ATLANTA – State Representative David Casas (R-Lilburn), the first Hispanic Republican state lawmaker, announced Monday that he will not seek reelection in 2018. Rep Casas will retire at the end of his current term after serving 16 years in the Georgia General Assembly.
“I wish to spend more time with my wife and my teenage children,” said Rep. Casas. “In addition to my private sector responsibilities as a college professor and administrator, I want to focus more attention to writing and invest more time in my church family.”
Rep. Casas, a high school teacher at the time, was first elected to the Georgia House of Representatives in 2002. He was the first, and so far the only, Hispanic Republican elected at the state level. During his career in the House, he authored legislation that curbed gang activity in Gwinnett County and helped shape education policy as the Vice Chairman of the House Education committee.
During the mid-2000s, Rep. Casas authored the Tuition Tax Credit, which was an extensive school-choice measure. He also co-authored the state’s only special needs voucher program, which was designed to open the door of educational choice to Georgia’s special needs families.
“It has been a privilege for me to have served the people of Lilburn, Lawrenceville and Snellville for the past sixteen years, and to have had the honor to help Georgia’s families,” added Rep. Casas. “I made a promise in my first campaign to ‘put Georgia families first,’ and I am thankful for the opportunities to have done just that.”
Rep. Casas earned his PhD in May 2017 and is now assistant professor of Old Testament at Luther Rice College and Seminary in Stonecrest, Georgia. Aside from his teaching and writing schedule, he and his family are active members of Mount Vernon Baptist Church.
“I ran for office after being married only two years, and both my children were born during my tenure,” said Rep. Casas. “All they have ever known is dad as their state representative. It is a bitter-sweet moment, but I have great anticipation for what God has for us in the coming years.”
Rep. Casas is a Cuban-American serving in the Georgia General Assembly. His parents escaped Cuba in 1970. He was born in Spain and has lived in Georgia for 44 years. Rep. Casas represents the 107th House District in Gwinnett County.
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