The Race for Governor
TThis is a state of contrast, and it is time that we have a leader who can build on the successes of both parties ... I bring that capacity. I’m a business owner. I am a political leader, a civic leader, but I’m also someone who cares deeply about all of our communities.
We need a governor that is going to put Georgians first . ... In the primary (election), it was more about not being controlled by the special interests, and now in the general (election), it’s about not being controlled by people from New York or California.
he Democratic and Republican nominees for Georgia governor recently sat down with sister paper the Marietta Daily Journal’s editorial board for interviews. Topics covered range from gun control to Confederate statues to Plant Vogtle to the political climate of their campaigns. Responses from the candidates will appear periodically in this newspaper over the next few editions ahead of the Nov. 6 election. The Standard Journal will also have more from local candidates in the pair of county commission races on the ballot. Today, we present the opening question: Why should Georgians elect you as their next governor?
I’m running for governor because I’ve served the state for 11 years as Democratic leader. I served as state legislator. I’ve been a business owner, and I’ve lived here since ’89 with a brief stint (away) for graduate school and law school. … I’d like to say I’m Mississippi-raised and Georgia-grown …
This is an election about consequences. It’s an election about choices. We can build on the successes that we’ve seen for the last 50 years under both Democratic and Republican leadership, but we still have the responsibility to bring along those communities that have been left out...
We have done well by creating 400 hospitals in Georgia. (But) we have 21 rural hospitals on the brink of closure, and we live in a state where we have the highest maternal mortality rate in the nation.
This is a state of contrast, and it is time that we have a leader who can build on the successes of both parties ... I bring that capacity. I’m a business owner. I am a political leader, a civic leader, but I’m also someone who cares deeply about all of our communities. I’ve seen all 159 counties (in Georgia) … because I know that to lead the state of Georgia, you have to see all of Georgia.
That’s why as leader, I led our caucus to help create legislation to support and protect our veterans … I worked with Gov. Nathan Deal on criminal justice reform … I worked with him on transportation funding initiatives. I worked very closely with him on education reform.
But we disagree. We disagree fundamentally about Medicaid expansion because in the state of Georgia, we cannot solve the economic woes of rural Georgia without expanding Medicaid. Democratic- and Republican-led states have agreed to expand Medicaid, and Georgia has to join the group …
Georgia is the number one place in which to do films outside of L.A. in the United States, but that is under grave risk. I’ve met with studio heads in Washington and New York and L.A. and they have said unequivocally, they will pull their films if we pass religious freedom legislation. …. I’m the only candidate who stands four-square against legalizing discrimination in the state of Georgia.
But I’m also the only candidate who has a plan for how we help lift up the small businesses ... I’m excited just like everyone else about bringing 50,000 jobs in from Amazon, but I want to be the governor who invests in creating 10 new jobs each at 5,000 small businesses across our state ... And if you’re down in rural Georgia, those are jobs that are good-paying jobs that can anchor communities. I’ve proposed a $10 million small business financing fund because I know that not every one of those communities has access to a bank, has access to financing, but if you’re a mechanic who wants to buy your shop or you’re a cafe owner who wants to expand, you need someone who believes in your dream the same way.
… I’m also running because I know that we have to do more for our children. Cobb County very much understands the inadequacies and inequities in our (education) funding formula, and as the next governor of Georgia, I’m going to finish the work that was begun under Roy Barnes, Sonny Perdue and Nathan Deal . ... We have to recognize that this is no longer a ‘need to do,’ it is a ‘must do.’ … We have to increase teacher pay and make it more competitive.
I have very robust plans for Georgia, but I also understand the budget of Georgia. I’ve served on the Appropriations and the Ways and Means committees. I know where we get the money and I know how we spend it, and I’m the only candidate who not only has comprehensive plans with price tags, but also how we pay for them. We do not have to raise taxes in Georgia to raise the quality of life. And I’m the only candidate with clear, distinct plans on how we get this done.
I look forward to having this conversation and I look forward to getting your support.
I’m a husband and a father of three teenage daughters. I’ve been a small business owner for 30 years. started my first company with a pickup truck and shovel. I’ve been working hard ever since, and (my wife) Marty and I both grew up in Athens, raised our family there …
Like a lot of small business people, I got frustrated with government and decided to do something about it. I ran against the Democratic incumbent in a district nobody thought I could win. I’m proud of getting into office and doing what I said I was going to do: helping streamline government, cut regulations, work to have a lower tax environment and really just bringing common sense values to our district.
(After serving in the Legislature) … I returned home for three years. I just went back to work and was helping Marty raise our three young girls, but still had (a desire) to serve and ran for secretary of state and got there in 2010.
… Seeing how things were going in D.C. and how frustrated people were, I told myself if I ran for office again, I was going to tell people what I was going to do when I got in there and that is exactly what I was going to do. And I’ve done that as secretary of state, running to have secure, accessible, fair elections in our state. We’ve streamlined state government to make it more efficient in the secretary of state’s office, which is what Republicans always talk about, but sometimes you wonder if they really do it. So we’ve done that, and I’m very proud of my record. That’s exactly why I decided to get into the governor’s race.
So, I was kind of in a similar situation where a lot of people didn’t think I could win the race (for governor). But I’ve worked hard. We worked with all 159 counties in our office. I had been to all of them, many of them multiple times, not just fly in, fly out or drive in and drive out, but spending the night, visiting with local chamber (of commerce) boards and hardworking Georgians, whether farmers, teachers, first responders, folks in the courthouse or elections officials.
I just learned a lot about our state and the experience that I’ve had in the private sector and in the Legislature. I am the only person in the race ... that has had executive branch experience. I think that will make for a good governor because you need somebody that can run the day-today operations of state government, which a lot of people quite honestly don’t think about during campaigns.
And I feel like I have the best vision for our state to build off of the great place that we are from great governors in the past, Republican and Democrat, and take us to the next level. For me, that’s building off our great business environment. Making Georgia number one for small business, continue to streamline government, cut regulations, continue to be a low-cost-to-do business state.
… We need a governor that is going to put Georgians first . ... In the primary (election), it was more about not being controlled by the special interests, and now in the general (election), it’s about not being controlled by people from New York or California.
... A big part for me is keeping our families safe and building off what the governor’s done with criminal justice reform. … I’ve worked with (District Attorney) Vic Reynolds here in Cobb County to come up with a plan to stop and dismantle gangs, going after the drug cartels. A lot of people haven’t been talking about that issue, but it’s a huge problem in our state. It’s helping create sex trafficking, an opioid epidemic and really a distribution hub of the Mexican drug cartel in our state.
I’m supportive of the criminal justice reform, but I’m also talking to a lot of law enforcement, a lot of local prosecutors that are very frustrated with the street gangs and some of the other crimes that go along with it. Our families are being victimized by these people.
And that’s why I’m running.
Why should Georgians elect you as their next governor?