State Representative Tish Naghise (D-Fayetteville, District 68) — whose district encompassed a large segment of Fayette County — died March 8 after a short illness.
She was first elected to her post this past November and was participating in her first General Assembly session now going on in Atlanta when she became ill. She was sworn in Jan. 9 to her first term.
Her district runs mostly north-south and includes the area around the former Booth Middle School in Peachtree City at its southern end and northward through eastern Peachtree City, Tyrone, the Trilith area of west Fayetteville and into south Fulton County.
“Though her time in the legislature was brief, we know she cared deeply for the people of Fayetteville and the surrounding area,” Governor Brian P. Kemp said in a statement March 8.
“We have lost a dear member of our Georgia Legislative Black Caucus family, and we are deeply saddened by the passing of Representative Tish Naghise,” said Rep. Carl Gilliard (D-Savannah), chairman of the Georgia Legislative Black Caucus, in a statement issued March 9.
“House District 68 and our entire state has lost a true people’s servant. During her time as a new state legislator, her light of leadership brought a sense of calm and warmth to the House floor each day, and we know that her memory will certainly remain throughout the Capitol. The Georgia Legislative Black Caucus offers our sincerest prayers and condolences to the Naghise family,” Rep. Gilliard said.
Naghise won the fall election with 63% of the vote. Previously she had served as a regional field director for the Democratic Party of Georgia and as a delegate to the Democratic National Convention in 2020. She had lived in the Fayetteville area since 2002, according to her website. She got involved in politics in 2008 when she worked as an organizer for Barack Obama in his winning presidential campaign in 2008.
Gov. Kemp is expected to call a special election to fill the vacant District 68 seat in the near future.
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