Freshman legislator-elect Meagan Hanson is focused largely on fixing traffic issues in House District 80 after defeating Democrat incumbent Taylor Bennett by a few hundred votes.
Hanson campaigned on lower taxes, traffic and school choice. After the election, she said those remain her issues, but she appeared particularly attuned to traffic.
“With four MARTA stations in House District 80 and yet still tons of traffic, my number one concern is transportation,” she said.“ I plan to delve right in to see what the General Assembly is doing to address the transportation needs of the State but specifically Brookhaven, Sandy Springs and Chamblee.”
Hanson knows this will not be an easy accomplishment, especially in her first term.
“Transportation and traffic are definitely issues that cannot be fixed overnight,” she said. “Solutions will require regional coalition building as well as reaching across the party aisles. No one likes sitting in traffic, so I am cautiously optimistic that we will be able to reach a solution.”
Hanson’s path to the General Assembly also was not easy. She not only defeated an incumbent, but she won in a district that voted for Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton by a comfortable margin.
“We knew that would happen so we had to make sure we turned out our Republican base while appealing to voters across the political spectrum,” Hanson said.
“At the end of the day, people want a reasonable person who can be effective on the issues that unite us as a community. Ultimately, my team and I worked hard, and that hard work paid off.”
Politically, Hanson is not looking far ahead. Committee assignments and the length of her political career were not topics high on her agenda.
“I will serve my district to the best of my ability no matter what committees I am placed on, but I will request committees that directly affect my community’s needs,” she said.
And she said there are no plans as to how long she plans on staying in the General Assembly.
“Right now, I’m looking forward to just getting sworn in on Jan. 9,” Hanson said.