Local News
Gubernatorial candidates agree: State must do more to combat unemployment
DALTON — Several Democratic and Republican candidates for governor agree Georgia could be doing much more to fight its growing unemployment rate. But there is some disagreement about the exact steps the state government should be taking.
“It makes me upset that the state isn’t doing more to get people back to work. There are several things we can do,” said Georgia House Minority Leader DuBose Porter.
Porter, a Democrat from Dublin, was one of several gubernatorial candidates who responded to The Daily Citizen’s questions about the growing unemployment rate in Georgia and in the Metro Dalton area. The rate was 13.1 in January, according to the state labor department.
Porter said the state should be “ramping up” training in the state’s technical colleges. He also said that he is frustrated the state hasn’t provided matching funds to get several rail projects under way. For instance, the federal government granted the state $87 million a decade ago for an Atlanta-to-Lovejoy commuter rail line. But the project hasn’t gone forward because the state has never budgeted the required $19 million in state matching money.
“That’s a $100 million jobs program,” said Porter.
He also said the state needs to do more to promote fuels produced by biological material such as trees by converting coal-fired plants to biomass.
“We are exporting wood chips to Europe. We are importing coal to burn here in Georgia. If we could use what we grow here in biomass, it would put a lot of people back to work,” he said.
But state Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine, who is seeking the Republican nomination for governor, said the key to getting Georgians back to work is improving the state’s business climate.
“Dalton’s unemployment figures echo the need for a governor who will get Georgia’s economy going again,” said Oxendine in a statement. “My plans to abolish the state income tax and provide a friendlier atmosphere for businesses will revitalize our economy by bringing new employers and good-paying jobs to Georgia. I have experience working with thousands of small businesses across Georgia to cut government red tape — and make it easier for them to build office buildings, open for business and make payroll.”
David Poythress, a former Georgia secretary of state and labor commissioner, said Dalton’s business and economic leaders have been “particularly far sighted” in trying to diversify the area’s economy and make it more attractive to business.
Poythress, who is seeking the Democratic nomination for governor, said Georgia’s long-term economic health depends on improving the state’s transportation system, solving the state’s water crisis and improving public education.
Poythress, who said he would not draw a salary if elected until unemployment drops below 7 percent, said in the short term he would look at the banking industry and see what if any changes could be made in regulations that would increase lending to business.
“The lack of credit is what is keeping builders from building and buying carpet, for example,” he said.
Joey Lee, a spokesman for former Republican state senator Eric Johnson, said that “with the right leadership Georgia can emerge out of this recession faster than the rest of the nation and be stronger than ever before.”
“As governor, Eric will use his training as an architect and experience as a legislative leader to put Georgia back to work,” Lee said in a statement. “His plan includes ensuring Georgia has the infrastructure the private sector needs to create jobs, reforming regulations and taxes, transforming our education system so Georgia students have the skills they need to compete in the 21st century global economy, providing small and new businesses with access to the capital they need to grow and expand, and making Georgia the energy capitol of the Southeast.”
Former Gov. Roy Barnes said there are concrete steps the state can take today to get people back to work.
“For example, we can put Georgians back to work immediately by retrofitting every state building and public school for cost-efficient energy consumption that will actually pay for itself in energy savings,” Barnes said in a statement. “And in the long term, we have to reinvest, not cut, in public education and job training, so that we can equip Georgians to take advantage of the job opportunities of the future and attract more business to make Georgia work.”
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Public gets ‘sneak peek’ at Crown Gardens and Archives work
Sam Brown, left, a member of the Crown Gardens restoration team, talks with Hal Millsap of Dalton, who was born in the Crown Mill Village, Saturday about the restoration, which includes a bust of Brig. Gen. Joseph E. Johnston. Matt Hamilton/The Daily Citizen
When Karen Smith was born her parents brought her home to 410 Chattanooga Ave., just down the street from Crown Garden and Archives, the primary repository of Dalton’s history where much-needed restorative efforts are under way. Her husband, Michael, grew up a little further south, near the intersection with Selvidge Street.
Continued ... - Whitfield candidates stress personal communication as key to runoff chances
- Early voting in Dalton under way; Chatsworth on Monday
- Murray school board candidates prepping for runoff
- Whitifield, Murray candidates respond to questions
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