them to keep more money in their pocket."

Q: What measures would you propose to reduce violent crime in Houston County? And how would you ensure that they're implemented effectively?

Phillips: "I think that the most important thing in violent crime right now is we need common sense gun control. And for me that looks like a three day waiting period. That's something they implemented in Canada that's proven to cut back on domestic violence. So you have to wait three days before you can purchase a firearm. So you have time to cool off, mandatory background checks. There are gun show loopholes. You can go into a gun show and not have any kind of background check and walk out with a gun. I think that you need guaranteed, if you want to buy a weapon, you need a background check, you need a safety class and you need to know what you're doing with it."

Ballard: "We have enacted measures that make sure that violent criminals are staying in jail and are not out amongst our citizens. We have expanded the number of crimes that need bail so that our violent criminals are not just out amongst our citizens and out in the streets. We have given property owners more rights. We've had squatting problems where people have moved into other people's houses when they're deployed or on vacation. And we have helped that we have given property owners more rights to get these people out of their property. We have ensured that sheriffs in Georgia now must comply with ICE detainers, must turn these violent illegal immigrants back to ICE to deport them so that they are not amongst our citizens."

Q: How do you plan to engage with community leaders and law enforcement to create safer neighborhoods?

Phillips: "I am a very strong believer that people who feel a connection to their community are less likely to do harm to it. I think that raising up the resources for kids in the area, giving them somewhere to channel their energy when they're young, giving them good role models to look up to within those spaces is one of the most important things we can do to curb crime and stop it from even happening to begin with. You give people a reason to feel a connection to the people around them. They're probably not gonna wanna hurt them."

Ballard: "I think that in Houston County, we do a great job of working together as county governments, municipal governments and our state elected officials, we communicate a lot about what's going on in our communities. And I think that we need to keep those open lines of communication so that we're all pulling in the same direction to keep our citizens safe because everybody at whatever level of government that you are in, you want a safe community because a safe community means a great business environment and it means that people love their community."

Q: What is your stance on expanding access to affordable healthcare in Houston County, particularly for low-income residents?

Phillips: "I think it's a shame that we haven't expanded Medicare already. If we expanded Medicare, the amount that you would pay in taxes is less than how much you pay for private insurance, which isn't guaranteed to cover your health care already. So you would pay less overall, just more in taxes to get better health care, to give access to better health care. A majority of rural counties in Georgia don't have access to health care. They don't have hospitals, they don't have clinics, they have to drive a really far away to get to anything. Expanding Medicare would give them access to health care. It would help fund the hospitals and clinics in those communities so that they have access."

Ballard: "We have been exploring this as a house body for a while. We talked about it some last session. I understand there's going to be a study committee this year as we move forward to increase healthcare access for some underserved populations. We are working very diligently to allow new hospitals to be built, especially in our rural areas and to encourage doctors and nurses to move to those rural areas. We are working with our public school districts through the dual enrollment program to make sure that they are having programs that help health care. We're building a new medical school in Georgia, a new dental school in Georgia so that our kids who want to be doctors, nurses, dentists, they don't have to go out of state."

Q: What role do you think the state government should play in managing healthcare access and affordability?

Phillips: "I think in a world where we put a lot of pressure on the state to take care of the problems that our communities have, it's kind of something that we don't have a choice but to get involved in and to do something about because if not them, who's gonna do it. We can't just leave it there because we don't know if it's our responsibility at some point you have to take care of your community. So I think it's the responsibility of the state government to make sure that their people have access to things if your people are sick and they're poor and they're hungry."

Ballard: "As a conservative, I believe that the free market is always the best way to go. And so even with some of our underserved communities, if the state can figure out a way to help them gain access to free market that will always be better than a government program. Government programs tend to be a little impersonal sometimes. And so if the state can provide that structure to allow people more easily to enter the free market system, I think that that will be better for all of us."

Ariel Phillips

• Military Service: Joined the military right out of high school, serving six years as a radar technician in the Air Force.

• Relocation: Moved to Warner Robins with her wife after her military service.

• Career: Worked in various local service industry jobs before becoming a Manufacturing Analyst at Northrop Grumman.

• Education: Holds a bachelor’s degree in Philosophy with a concentration in Morality, Politics, and Law.

• Veteran Status: Disabled veteran and small business owner.

• Political Ambition: Running for Georgia House District 147, driven by a strong belief in self-reliance and community support.

• Core Belief: Advocates for providing support to vulnerable communities, believing in the potential of people when given proper support.

Bethany Ballard

• Residence: Moved to Warner Robins over a decade ago when her husband, Mike, was transferred to Robins Air Force Base.

• Education: Holds a BA in English Literature from the University of North Carolina and an MA in English from the University of Central Arkansas.

• Career: Former high school English teacher at various duty stations of her husband.

• Family: Married to Mike since 1996; they have two children, Braden and Preston.

• Community Involvement: Active members of Perry United Methodist Church; Bethany is the Acolyte Coordinator and serves on the church’s scholarship committee.

• Political Career: Elected to the Georgia House in 2022; serves as Chairman of the Education Curriculum Subcommittee, Vice President of Special Rules, and member of Defense and Veterans Affairs.

• Appointments: Appointed by House Speaker Jon Burns to represent Georgia on the Education Commission of the States.

• Leadership: Active board member of Republican Leadership for Georgia

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