Chatham County Commission District 2 Candidate: Ni’Aisha Banks

CHATHAM COUNTY, Ga. (WTOC) - Monday marks the start of early voting in the race to fill Chatham County’s District 2 commissioner’s seat.

That seat was left open in April following the death of Larry “Gator” Rivers.

Ni’Aisha Banks says she isn’t your typical candidate for Chatham County commissioner.

“I really understand what it’s like to struggle. I understand what it’s like to work hard every day and barely make it,” Banks said.

At 31 years old, Banks is young compared to her opponents. She said her lived experience makes her uniquely qualified for the position.

“I’ve been in public housing. I’ve been on every form of government assistance. It taught me more critical thinking and problem solving skills because I have four kids. I can’t afford to be homeless. I can’t afford to not be able to feed them. So, I had to figure things out and figure out how to make things work,” Banks said.

A native of Savannah, Banks said she’s running to restore hope in her community. If elected, she wants to work with the county’s juvenile court to add more youth programming.

“More pre-diversion programs, not programs for once they’re already on probation and we have to figure out ways to help them. Let’s do more now before we get to that point. Let’s be proactive rather than reactive,” Banks said.

She also aims to work with state and local leaders to make childcare and housing more affordable.

Banks said she’s still working towards getting her bachelor’s degree but has spent years as a community organizer and working as a family peer ambassador in Georgia’s Department of Early Care and Learning.

“We don’t have to have this top notch degree to be an elected official, because an elected official is a public servant. I’ve been serving for years, and I want to be able to show them that people like us deserve a seat at that table,” Banks said.

Election day is Tuesday, Sept. 19.

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