For Fayetteville resident and Atlanta attorney Ronnie Mabra the time has come to take on what he says is a new challenge.
The Fayette County High School graduate and Democratic candidate announced last week that he will be running for the new District 63 seat in the Georgia House of Representatives that includes portions of Fayette, Clayton and south Fulton counties.
Mabra spoke to supporters March 22 at his campaign headquarters at the Fayette Pavilion.
A result of legislative reapportionment after the 2010 Census, the newly created District 63 spans much of northeast and east central Fayette County and includes portions of Fayetteville and areas immediately to the west of the city. The district also includes south Clayton County and portions of College Park and the unincorporated areas south of the city in south Fulton County.
For Mabra, it is his first foray into elected office. While noting his Fayetteville roots, Mabra told the room full of supporters that his campaign has essentially been one that has been ongoing since his childhood.
“This campaign didn’t just start right now. It started when I was playing at McCurry Park. It started at East Fayette Elementary. And it started at Fayette Middle and at Fayette County High School where they prepared us for college. They told us that we were their future,” Mabra said.
Mabra’s campaign is anchored on three issues: creating jobs in the community, guaranteeing educational opportunities and promoting safe and healthy neighborhoods.
“My parents are successful business owners who taught me the value of a hard day’s work. Now that I run my own business I want to improve our community by putting people back to work, attracting new visitors and keeping tax dollars in our community,” Mabra said.
On the issue of education Mabra said that while in Fayette schools his teachers inspired him to succeed and to give back to the community.
“They prepared me to graduate with honors from Fayette County High School and to earn degrees from Georgia Tech and the University of Georgia School of Law. As someone who was educated in Georgia’s best public schools, I’ll be an unwavering voice for improving education and will fight to save the HOPE scholarship so more of our children can attend college,” said Mabra.
Speaking as a former varsity athlete at Fayette County High School, Mabra said ensuring safe neighborhoods involves both effective law enforcement and sentencing and providing appropriate outlets to help keep children out of trouble.
“As a homeowner and attorney, I’ve seen firsthand how crime affects our communities. I’ll be an advocate for fair sentencing and community policing and I’ll work to give children creative outlets like sports and the arts to keep them out of trouble,” Mabra said. “Protecting our neighborhoods and growing the economy go hand in hand and I’ll fight for laws that keep us safe and help us prosper.”
Mabra is a trial lawyer and founder of the Mabra Firm, LLC, a personal injury firm in Atlanta.
Mabra and his wife Dawn live in Fayetteville.
