Georgia has a once-in-a-generation opportunity to tackle long-ignored issues that have hurt the middle and working classes, left rural Georgia behind, undermined our families and weakened our future. Right now, our state has a list of issues we’ve patched, ignored or dismissed rather than solving. But now we have a $5 billion surplus (after all bills are paid), delivered by Democratic Senators Raphael Warnock and Jon Ossoff, that allows us to make necessary investments in health care, education, small businesses and housing, all with no new taxes.

For 20 years, Republicans have relied on us accepting a poverty of imagination — the belief that we cannot do right by our people because we cannot afford it. But whether you live in McIntyre or Monroe, Dalton or Duluth, you know more is possible. As governor, I will make smart, strategic investments in the fundamentals that actually serve Georgians, rather than cherry-picking the communities that succeed while others fall behind.

In every region of the state, Georgians lack access to affordable health care. Georgia has one of the highest number of people without insurance, and hospital closures continue to put lives and jobs at risk. Whether you live in rural, urban or suburban Georgia, the Kemp administration has united every region in a healthcare crisis of spiraling costs and declining access. Doctors and nurses are fleeing the state, and we are about to lose a Level 1 Trauma Center. Kemp’s band-aid financial aid package will not solve the problem. Across Georgia, law enforcement is forced to divert money from safety to instead arrest the sick and drug-addicted. Counties watch as jobs leave and refuse to return. The core problem is Brian Kemp’s refusal to expand Medicaid. Over the past ten years, Republicans have refused to accept $30 billion — that’s billion with a “b” — in Georgia tax dollars for Medicaid expansion. Instead, under Kemp, six hospitals have been closed or slated to shut down. Without Medicaid expansion, 19 more hospitals are on the critical list, and Kemp has staunchly refused to change his prescription.

Medicaid expansion is not a partisan issue; Democratic and Republican states expanded Medicaid because it works. It lowers the cost of health care, will provide access to 500,000 additional Georgians — many of whom work for less than $9/hr, and create more than 60,000 jobs in every region of our state. The value of Medicaid expansion has demonstrated itself. We have the money — what Georgia needs now is a governor with the will to get it done.

Public education deserves our support, but again, too little has happened. Across the state, educators face growing workloads, insufficient support and inadequate compensation. Low wages force teachers to leave the classroom, and fewer are entering the profession. Georgia pays less than Mississippi as a starting salary, and the recent $5,000 raise took four years and accomplished little. As governor, I will raise base teacher pay to $50,000, increase salaries by $11,000 and ensure a living wage and advancement for our education support professionals.

Our students deserve to learn without going deep into debt. Unfortunately, Georgia is one of only two states without need-based financial aid, and for many of our kids, HOPE is not enough. As governor, not only will I fund the empty need-based financial aid program, but l will also restore free technical college and generate 20,000 apprenticeships so Georgians can earn while they learn.

Georgia ranks ninth in gun violence in the nation and guns are the number one killer of our children. Yet Brian Kemp has weakened gun laws, putting more weapons into the hands of dangerous people and eliminating background checks. Kemp’s gun agenda not only costs lives, it costs money.

Georgia’s economy and small businesses recently lost out on $50 million due to the cancellation of Music Midtown.

I intend to be a governor who protects our people and economy by investing in the small businesses that make up 99.6% of all businesses in Georgia. Through a $10 million Small Business Capital Growth Fund, a Family Farm Initiative, using Georgia’s purchasing power to support small businesses, and more, I will ensure our small businesses have the support they need.

With Georgia’s $5 billion surplus, we can make a one-time payment on the future, where we stop half-measures and do the real work of addressing the fundamentals. Our job is to raise our expectations and elect a governor willing to do the right thing for One Georgia, where we can all thrive.