AJC: Cagle admits in recording to backing ‘bad’ bill to hurt Hill’s campaign
A secret recording obtained by Atlanta media reveals that Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle backed a bill he called “bad public policy” in order to hurt the gubernatorial campaign of former state Sen. Hunter Hill, R-Smyrna.
In the recording, provided to the Atlanta JournalConstitution and WSB-TV by businessman and fellow Republican governor candidate Clay Tippins, Cagle admits that he pushed for a bill to raise the cap on tax cred- its for pri- vate school scholarships to prevent Hill from getting financial help from the Walton Family Foundation, which backs charter school programs nationwide, according to the AJC report.
“It ain’t about public policy. It’s about (expletive) politics. There’s a group that was getting ready to put $3 million behind Hunter Hill,” the AJC reported Cagle said in the recording.
In a statement to the AJC, Cagle said he answered Tippins’ questions “openly and honestly” and that he will continue to fight to give education options to parents and children.
“Every bill of import has political implications, but my record shows that throughout my career I’ve fought to give parents and children options so they can find what’s best for their family,” Cagle said in the statement to the AJC.
The bill’s passage led state Sen. Lindsey Tippins, R-West Cobb, to resign as chair of the Senate Education Committee because he disagreed with the policy.
“If that bill is reflective of their vision for education in the state of Georgia, they got the wrong person being the committee chairman,” Lindsey Tippins told the MDJ in April.
Lindsey Tippins, Clay Tippins’ uncle, did not immediately return calls to comment for this story. Attempts to reach Clay Tippins and Hill were also unsuccessful.
Cagle faces Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp in a runoff for the Republican nomination for governor on July 24. The winner will face former State House Minority Leader Stacey Abrams, who won the Democratic nomination in May’s primary election.
In a statement, Abrams campaign representative Priyanka Mantha said the Democrat is the only candidate who “refuses to harm our children’s future for political gain” and will fight for public education.
“Once again, Republicans are showing us that they’re only out for themselves and their friends,” Mantha said. “Georgia deserves a leader who always puts families in our state above politics, and who will work across the aisle to get things done.”
Kerwin Swint, political science professor at Kennesaw State University and director of its School of Government and International Affairs, said even with this revelation, Cagle remains the frontrunner for the runoff due to his financial advantage over Kemp, his name recognition and his political connections.
“I don’t think it’s a fatal blow. I think a lot of voters, particularly voters who follow politics, will say, ‘Well, yeah, that’s politics,’” Swint said Friday. “On the other hand, there will be some voters who are more concerned about morality and ethics that will say, ‘Well this is outrageous. Now I can’t vote for him.’ I think it’s some of both of that, but, you know, it’s a long campaign.”