I dropped by Gov. Nathan Deal’s office recently for a visit. In little over a month-and-a-half, our 82nd governor will be our newest former governor. My timing could not have been better. The governor seemed happy to see me. (Not the kind of reaction I usually get from many of our public officials.) What was supposed to be a 30-minute appointment stretched to almost an hour. Good for me. Bad for those in charge of scheduling his time.
I asked the governor his reaction to the just completed governor’s race. “I am
glad it is over,” he laughed. Aren’t we all. On a serious note, he said it was
obvious that our current election laws will be a major debate going forward.
The governor cautioned that whatever changes are considered will likely be
expensive and can’t be accomplished overnight or perhaps even within the next
two years. But it is an issue that is not going away. Be prepared.
In my not-so-humble opinion, Deal has been a good governor. There were a few
bumps in the road along the way — an ethics investigation while still a member
of Congress, questions regarding payments to his daughter-in-law’s fundraising
company during his re-election campaign and the famous — or infamous —
Snowmageddon debacle of 2014.
Today as he prepares to leave office, Deal’s approval ratings are extremely
high. A recent survey by the Atlanta newspapers showed that more than 85 percent of Republicans in the state approve of his performance as well as 48 percent of
Democrats. Want further proof of his popularity? In one of the most acrimonious
partisan elections in memory, Democratic gubernatorial candidate and former
House minority leader Stacey Abrams ran television ads touting her good working
relationship with the governor.
And why not? He leaves office with the state in excellent financial health. The
state’s Quality Basic Education formula for K-12 was fully funded for the first
time ever and he has instituted a major overhaul of our criminal justice
system, making it one of the best if not the best in the nation. (Note: I am a
member of the State Board of Juvenile Justice.) He has also appointed more
judges in his time in office than any governor in history.
He proudly points out the expansion of the HOPE Grant, a scholarship that pays
100 percent of tuition for students to attend technical colleges to learn
skills that are in high demand for Georgia’s workforce as well as establishing
the REACH Georgia Scholarship, a public-private partnership that provides
scholarships to promising middle school students from low-income families.
He has dealt with the tough decisions a governor has to make without engaging
in the shrill name-calling and denigration that seem to be a part of the
current political environment. He vetoed the Religious Liberty bill passed by
the General Assembly. He restored the tax cut to Delta Air Lines by executive
order after legislators dropped it in retaliation for Delta halting a discount
program with the National Rifle Association. (The Legislature restored the tax
break during their recent special session.) In both cases, the response to his
decisive actions was remarkably mute. It is obvious that the governor walks
softly but has a big stick and knows how to use it.
How has he managed to get things done without threats and tub-thumping? “My
wife (first lady Sandra Deal) is always reminding me to be nice,” he laughs.
Then adds, “I think you should always try to educate before you advocate.” The
governor says he tries to let the public and lawmakers know what he is
proposing and why, and then getting their input.
One of the examples he uses is the comprehensive transportation bill passed in
2015 to maintain and repair Georgia roads and bridges that required an
increased gasoline tax and an extra fee on hotel stays.
On the other hand, an attempt at an Opportunity School District, which would
have established an office for a second state superintendent who would have
reported to the governor, was soundly defeated by voters in a referendum. “We
got out ahead of ourselves on that one,” he admits. Since then, the General
Assembly has passed a similar concept creating a “turnaround officer” to work
with underperforming schools but under the control of the local school
districts.
With a change in administrations upon us, the state looks like the proverbial
duck — gliding smoothly on the surface but paddling like the dickens under
water. It is called the transition period. Gov.-elect Brian Kemp has a team on
hand working with those in Gov. Deal’s administration and getting ready for the
handoff. “I am not there to intrude but will help if the governor-elect asks,”
Deal said. “Gov. (Sonny) Perdue was extremely helpful to me in our transition
and I hope I can do the same for Gov.-elect Kemp.” I would suggest Kemp listen
closely to the man. He has big shoes to fill.
With that, we switched gears and talked about how Deal got from his boyhood
home in Sandersville to the highest office in the state. More on that next
week.