Sally Harrell, a Democrat, is running for re-election to the Georgia State Senate in District 40, which covers parts of Dunwoody and Brookhaven. She faces Republican Melina Renee Mast in the Tuesday, Nov. 3, general election.

Harrell has served as senator for District 40 since 2019, according to BallotReady. She is certified for the ballot.

Candidate information

  • Party: Democratic
  • Office sought: Georgia State Senate, District 40
  • Education: Bachelor's degree in social work, Georgia State University; master's degree in social work, University of Georgia

Experience and public service

Harrell served as a state representative for District 62 in the Georgia House of Representatives from 1999 to 2005, according to BallotReady. She has worked as a social worker and as executive director of the Healthy Mothers, Healthy Babies Coalition of Georgia.

She has held her current Senate seat since 2019, according to BallotReady.

On the issues

The following positions are Harrell's own stated responses, provided through her campaign website.

Education: Harrell said she supports incorporating universal preschool into K-12 public schools. She said she wants to help public school systems develop publicly funded choices such as special-mission and magnet schools. She said she will fight for legislation to make every public college and university in Georgia tuition-free.

Healthcare: Harrell said she will fight to expand Medicaid in Georgia and push for the state to provide a public option on the healthcare exchanges. She said she supports access to contraception and a woman's right to choose to terminate an unplanned pregnancy.

Transportation: Harrell said Georgia needs leadership in clean energy transportation, including rapid rail between rural and urban communities, increased miles of hassle-free bus transportation and electric car leasing connecting economic centers with rail. She said she will work to ensure public transit funding becomes a critical part of the conversation.

Criminal justice: Harrell said she favors allocating more resources to social services that protect and promote healthy communities and reduce the need for law enforcement. She said she would work to increase budgets for the Division of Family and Children Services, the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities, public mental healthcare systems, unemployment training programs and safe housing for the homeless. She also said she supports decriminalizing marijuana and reducing existing sentences for possession.

Government reform: Harrell said she co-sponsors "The Democracy Act," which proposes amending Georgia's constitution to create an independent, nonpartisan redistricting commission.

Sources: Public campaign materials, published candidate profiles and the public records linked above. Policy statements are attributed to the candidate; funding or implementation details are included where available.

The Dunwoody-Brookhaven Ledger did not receive a direct questionnaire response from the candidate and does not endorse candidates.