Marvin Lim

Marvin Lim lives in Norcross, Georgia.[1] Lim graduated from Lakeside High School.[2] He earned a B.A. from Emory University in 2005 and a J.D. from Yale University in 2013.[3] Lim's career experience includes working as an associate with Holcomb + Ward, LLP, the legal director of The Campaign to Keep Guns Off Campus, an attorney with the Brennan Center for Justice, CEO and founder of the Lucky Shoals Community Association, Inc., and a legislative counsel with the ACLU of Georgia.[1][3][4]

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Who are you? Tell us about yourself.

I am an immigrant from the Philippines who was on public assistance as a child, and became a civil rights and securities attorney, while continuing in other ways to struggle. This background is like so many in my district, which is 87 percent BIPOC, nearly 50 percent immigrants, and yet 25 percent at or below federal poverty levels. Their stories drive my work, which always remains centered on the people themselves. I really care about my community, and try to show it, instead of just saying it.

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?

I am effective at shaping the law to address the needs of my community. For example, I got the first bill by a State Representative from this district/area passed since 2004: a bill on Native Americans in Georgia, an underappreciated group. I also expanded the Georgia Crime Victims Emergency Fund to cover more survivors of family violence and sexual assault. And I worked to create a Cultural Competency course that over 5.5 percent of law enforcement in Georgia, and counting, have taken.I am effective at getting resources for my community. I have gotten over $22 million of funding for this area. This includes money in the state budget for my community, for needs such as training (in multiple languages) for small, often minority-owned businesses. It also includes money for everything from healthy home repairs, to maternal and infant health, to road and transportation improvements – all local. I also started 6 classes in my community (ESOL, heart/diabetes, nutrition, seniors tai chi, gardening, and digital literacy), as well as monthly blood pressure screenings. And I worked to ensure that our county both stopped funding anti-abortion crisis pregnancy centers, while expanding use of funds for people who are undocumented.I am effective at centering the stories and needs of my community, and organizing locally to address those needs. I brought StoryCorps to my district for the first time ever, created an international mural featured in one of our parks to reflect our diversity, and constantly attempt to convey the stories of constituents. Through storytelling and organizing, I have also successfully completed 5 local petition drives for a variety of purposes (e.g., getting speed humps), successfully changed 4 local ordinances, and got 2 affordable housing local rezonings for the community.

What areas of public policy are you personally passionate about?

I am passionate about various areas of policy as they impact my community – because every policy area has a local impact. I have gotten 23 of my bills heard in committee – the most of any House member, Democrat or Republican, since 2021 – and they cover the gamut of issues including education, healthcare, housing, and public safety.

What legacy would you like to leave?

I would like to be remembered, above all, as a kind person.

What do you believe is the ideal relationship between the governor and state legislature?

The governor and state legislature would ideally work together, not only to ensure good policies are being passed, but that their implementation is actually being monitored. Too many times, legislators don’t think about how their bill will actually be implemented (usually by the executive branch) in practice. In those cases, lawmakers end up creating well-meaning systems that ultimately the constituent will find unusable and unworkable in the real world. The systems created during COVID-19 for people to access assistance are a big example. It takes working with the governor/executive branch to avoid that – something I’ve done a lot in this job, working across agencies, during and off-session, to ensure our programs are accessible to all people.

What do you perceive to be your state's greatest challenges over the next decade?

Georgia has several big challenges, but among the greatest is education especially given the tremendous learning loss wrought by the pandemic. Too many students from pre-K/early learning to high school (and beyond) do not have access to adequate resources, both in and out of the classroom, to learn and thrive. And instead of additionally funding our public schools (like the 11 Title I schools in my district), the state has moved towards private vouchers. All of this will only reinforce the inequities that already exist.

Do you believe that it’s beneficial for state legislators to have previous experience in government or politics?

It’s not a requirement, but bona fide experience in government– one where a legislator really takes the time to learn the intricacies of federal, state, and local government and both the policy and politics of it all – can only help one when actually stepping up to serve office. We need to know exactly what we’re legislating before we start legislating it, and having previous government experience provides possibly the great insight. I worked in a legislative counsel role before entering the state legislature, and that experiences has been invaluable.

Do you believe it’s beneficial to build relationships with other legislators? Please explain your answer.

Of course it is. There are obviously many reasons for this, but one I’ll single out: while we directly represent our constituencies, it’s invaluable to get out of our local bubbles and learn how issues impact people on the ground – in urban, suburban, and rural communities alike, and whether or not they’re physically close to where we live. So we should absolutely talk to other legislators, to get their and their constituents’ perspectives on issues – regardless even of whether we disagree on our ultimate responses. We could always stand to learn more from people who are different from us.

Is there a particular legislator, past or present, whom you want to model yourself after?

I’ve pretty much take my own path, one where I put people first, not myself. I've committed to the fact that, while I'm a face for my district as a Representative, it's my job to ensure that their stories and needs are front and center. I try to accomplish this in a myriad of ways, from doing storytelling (e.g., the first in-district Story Corps, which we did in February 2024) to creating resource guides that respond to constituents' short-term needs, as we advocate for long-term change, and doing on average more than one event a month for constituents since I entered office. This isn't about me; it's about them. I don’t see enough politicians doing that.

Are you interested in running for a different political office (for example, the U.S. Congress or governor) in the future?

No; I love my particular community and want to serve it specifically! I can’t imagine even a state Senate race, as that would be too big and I’d feel too removed from my community.

Both sitting legislators and candidates for office hear many personal stories from the residents of their district. Is there a story that you’ve heard that you found particularly touching, memorable, or impactful?

I put stories from my district specifically on my Instagram page, which is dedicated solely to these local stories and events. One that stands out is the story of my constituent Yana, an immigrant who wanted to use her voice to help solve our community’s challenges. I met her during a petition drive for speed humps in our neighborhood, and she was so passionate and became deeply involved, to the point of eventually being appointed on the county’s transportation committee – and securing over $20 million of funding specifically for our area. This story is inspiring because it shows how empowerment works at its best.

Should the legislature oversee or grant the use of emergency powers?

Yes. Legislatures are most responsive to the people, and it’s dangerous to concentrate so much power in one person (i.e., Governor) or a few people in the executive branch. We saw this, in all sorts of ways, with COVID-19, where the executive branch was able to set policies, and did so in ways that weren’t always responsive to various segments of constituents. Even if an executive must ultimately be the one to implement policy, legislatures serve as a critical check on their powers.

What is the first bill you would introduce if elected?

While I have already introduced many bills and passed/helped pass a few, one new bill I would like to introduce is to pilot an evidence-based early intervention/early mental health program that complements the early warning systems in schools. There are many factors that lead to truancy, poor academic performance, social-emotional issues, and even more serious issues like violence and adverse childhood experiences. Yet we spend very few resources, from a systems-level perspective, on the wraparound services we need for early intervention. Schools have some resources – but not enough, especially not when it comes to resources that need to be provided outside school.

What committees interest you?

I like the committees on which I serve now – Agriculture and Consumer Affairs, Health, Retirement, and Urban Affairs. But one committee I’ve not had the chance to serve on is Appropriations. I hope to focus even more attention on our state budget and to shape it to address some huge gaps (e.g., childcare, early intervention, community health work, etc.). We too often do not pay attention to our budget, because it's just one bill of over a thousand per legislative session, yet there are some possibly easy wins there that can positively impact millions of Georgians' lives.

Marvin Lim did not complete [the profile publisher]'s 2022 Candidate Connection survey.

Marvin Lim did not complete [the profile publisher]'s 2020 Candidate Connection survey.