Suzanna Karatassos for Georgia House District 120

Who is Suzanna Karatassos?

Suzanna Karatassos is the Democratic nominee for Georgia House District 120. She is a mother and a progressive candidate who is running to represent the people of House District 120.

Why is Suzanna Karatassos running for office?

Suzanna believes House District 120 deserves a representative who understands the challenges ordinary people face because they live them every day, and who answers to the community. She wants her daughter to grow up in a Georgia where hard work means something, where families can afford healthcare and housing, and where elected leaders focus on solving problems instead of creating them.

What are Suzanna Karatassos’s qualifications?

Suzanna Karatassos brings a strong educational background, professional experience, and a firsthand understanding of the challenges facing working families. She earned her bachelor’s degree from the Savannah College of Art and Design in 2006 and a graduate degree from the Academy of Art University in 2012. Her career experience includes work as a content creator and real estate salesperson.

As a working mother, Suzanna understands the realities of making ends meet while raising a family. She and her husband have built careers outside the traditional nine-to-five structure, meaning they navigate the challenges of accessing affordable healthcare and planning for retirement without employer-sponsored benefits.

Suzanna is running for Georgia House District 120 to bring the everyday experiences of working families to the State Capitol and fight for a Georgia where healthcare, childcare, housing, and retirement security are within reach for everyone.

Will Suzanna Karatassos be influenced by corporations or lobbyists?

Suzanna's vote and her voice are not for sale, and she will not be bought by corporations, lobbyists, or wealthy special interests. The people of House District 120 are the people she will answer to at the State Capitol.

What is Suzanna Karatassos's approach to politics?

Suzanna believes Democrats need progressive candidates who are willing to fight for working families. She wants to help flip the Georgia state legislature blue, because she cannot change what is happening in Washington but can help protect Georgia.

Cost of Living and Wages

What is Suzanna Karatassos's position on the cost of living in Georgia?

The cost of living in Georgia has increased sharply in recent years, making it harder for families to keep up even when they work full-time. Suzanna is concerned that homeownership is increasingly out of reach because of rising rent prices and stagnant wages. Suzanna will work to solve these challenges for the people of Georgia HD 120. 

What policies does Suzanna Karatassos support to make Georgia more affordable?

Suzanna supports raising the minimum wage, which is currently $5.15 an hour. She also supports reevaluating housing policies that allow unchecked rent increases, stopping tax and power bill breaks for corporations and the ultra wealthy, and eliminating the flat tax in favor of a progressive tax that will be fairer to families.

Housing

What is Suzanna Karatassos's position on housing?

Suzanna believes housing is a right, not a luxury, and that housing costs should not consume the majority of a paycheck. She is concerned that many Georgians cannot afford to move within their own neighborhoods, that developers continue building housing that is out of reach for working families, and that corporate investors are buying up homes. In Georgia, more than 650,000 renters spend over 30% of their income on rent, and the state faces a major shortage of affordable housing units for low-income families.

What housing policies does Suzanna Karatassos support?

Suzanna supports investing in affordable housing programs such as housing assistance and property tax relief. She also supports eliminating property tax for homes valued at under $100,000, banning corporate investors from buying up homes, addressing the shortage of affordable rental units, and incentivizing home builders to build affordable homes.

Childcare

What is Suzanna Karatassos's position on childcare costs?

Suzanna believes childcare shouldn't cost a paycheck. Childcare is one of the most expensive and unstable challenges for working families in Georgia, with infant care averaging around $11,000 per year, the second largest family expense after housing. At least $1.75 billion in economic activity, along with over $100 million in tax revenue, is lost due to childcare disruptions, which affect jobs, income, and stability for families across Georgia.

What childcare policies does Suzanna Karatassos support?

Suzanna supports universal childcare, strengthening state-level early childhood programs such as Head Start and Pre-Kindergarten, and supporting childcare providers with higher pay and more resources.

Healthcare

What is Suzanna Karatassos's position on healthcare costs?

Suzanna believes healthcare shouldn't bankrupt people. She believes politicians keep protecting insurance companies and corporate interests while regular people pay more and get less. Families are paying more every year for insurance, prescriptions, and hospital bills while insurance companies and drug corporations earn record profits. People want lower healthcare costs, access to rural hospitals, and maternity care.

What healthcare policies does Suzanna Karatassos support?

Suzanna supports expanding Medicaid so that federal tax dollars stay in Georgia, which would give hundreds of thousands more Georgians coverage. She supports requiring price transparency from hospitals and insurance companies so that patients are not surprised by their bills. She also supports protecting and funding rural hospitals, because no one should have to drive for hours to get healthcare.

Education

What is Suzanna Karatassos's position on Georgia's public schools?

Suzanna believes Georgia's children deserve better schools. Georgia is 21st in teacher pay, and teachers are leaving the profession at a time when students are in need. Many students cannot access mental health services, which can contribute to academic burnout, higher dropout rates, and substance abuse. Georgia public schools have also faced serious complaints over failures to meet the requirements of the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act.

What education policies does Suzanna Karatassos support?

Suzanna supports raising teacher and school staff salaries so Georgia can keep qualified educators in classrooms, expanding school mental health resources and after-school programs, and making school lunch free for all students. She also supports holding school districts accountable for special education services and expanding funding for the Georgia Department of Education so that all disabled students are protected. In addition, she supports investing in rural public schools so that a student's home address does not determine the quality of their education or the safety of their school buildings.

School Safety and Gun Policy

What is Suzanna Karatassos's position on school shootings?

Suzanna believes kids shouldn't die at school. In 2024, a school shooting took place at Apalachee High School in Barrow County; a 14-year-old is accused of killing two students and two teachers with a gun. In a typical school year, 35 to 40 shootings happen at U.S. schools, and Suzanna asks why nothing has been done to protect children.

What school safety and gun policies does Suzanna Karatassos support?

Suzanna supports strengthening efforts to prevent gang violence and violent crime, investing in school safety measures, and passing common-sense gun reform and red flag laws. She also supports incentivizing gun owners to have proper gun storage, implementing a voluntary buyback program, holding parents accountable if their child is a school shooter, and closing loopholes for gun shows that allow guns to be sold to people without background checks.

Workers and Jobs

What is Suzanna Karatassos's position on workers and jobs?

Suzanna believes workers deserve better. More than half a million Georgians are unemployed or unable to find full-time work, even though many are willing to work if given the chance, while employers have difficulty finding skilled workers quickly enough. Workers also face weeks-long waits for unemployment checks that leave families without income, and small businesses are under pressure from labor shortages and an unpredictable legal environment.

What workforce policies does Suzanna Karatassos support?

Suzanna supports modernizing workforce systems so job seekers can access support and unemployment benefits without delays, and expanding job training and apprenticeship programs so employers can find skilled workers and Georgians can have stable jobs. She also supports helping small businesses with more predictable policies and targeted relief and raising taxes on corporations that use AI to reduce their workforce.

Transportation

What is Suzanna Karatassos's position on transportation in Georgia?

Suzanna believes Georgia's transportation system is inefficient for the people who rely on it every day. Traffic congestion wastes time, air quality is worsening and contributing to health problems, and Atlanta is among the most congested cities in the country. The state's car-centered system raises costs for families through gas and vehicle expenses and harms the environment, while transit systems operate far below their potential and are an unreliable alternative to driving.

What transportation policies does Suzanna Karatassos support?

Suzanna supports investing in modern, reliable public transit systems and expanding infrastructure funding to reduce congestion.

Clean Air and Water

What is Suzanna Karatassos's position on clean air and water?

Suzanna believes Georgia needs clean air and water. She is concerned about environmental quality and access to clean water, especially near areas experiencing development. In Morgan County, residents have reported problems with the quality of their drinking water and wonder if nearby data-center development is a possible contributing factor. Georgia also ranks among the worst states for urban air quality, with pollution contributing to higher rates of chronic illness and making it harder for people to work and stay healthy.

What environmental policies does Suzanna Karatassos support?

Suzanna supports investing in clean air initiatives that reduce pollution and protect public health, and strengthening environmental regulation of large development projects so that local resources are not strained or contaminated. She also supports stopping data centers from being built, which she believes wastewater and public resources.

Reproductive Healthcare

What is Suzanna Karatassos's position on abortion and reproductive healthcare?

Suzanna believes the government should stay out of doctors' offices. Georgia's LIFE Act, signed into law in 2019, restricts abortion once a human heartbeat is detected, with only narrow exceptions for medical emergencies. In cases of rape or incest, a police report must have been filed, and strict gestational limits apply. Suzanna believes Georgia is one of the most dangerous states for a pregnant woman, with a maternal mortality rate of 40.8 deaths per 100,000 live births.

What reproductive healthcare policies does Suzanna Karatassos support?

Suzanna supports overturning the 6-week abortion ban and putting reproductive freedom on the ballot in Georgia. She also supports reducing mandatory waiting periods and restrictive requirements that delay time-sensitive medical care, expanding access to quality prenatal and reproductive healthcare, and expanding sex education funding and incentivizing public schools to offer sex education curriculum.

Voting Rights

What is Suzanna Karatassos's position on voting rights?

Suzanna believes every vote should count. She is concerned that recent changes in federal voting law raise questions about fair representation in Georgia and across the nation. A Supreme Court ruling weakened parts of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, making it more difficult to challenge congressional maps that may dilute minority power.

What voting policies does Suzanna Karatassos support?

Suzanna supports overturning any gerrymandered maps that dilute the voting power of the Black community, and reducing unnecessary barriers for people with past felony convictions who have completed their sentences. She also supports removing voting barriers for students at Georgia public colleges and universities and expanding voting locations and drop boxes.

Contact

How can someone contact Suzanna Karatassos's campaign?

The campaign can be reached by mail at Suzanna for State House 120, P.O. Box 48002, Athens, GA 30604; by phone at (706) 540-6664; or by email at info.karatassosdistrict120@gmail.com.