NRI PULSE STAFF REPORT
Cumming, GA, March 9, 2026: Finance professional and longtime North Georgia resident Shuchita Patel has announced her candidacy for Forsyth County Commissioner, District 3, positioning her campaign around issues such as fiscal accountability, affordable housing, and policies aimed at supporting working families.
Patel, who has lived in North Georgia for three decades, said she is entering the race as Forsyth County continues to experience rapid population growth and development. In announcing her campaign, Patel said she wants to ensure that the county’s growth benefits residents broadly rather than primarily developers or well-connected interests.
“Forsyth County is growing fast—and growth is a good thing,” Patel said in a statement announcing her campaign. “But right now, that growth is working for developers and wealthy interests a lot better than it’s working for the families who actually live and work here. I’m running to change that.”
According to her campaign announcement, Patel moved to Alpharetta in 1993 as the daughter of immigrants and later attended Georgia State University. She has spent her professional career in financial leadership roles focused on budgeting, oversight, and long-term planning. Patel and her husband later settled in Forsyth County, where they have raised their family.
Patel said her professional background in finance will inform her approach to county governance, particularly in managing budgets and planning for long-term growth. She argued that budget decisions shape how resources are distributed across communities.
“I know how county budgets work. I know how money gets directed toward some communities and away from others,” Patel said. “That’s not an accident. It’s a series of choices. And I intend to make different ones.”
A key component of Patel’s platform is addressing housing affordability in Forsyth County, one of the fastest-growing counties in Georgia. Her campaign said she supports tying affordable housing requirements to new development, strengthening tenant protections, and encouraging mixed-income housing projects so that essential workers can continue to live in the communities they serve.
“When a county employee can’t afford to live in the county they serve, something is broken,” Patel said. “Growth that displaces working families isn’t prosperity; it’s a failure of leadership.”
Patel’s campaign also highlights policies aimed at workers, including advocating for living wages for county employees and contractors, conducting pay equity audits, and establishing labor standards for companies that receive county contracts or tax incentives.
“My parents taught me that if you work hard, you should be able to build a life,” Patel said. “A lot of people in this county are working two and three jobs and still can’t make ends meet.”
Patel also emphasized the importance of ensuring county government represents and serves Forsyth County’s increasingly diverse population. Her campaign said she plans to advocate for equitable access to county services and greater community representation in local decision-making.
“When your government doesn’t see you, when the people making decisions about your schools, your roads, your neighborhood have never had to think about your experience, you get policy that reflects that blind spot,” Patel said.
Patel described her campaign as centered on fiscal accountability, transparent governance, and ensuring that all residents have a voice in county decisions.
Forsyth County Commission District 3 represents a portion of the rapidly growing county north of Atlanta. Patel’s campaign said additional information about her candidacy is available at her campaign website, shuchitaforgeorgia.com.
Forsyth County is governed by a five-member Board of Commissioners, with each commissioner elected from a single-member district to four-year terms. District 3 is currently represented by Republican Commissioner Todd Levent, who has served on the board since 2006. The district is located in the southwestern portion of the county, between Districts 1 and 2 and west of the city of Cumming. Forsyth County has experienced significant population growth over the past two decades, transforming from a largely rural county into one of the fastest-growing suburban areas in metro Atlanta.
As of now, it is not yet clear who else may enter the race for the District 3 seat in the upcoming election cycle.
