Lt. gov. candidates seek to ease party tensions
Sunday, September 24, 2006
By Michael French
Marietta Daily Journal Staff Writer

MARIETTA - State Sen. Casey Cagle (R-Gainesville) plans to heal the damage he sees in the Georgia Legislature by becoming the first Republican lieutenant governor since Reconstruction.

Cagle, elected to the Senate in 1994, said he sees the lieutenant governor's job as a "full-time" position that is "powerful and very influential" in the executive branch of Georgia government.

"The Senate has been somewhat handicapped because the lieutenant governor is not of the same party," he said. "It's important to have one who has the support of Georgians."

Cagle will find out if that support is there in November, but Georgia Republicans already have rallied behind him in July's primary election. Cagle defeated favored conservative evangelical Ralph Reed in a campaign that spent $2.5 million - the most money ever spent on a primary bid for lieutenant governor.

He said he does not know Reed's future plans and has not asked Reed to be on stage with him at the November election.

Despite the underdog odds politicos forecasted, he said he knew a win against Reed was possible from the beginning.

"I've had to work hard for everything I've ever received," he said. "I knew we could win."

He said the campaign for the November election would not be one of negative personal attacks, but one that focuses on issues and policies.

"We have no intent whatsoever in going negative," he said. "The philosophical debate will be based on issues and ideas."

Cagle said jobs, education and public safety are the three main issues that concern Georgia residents.

Jobs
Cagle said government's responsibility is to create the right circumstances for jobs to come to state.

He said he wants to give tax incentives to companies that do business in Georgia.

"I want to begin phasing out the corporate income tax structure," he said, adding the savings would allow companies to expand and inspire others to move to the state.

Cagle said his economic plan would establish a permanent Economic Development Coordinator within the lieutenant governor's office. This "Job Czar" would focus on leveraging the legislative authority of the lieutenant governor's office to enact legislation for efficient job creation.

"I want a targeted approach to spur our economy," he said.

He added he wants to phase out income tax for senior citizens, making the first $100,000 of income for residents 62 and older tax exempt.

Health careCagle said he wants a basic health insurance program from the state, free of mandates, to help the more than 1.5 million uninsured Georgians gain access to health care.

He said he wants to give small businesses and self-employed people greater flexibility to set up health plans.

He added he wanted to reform civil justice to curb frivolous lawsuits against hospitals and doctors that drive up health insurance costs.

He said Peachcare, Georgia's program to give health insurance to uninsured children, has been a "tremendous success" for Georgia, but is not the solution for all uninsured children.

"Expanding to every child would have a significant financial impact on the state," he said.

Education
Cagle said the success of Georgia's economy is linked to the success of the public school systems across the state.

"You can't have good jobs if you don't have a good educational system," he said.

Cagle said he wants to expand charter schools and create greater flexibility and greater local control for school districts.

"Not every child learns at the same pace or same manner," he said.

Cagle added he wants "significant changes" made to Perdue's Quality Basic Education funding formula. The formula determines the amount of state funds that are allocated to Georgia's K-12 schools. The formula is based on student population and the demographics and needs of the student population.

He said teachers' hands are tied from doing their job.

"We've got many schools that are not performing," he said. "I want the local community determining what the needs are in their communities."

Cagle said Gov. Sonny Perdue's education bill that requires 65 percent of all education funding be spent in the classroom and sets maximum class sizes is not a good solution.

"It flies in the face of local control," he said. "I don't want to micromanage education."

He said such state regulations should apply only to school systems that are not meeting standards.

Cagle supports magnet schools.

"They show great promise," he said.

Immigration
The state must enforce illegal immigration laws with greater vigilance, Cagle said.

"We cannot condone immigrants who are breaking the law," he said. "Amnesty is not a viable option or something I would support."

Cagle said he wants to bolster border security and create a temporary work visa for immigrants who enter the U.S. legally. He said he does not think immigrants take jobs away from American citizens.

"Immigrants are providing a real need," he said. "That labor pool will continue to have access to this economy."

He called on the Congress to act on immigration as illegal immigrants drain $400 million from Medicaid and also drain school funding and food stamp programs.

"You can't look the other way if individuals are breaking the law," he said.

Open government

Cagle said he remains opposed to Perdue's attempts to pass HB 218, which would change the Georgia Open Records law to prevent public access to records about economic development programs by government agencies.

"I'm going to work against it," he said. "I'm not making a 'half-hearted commitment' against it."

He said he was not reluctant to take on Perdue or Speaker of the House Glenn Richardson (R-Hiram) on HB 218.

He said Perdue had not produced evidence to justify the need for the bill.

mfrench@mdjonline.com