At 22, Georgia Rep. Akbar Ali, D-Lawrenceville, is the state’s youngest lawmaker. Whether he was organizing climate marches in high school or rechartering the Gwinnett Young Democrats, Ali has long been civically engaged.
The driving force behind Ali’s desire to serve the community dates back to 2010 when the Gwinnett County mosque he grew up in, Dar-e ‘Abbas, became what he described as the center of a hate crime movement. The mosque wished to expand its property but its rezoning applications were denied by the Lilburn City Council multiple times.
Ali said threats of arson and other violence spread throughout his community, ending only after former President Barack Obama’s Department of Justice stepped in.
Ali said that experience led him to believe “that good governance is about looking out for all people and that’s exactly the promise that I made to my district when I ran.”
On Dec. 2, 2025, he won the runoff election against Democrat Marqus A. Cole by 155 votes. Ali claimed the seat previously occupied by Rep. Shelly Hutchinson, D-Snellville.
Following her retirement from public office in September to care for her father with Alzheimer’s disease, Hutchinson endorsed Ali. She knew Ali as a Gwinnett Democrat and had seen him at political events.
Hutchinson said she saw him as a promising successor. When she decided to step down, Hutchinson gave Ali a call.
“I’d never seen somebody so prepared yet so young,” she said.
Ali turned 22 in February. Hutchinson said she was impressed by his maturity and his ability to lead discussions.
“He knows how to command a room without pissing everybody off,” Hutchinson said.
Ali’s age brings a fresh perspective to the Legislature and a channel to young voters and potential future leaders. Ali said his colleagues in the House tell him they have received an increased number of calls from younger people interested in running.
Ali believes many politicians have tried and failed to garner attention from Generation Z voters by using methods like partnering with celebrities. He said this is not what young voters want.
“If I can speak for a generation for a second,” Ali said. “What my generation and what the younger voters want is just foundational change and to see ourselves within government.”
Ali defines foundational change as “things that we can all get behind, stuff that is common sense.” To him, these things include expanding health care, affordability and small business development.
Ali ran on these policies during his campaign and plans to keep them at the forefront of his work in office.
Ali said he brings interpreters who speak English and Spanish during visits within his district.
“With so many minority owned businesses and with so many communities that English may not be the first language, I still want them to be able to get the services that we offer,” Ali said.
Ali campaigned on a few different policies, including more funding for public schools. However, being in the minority Democratic party in Georgia, Ali said he must work across the aisle to get things done.
Ali has signed onto multiple bipartisan bills, including the first one he introduced, House Bill 1244. It aims to guarantee teachers get their duty-free lunch and planning periods. He also signed onto bipartisan House Bill 496 that, if passed, would prohibit a law enforcement officer’s ability to search a motor vehicle or the people in one based on the scent of marijuana.
Ali said his parents, who immigrated from Pakistan, taught him to value family, neighbors and community prosperity.
“That’s really the immigrant experience so to speak,” Ali said. “Where you’re very grateful to be where you are, you love your country and you want to see it improve.”
Ali described his family as his backbone, providing support throughout his campaign.
Hutchinson was with Ali and his family when he won the election. She said she felt like a proud mother.
“I would say it’s like feeling like a parent,” she said, “but I can’t take anything away from them.”
| This article and photograph are available through a partnership with Capitol Beat News Service, a project of the Georgia Press Association’s nonprofit, tax-exempt Educational Foundation. |
