Kelly Esti

[{"question": "Ballotpedia survey responses", "answer_html": "<p>See also: <a href=\"/Ballotpedia%27s_Candidate_Connection\">Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection</a></p>\n<div class=\"row\"><div class=\"col-xs-10 col-md-6 col-xs-offset-1 col-md-offset-3\"><p><a href=\"https://ballotpedia.org/Ballotpedia%27s_Candidate_Connection\"><img align=\"middle\" alt=\"Candidate Connection\" src=\"https://cdn.ballotpedia.org/images/8/88/Candidate_Connection_Logo.png\" width=\"90%\"/></a></p></div></div>\n<p>Kelly Esti completed <a href=\"/Ballotpedia%27s_Candidate_Connection\">Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection</a> survey in 2026. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Esti's responses.</p>\n<p><span class=\"expand-all\">Expand all</span> | <span class=\"collapse-all\">Collapse all</span></p>\n<div aria-multiselectable=\"true\" class=\"panel-group\" id=\"accordion\" role=\"tablist\"><div class=\"panel panel-default\"><div class=\"panel-heading\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#collapse-bio-356980-2026-04-12\" id=\"heading-bio-356980-2026-04-12\" role=\"tab\"><p class=\"panel-title\" style=\"font-size: 14px;font-weight: 600;\"><a aria-controls=\"collapse-bio-356980-2026-04-12\" aria-expanded=\"false\" class=\"collapsed\" data-parent=\"#accordion\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#collapse-bio-356980-2026-04-12\" role=\"button\"><i class=\"fa fa-chevron-right pull-right\"></i><i class=\"fa fa-chevron-down pull-right\"></i>\t\t\t\tWho are you? Tell us about yourself.\t\t\t</a></p></div><div aria-labelledby=\"heading-bio-356980-2026-04-12\" class=\"panel-collapse collapse\" id=\"collapse-bio-356980-2026-04-12\" role=\"tabpanel\"><div class=\"panel-body\" style=\"max-height: 500px; overflow-y: scroll;\"><div class=\"answers-container\"><span style=\"font-size: 14px;\">\t\t\t\tDr. Kelly Esti is an entrepreneur, scholar, veteran and advocate. He is running to represent Georgia's 8th Congressional District. He holds a PhD in Public Policy, an MBA with a focus in Finance, and BA in Management. He has worked with companies like JPMorganChase, E*Trade Financial, UPS and currently an Analyst with Delta AirLines. Dr. Esti has always been a man of service, he enlisted in the Navy right after graduating high school serving as a Nuclear Trained Sailor. He has also filled various community roles like Fulton County Zoning Board, a board member for the Main Street Academy, a charter school as the School Performance and Academic Chair, Hapeville Board of Appeals member, and the Legislative Chair for Georgia Equality. While at Georgia Equality, Dr, Esti was able to ensure discrimination does not have a place here in GA. One of his most notable achievements was being one of the founders of the city of South Fulton, GA. It is one of the largest cities in Georgia boasting a population of 113K people and a budget of $431M.\t\t\t</span></div></div></div></div><div class=\"panel panel-default\"><div class=\"panel-heading\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#collapse-key-message-356980-2026-04-12\" id=\"heading-key-message-356980-2026-04-12\" role=\"tab\"><p class=\"panel-title\" style=\"font-size: 14px;font-weight: 600;\"><a aria-controls=\"collapse-key-message-356980-2026-04-12\" aria-expanded=\"false\" class=\"collapsed\" data-parent=\"#accordion\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#collapse-key-message-356980-2026-04-12\" role=\"button\"><i class=\"fa fa-chevron-right pull-right\"></i><i class=\"fa fa-chevron-down pull-right\"></i>\t\t\t\tPlease list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office?\t\t\t</a></p></div><div aria-labelledby=\"heading-key-message-356980-2026-04-12\" class=\"panel-collapse collapse\" id=\"collapse-key-message-356980-2026-04-12\" role=\"tabpanel\"><div class=\"panel-body\" style=\"max-height: 500px; overflow-y: scroll;\"><div class=\"answers-container\"><span style=\"font-size: 14px;\"><ul><li>First, I would like to let my voters know I will commit to showing up in the community and advocating for their benefit and not their destruction. I will have regular town halls and want to ensure my Congressional office is a place where citizens can come learn and be empowered through knowledge. Understanding civics and government will be most important going forward into the future especially for our children.</li><li>Secondly, I will commit to creating a society more equitable for everyone. A commitment to lowering costs of everyday living and healthcare. This would mean ensuring wealthy individuals and large multinational corporations pay their fair share of taxes to fund investments in infrastructure, digital expansion like fiber internet into rural areas, education, stopping large tech companies from abusing rural voters as well, reducing healthcare costs for families and young single adults, etc.</li><li>Thirdly, I would like to see Georgia invest in the Georgia Intrastate Transit (The GIT)! This is a train that would connect all of large cities to allow investment and people to move freely between the cities via a train. It would do a few things. It could reduce wear and tear on our roads, reduce insurance rates by removing cars from the roads, this would also reduce accidents and reduce congestion around ATL and other cities. It would also serve as a way to reduce pollution around GA and allow us to enjoy some of the beauty of the state within a train ride.</li></ul></span></div></div></div></div><div class=\"panel panel-default\"><div class=\"panel-heading\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#collapse1-356980-2026-04-12\" id=\"heading1-356980-2026-04-12\" role=\"tab\"><p class=\"panel-title\" style=\"font-size: 14px;font-weight: 600;\"><a aria-controls=\"collapse1-356980-2026-04-12\" aria-expanded=\"false\" class=\"collapsed\" data-parent=\"#accordion\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#collapse1-356980-2026-04-12\" role=\"button\"><i class=\"fa fa-chevron-right pull-right\"></i><i class=\"fa fa-chevron-down pull-right\"></i>\t\t\t\tWhat areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?\t\t\t</a></p></div><div aria-labelledby=\"heading1-356980-2026-04-12\" class=\"panel-collapse collapse\" id=\"collapse1-356980-2026-04-12\" role=\"tabpanel\"><div class=\"panel-body\" style=\"max-height: 500px; overflow-y: scroll;\"><div class=\"answers-container\"><span style=\"font-size: 14px;\">\t\t\t\tI am most passionate about education and transportation. Education is the cornerstone at keeping the US healthy, ready to innovate, and ready to answer the needs of the world. Without access to education, we are denying ourselves prosperity and removing access to democracy and true freedom. Transportation is how we connect but also how we create economic value within our areas. Transportation is the life blood of any economy and GA needs access to various forms of transportation as it continues to grow. A robust transportation plan will be required if GA is to continue to grow.\t\t\t</span></div></div></div></div><div class=\"panel panel-default\"><div class=\"panel-heading\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#collapse2-356980-2026-04-12\" id=\"heading2-356980-2026-04-12\" role=\"tab\"><p class=\"panel-title\" style=\"font-size: 14px;font-weight: 600;\"><a aria-controls=\"collapse2-356980-2026-04-12\" aria-expanded=\"false\" class=\"collapsed\" data-parent=\"#accordion\" data-toggle=\"collapse\" href=\"#collapse2-356980-2026-04-12\" role=\"button\"><i class=\"fa fa-chevron-right pull-right\"></i><i class=\"fa fa-chevron-down pull-right\"></i>\t\t\t\tWhat organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign?\t\t\t</a></p></div><div aria-labelledby=\"heading2-356980-2026-04-12\" class=\"panel-collapse collapse\" id=\"collapse2-356980-2026-04-12\" role=\"tabpanel\"><div class=\"panel-body\" style=\"max-height: 500px; overflow-y: scroll;\"><div class=\"answers-container\"><span style=\"font-size: 14px;\">\t\t\t\tRep Floyd Griffin GA, HD-149, Former Mayor of Toomsboro, Joyce Denson, Rep. Tanya Miller - HD - 62, Mayor Melvin Harper of Ocilla so far,\t\t\t</span></div></div></div></div></div>\n<div class=\"small\" data-nosnippet=\"\"><p><i><b>Note:</b> Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it.</i></p></div>", "answer_text": "See also: Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection\n\nKelly Esti completed Ballotpedia's Candidate Connection survey in 2026. The survey questions appear in bold and are followed by Esti's responses.\nExpand all | Collapse all\nWho are you? Tell us about yourself. Dr. Kelly Esti is an entrepreneur, scholar, veteran and advocate. He is running to represent Georgia's 8th Congressional District. He holds a PhD in Public Policy, an MBA with a focus in Finance, and BA in Management. He has worked with companies like JPMorganChase, E*Trade Financial, UPS and currently an Analyst with Delta AirLines. Dr. Esti has always been a man of service, he enlisted in the Navy right after graduating high school serving as a Nuclear Trained Sailor. He has also filled various community roles like Fulton County Zoning Board, a board member for the Main Street Academy, a charter school as the School Performance and Academic Chair, Hapeville Board of Appeals member, and the Legislative Chair for Georgia Equality. While at Georgia Equality, Dr, Esti was able to ensure discrimination does not have a place here in GA. One of his most notable achievements was being one of the founders of the city of South Fulton, GA. It is one of the largest cities in Georgia boasting a population of 113K people and a budget of $431M. Please list below 3 key messages of your campaign. What are the main points you want voters to remember about your goals for your time in office? First, I would like to let my voters know I will commit to showing up in the community and advocating for their benefit and not their destruction. I will have regular town halls and want to ensure my Congressional office is a place where citizens can come learn and be empowered through knowledge. Understanding civics and government will be most important going forward into the future especially for our children. Secondly, I will commit to creating a society more equitable for everyone. A commitment to lowering costs of everyday living and healthcare. This would mean ensuring wealthy individuals and large multinational corporations pay their fair share of taxes to fund investments in infrastructure, digital expansion like fiber internet into rural areas, education, stopping large tech companies from abusing rural voters as well, reducing healthcare costs for families and young single adults, etc. Thirdly, I would like to see Georgia invest in the Georgia Intrastate Transit (The GIT)! This is a train that would connect all of large cities to allow investment and people to move freely between the cities via a train. It would do a few things. It could reduce wear and tear on our roads, reduce insurance rates by removing cars from the roads, this would also reduce accidents and reduce congestion around ATL and other cities. It would also serve as a way to reduce pollution around GA and allow us to enjoy some of the beauty of the state within a train ride. What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about? I am most passionate about education and transportation. Education is the cornerstone at keeping the US healthy, ready to innovate, and ready to answer the needs of the world. Without access to education, we are denying ourselves prosperity and removing access to democracy and true freedom. Transportation is how we connect but also how we create economic value within our areas. Transportation is the life blood of any economy and GA needs access to various forms of transportation as it continues to grow. A robust transportation plan will be required if GA is to continue to grow. What organizations or individuals have endorsed your campaign? Rep Floyd Griffin GA, HD-149, Former Mayor of Toomsboro, Joyce Denson, Rep. Tanya Miller - HD - 62, Mayor Melvin Harper of Ocilla so far,\nNote: Ballotpedia reserves the right to edit Candidate Connection survey responses. Any edits made by Ballotpedia will be clearly marked with [brackets] for the public. If the candidate disagrees with an edit, he or she may request the full removal of the survey response from Ballotpedia.org. Ballotpedia does not edit or correct typographical errors unless the candidate's campaign requests it."}]