March 16, 2026 • 9 mins
As we continue our series highlighting candidates in Georgia’s gubernatorial race, BIN’s Andrea Coleman introduces Georgia State Senator Jason Esteves. Esteves is a dynamic Black leader with a diverse background spanning education, business, and politics.
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
Good Sunday and welcome to the Black Perspective. As we
continue our series highlighting the candidates and the Georgia governor's race,
The Black Information That Works on Derea Coleman introduces us
to Georgia. State Senator Jason est of Uses of Us
is a dynamic black leader with a varied background that
touches on education, business, and of course politics.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Like many of the candidates seeking to be the state's
next governor, Georgia is home to State Senator Jason Estevez.
Speaker 3 (00:27):
I am from the South side of Columbus, Georgia, and
I was raised by two parents who didn't go to college,
but they taught me everything I need to know. They
taught me to love my gud, to work hard, and
leave my community better than how I found it.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
That knowledge has led to an impressive political career that
Estebus says was shaped by his upbringing and us started
in education, and.
Speaker 3 (00:47):
It's those values that guided me as a middle school
social studies teacher. It was the first job I had
out of college, the hardest job I've ever had, but
also the most rewarding job. And it's that middle school
social studies experience that took me into the school Board
of Atlanta Public Schools where I served as chair, and
I served on the school board for almost ten years,
(01:07):
and from there went to the State Senate, where I
was in the State Senate for a couple of terms
and focused in on healthcare, on making sure that we
kept the city of Atlanta united in the face of
the Buckhead City movement, and that we lower the cost
of living, particularly for our seniors, and fully funded our
education system.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
Estevez is also a husband, father, and business owner, responsibilities
he says that mirror those of the people he hopes
to serve if elected governor.
Speaker 3 (01:33):
Of the state. On a personal level, who Jason Estevez
is is the husband to my wife, Ariel, who's a
nurse practitioner from Albany, Georgia. And we are the parents
of Jaden and Zoe, ten year old Jaden and a
seven year old Zoe. And of course, as you might imagine,
Zoe is the leader of the household, and we're small
business owners. My wife owns an urgent care in northwest Atlanta,
(01:57):
and then we owned two breakfast restaurants, one in Column, Georgia,
my hometown, and one in downtown Macon. So we employ
about one hundred people around the state of Georgia, and
I've seen firsthand a lot of the challenges that people
are facing. Some of those challenges I've faced myself, and
I'm tired of people working harder than they've ever worked
and barely getting by.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
With Sviz is one of seven candidates seeking the Democratic
nomination in this year's governor's race. Five of those candidates,
including him, are black. He is hopeful his political experience
and insights will help propel him forward, beating out the
likes of other well known and liked to Democratic candidates
like former Atlanta Mayor Key Schalance Bottoms and former State
Labor Commissioner and former Dacab County CEO Michael Thurmatton.
Speaker 3 (02:39):
Which is why I'm running. I want to make sure
that we fix the challenges that people are facing, whether
it's with healthcare, whether it's with the cost of living,
whether it's with our education system, and provide Georgians with
the opportunities that they deserve.
Speaker 4 (02:52):
Ye, what are some of the answers you have or
how would you address Let's take health care first, what
are your answers for that?
Speaker 3 (03:00):
Well, look, with healthcare, we should do what we should
have done as a state more than fifteen years ago,
and that's expand access to Medicaid. It has cost the
state more than thirty billion dollars not expanding access to Medicaid.
That's about seven thousand dollars per taxpayer. It's a lot
of money that we missed out on, and I want
to make sure that we finally get done so that
people can get the health insurance that they need. I
(03:21):
also want to lower the cost of private health insurance.
But just as important, I want to make sure that
we're building health care hubs throughout the state, clinics and hospitals,
reopening those throughout the state of Georgia so that people
are able to get the care that they need without
driving hours just to get it, and ultimately that we're
training more providers, more doctors, physicians, assistants, and nurse practitioners
(03:43):
so that they can ultimately provide the services to people
that need it the most. I'm going to invest in
mental health services because Georgia is near the bottom when
it comes to mental health supports. And then I'm also
going to end our maternal mortality crisis that we have
in the state that has led to the deaths preventable
deaths of multiple Black women in Georgia. And we do
(04:04):
that by reversing the dangerous abortion ban, but also making
sure that Medicaid and health insurance pays for things like
dulas and birthing centers and lactation coaches and prenatal services,
so that Georgia becomes a state where it is safe
again to have babies.
Speaker 4 (04:21):
Yeah, The Black Information at Work did a public health
awareness campaign last year on the Black maternal health crisis,
and some of the professionals we spoke with said, part
of the concern is that training these health professionals or
getting and understanding how these various health complications arise and
how they present in Black women, Yes, compared to women
(04:43):
who maybe of a different ethnicity. Any thought on maybe
taking a look at what that training may intel or
tweaks to it so that Black women and how we
present with health crisis our complications may be identified in
a better and healthier way.
Speaker 3 (04:58):
Well, first, we don't do what Donald Trump is trying
to do, which is take away DEI and try to
erase cultural differences in the diversity that exist in our society.
We have to understand how those differences impact things like
healthcare and how for example, black women present in a
(05:19):
medical office. And I have friends who are an obg
y n, a lawyer who almost died during childbirth because
doctors were not listening to them. And these are accomplished
black women. So we need to make sure that we
are educating providers on cultural competency. They need to understand.
(05:42):
But we also need to diversify the providers that we
have in our community. We have to make sure that
we are providing black people opportunities, Black women opportunity, black
men opportunities to become physicians, to become nurse practitioners and
physicians assistants, because that kind of experience matters. I also
think it matters to make sure that these providers have
(06:02):
experiences throughout the state of Georgia, right in rural Georgia,
because those challenges are unique, just like they are in
metro Atlanta. But it starts with understanding that there are differences.
Speaker 4 (06:15):
Yeah, very good. You know Georgia has never had a
black governor. Yeah, And Ambassador Andrew Young has run and
fallen short. We've saw Stacy Abrams give it two tries
and fall short, come close, but still fell short. Your
thoughts on why now is the time for us to
(06:37):
reconsider that aspect of this race and why you may
be the candidate to pull through and push through to
actually make it to the governor's seat.
Speaker 3 (06:45):
Well, look, I'm here to tell you that Jason Astavez
will be the first black governor of Georgia. And the
reason for that is that I have the lived experiences
the hard working people of the state. I can go
all across the state and talk to people about my
experience being a small business owner and the challenges that
those present. I'm a parent of two young children right
(07:06):
now going through the education system. I can talk about
being a caregiver of a mom with Alzheimer's and how
our senior care system in the state is broken. It
takes connecting with people not just in Metro Atlanta, but
across the state and telling stories and how Adjason Stevez
administration can help address the challenges that people are facing
(07:30):
each and every day. But it also takes having someone
like me that has the experience of having delivered at
the state and local level, but most importantly, having a
vision for the future of the state that gives people
something to vote for, not just something to vote against
and for too long we've been telling people what they
should be voting against. I'm here to tell people what
they should be voting for. A state of Georgia where
(07:50):
no matter who you are, you have access to the
healthcare that you need, that you have opportunities, the opportunities
to keep and grow the money in your pockets, and
that ultimately are grand children and our children have the
opportunities that are more opportunities than what we've had. It's
that message that resonates throughout the state of Georgia. And
not only that, I'm not afraid to go into a
(08:11):
red room, just like I would go into a blue
room and speak about these issues health, wealth, and opportunity.
No matter who you are, no matter what you look like,
that's what you care about. And I'm confident that with
my experiences, with my message, with my vision, my family together,
we can build that multi generational, multi racial coalition that's
(08:31):
going to take to win. And Stacy Abrams got us
within fifty thousand votes, and we're going to get even
more votes and we're gonna win in November of this year.
Speaker 4 (08:39):
All right, well, very good, PRIMI are we coming up
in May? Correct?
Speaker 3 (08:42):
Primaries coming up in May would love people to check
out my website Jasonestevez dot com or follow me on
social media at Jason Stevez.
Speaker 4 (08:50):
Okay, very good. It's wonderful having you here today and
we'll be following closely.
Speaker 3 (08:55):
Please, thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 4 (08:56):
You're more than welcome.
Speaker 1 (08:57):
Thank you, Thank you, Andrea and Jason. The latest polls
show former Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and former Labor
commissioner Michael Thurman leading in the Democratic race, but political
pundits say there's enough time for that to change.
Good Sunday and welcome to the Black Perspective. As we
continue our series highlighting the candidates and the Georgia governor's race,
The Black Information That Works on Derea Coleman introduces us
to Georgia. State Senator Jason est of Uses of Us
is a dynamic black leader with a varied background that
touches on education, business, and of course politics.
Speaker 2 (00:21):
Like many of the candidates seeking to be the state's
next governor, Georgia is home to State Senator Jason Estevez.
Speaker 3 (00:27):
I am from the South side of Columbus, Georgia, and
I was raised by two parents who didn't go to college,
but they taught me everything I need to know. They
taught me to love my gud, to work hard, and
leave my community better than how I found it.
Speaker 2 (00:40):
That knowledge has led to an impressive political career that
Estebus says was shaped by his upbringing and us started
in education, and.
Speaker 3 (00:47):
It's those values that guided me as a middle school
social studies teacher. It was the first job I had
out of college, the hardest job I've ever had, but
also the most rewarding job. And it's that middle school
social studies experience that took me into the school Board
of Atlanta Public Schools where I served as chair, and
I served on the school board for almost ten years,
(01:07):
and from there went to the State Senate, where I
was in the State Senate for a couple of terms
and focused in on healthcare, on making sure that we
kept the city of Atlanta united in the face of
the Buckhead City movement, and that we lower the cost
of living, particularly for our seniors, and fully funded our
education system.
Speaker 2 (01:25):
Estevez is also a husband, father, and business owner, responsibilities
he says that mirror those of the people he hopes
to serve if elected governor.
Speaker 3 (01:33):
Of the state. On a personal level, who Jason Estevez
is is the husband to my wife, Ariel, who's a
nurse practitioner from Albany, Georgia. And we are the parents
of Jaden and Zoe, ten year old Jaden and a
seven year old Zoe. And of course, as you might imagine,
Zoe is the leader of the household, and we're small
business owners. My wife owns an urgent care in northwest Atlanta,
(01:57):
and then we owned two breakfast restaurants, one in Column, Georgia,
my hometown, and one in downtown Macon. So we employ
about one hundred people around the state of Georgia, and
I've seen firsthand a lot of the challenges that people
are facing. Some of those challenges I've faced myself, and
I'm tired of people working harder than they've ever worked
and barely getting by.
Speaker 2 (02:18):
With Sviz is one of seven candidates seeking the Democratic
nomination in this year's governor's race. Five of those candidates,
including him, are black. He is hopeful his political experience
and insights will help propel him forward, beating out the
likes of other well known and liked to Democratic candidates
like former Atlanta Mayor Key Schalance Bottoms and former State
Labor Commissioner and former Dacab County CEO Michael Thurmatton.
Speaker 3 (02:39):
Which is why I'm running. I want to make sure
that we fix the challenges that people are facing, whether
it's with healthcare, whether it's with the cost of living,
whether it's with our education system, and provide Georgians with
the opportunities that they deserve.
Speaker 4 (02:52):
Ye, what are some of the answers you have or
how would you address Let's take health care first, what
are your answers for that?
Speaker 3 (03:00):
Well, look, with healthcare, we should do what we should
have done as a state more than fifteen years ago,
and that's expand access to Medicaid. It has cost the
state more than thirty billion dollars not expanding access to Medicaid.
That's about seven thousand dollars per taxpayer. It's a lot
of money that we missed out on, and I want
to make sure that we finally get done so that
people can get the health insurance that they need. I
(03:21):
also want to lower the cost of private health insurance.
But just as important, I want to make sure that
we're building health care hubs throughout the state, clinics and hospitals,
reopening those throughout the state of Georgia so that people
are able to get the care that they need without
driving hours just to get it, and ultimately that we're
training more providers, more doctors, physicians, assistants, and nurse practitioners
(03:43):
so that they can ultimately provide the services to people
that need it the most. I'm going to invest in
mental health services because Georgia is near the bottom when
it comes to mental health supports. And then I'm also
going to end our maternal mortality crisis that we have
in the state that has led to the deaths preventable
deaths of multiple Black women in Georgia. And we do
(04:04):
that by reversing the dangerous abortion ban, but also making
sure that Medicaid and health insurance pays for things like
dulas and birthing centers and lactation coaches and prenatal services,
so that Georgia becomes a state where it is safe
again to have babies.
Speaker 4 (04:21):
Yeah, The Black Information at Work did a public health
awareness campaign last year on the Black maternal health crisis,
and some of the professionals we spoke with said, part
of the concern is that training these health professionals or
getting and understanding how these various health complications arise and
how they present in Black women, Yes, compared to women
(04:43):
who maybe of a different ethnicity. Any thought on maybe
taking a look at what that training may intel or
tweaks to it so that Black women and how we
present with health crisis our complications may be identified in
a better and healthier way.
Speaker 3 (04:58):
Well, first, we don't do what Donald Trump is trying
to do, which is take away DEI and try to
erase cultural differences in the diversity that exist in our society.
We have to understand how those differences impact things like
healthcare and how for example, black women present in a
(05:19):
medical office. And I have friends who are an obg
y n, a lawyer who almost died during childbirth because
doctors were not listening to them. And these are accomplished
black women. So we need to make sure that we
are educating providers on cultural competency. They need to understand.
(05:42):
But we also need to diversify the providers that we
have in our community. We have to make sure that
we are providing black people opportunities, Black women opportunity, black
men opportunities to become physicians, to become nurse practitioners and
physicians assistants, because that kind of experience matters. I also
think it matters to make sure that these providers have
(06:02):
experiences throughout the state of Georgia, right in rural Georgia,
because those challenges are unique, just like they are in
metro Atlanta. But it starts with understanding that there are differences.
Speaker 4 (06:15):
Yeah, very good. You know Georgia has never had a
black governor. Yeah, And Ambassador Andrew Young has run and
fallen short. We've saw Stacy Abrams give it two tries
and fall short, come close, but still fell short. Your
thoughts on why now is the time for us to
(06:37):
reconsider that aspect of this race and why you may
be the candidate to pull through and push through to
actually make it to the governor's seat.
Speaker 3 (06:45):
Well, look, I'm here to tell you that Jason Astavez
will be the first black governor of Georgia. And the
reason for that is that I have the lived experiences
the hard working people of the state. I can go
all across the state and talk to people about my
experience being a small business owner and the challenges that
those present. I'm a parent of two young children right
(07:06):
now going through the education system. I can talk about
being a caregiver of a mom with Alzheimer's and how
our senior care system in the state is broken. It
takes connecting with people not just in Metro Atlanta, but
across the state and telling stories and how Adjason Stevez
administration can help address the challenges that people are facing
(07:30):
each and every day. But it also takes having someone
like me that has the experience of having delivered at
the state and local level, but most importantly, having a
vision for the future of the state that gives people
something to vote for, not just something to vote against
and for too long we've been telling people what they
should be voting against. I'm here to tell people what
they should be voting for. A state of Georgia where
(07:50):
no matter who you are, you have access to the
healthcare that you need, that you have opportunities, the opportunities
to keep and grow the money in your pockets, and
that ultimately are grand children and our children have the
opportunities that are more opportunities than what we've had. It's
that message that resonates throughout the state of Georgia. And
not only that, I'm not afraid to go into a
(08:11):
red room, just like I would go into a blue
room and speak about these issues health, wealth, and opportunity.
No matter who you are, no matter what you look like,
that's what you care about. And I'm confident that with
my experiences, with my message, with my vision, my family together,
we can build that multi generational, multi racial coalition that's
(08:31):
going to take to win. And Stacy Abrams got us
within fifty thousand votes, and we're going to get even
more votes and we're gonna win in November of this year.
Speaker 4 (08:39):
All right, well, very good, PRIMI are we coming up
in May? Correct?
Speaker 3 (08:42):
Primaries coming up in May would love people to check
out my website Jasonestevez dot com or follow me on
social media at Jason Stevez.
Speaker 4 (08:50):
Okay, very good. It's wonderful having you here today and
we'll be following closely.
Speaker 3 (08:55):
Please, thank you so much for having me.
Speaker 4 (08:56):
You're more than welcome.
Speaker 1 (08:57):
Thank you, Thank you, Andrea and Jason. The latest polls
show former Atlanta mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms and former Labor
commissioner Michael Thurman leading in the Democratic race, but political
pundits say there's enough time for that to change.
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