Gov. Deal meets with Young Republicans

On Wednesday morning, Governor Nathan Deal and First Lady Sandra Deal hosted the leadership of Georgia Young Republicans for breakfast at the Governor’s Mansion. Greg Williams, Chair of Buckhead Young Republicans, has a writeup from Greg’s List Live.

GYR leaders came from across the state, from Savannah to Rome, Athens to Columbus, to join the Governor for breakfast.

“The opportunity to sit down with the Governor and Mrs. Deal to a lovely breakfast at the Governor’s Mansion was truly an honor. I look forward to working with the Governor to further conservative principles in the great state of Georgia,” said Meagan Hanson, Georgia Young Republican Chair.

Among the issues discussed were the Savannah port project’s positive impact on growing trade opportunities with Latin American countries, the negative consequences of the Affordable Care Act on young Americans, and the importance of electing strong conservatives to all levels of public office.

“It was a pleasure to spend time with our next generation of Republican leaders. As the nature of campaigns continues to evolve, we must take advantage of the talents YR’s possess to help drive our message. There is no question the younger voice of our party is an invaluable one, and I am fortunate to have their support,” said Governor Nathan Deal.

The Governor’s wife, First Lady Sandra Deal exhibited an impressive knowledge of the antiques and artwork found in the Governor’s Mansion, describing a multitude of items from memory, with no help from a teleprompter. Perhaps the current US President could learn a lesson or two from Mrs. Deal.

The Breakfast Round Table boasted a lively discussion. Savannah Young Republicans Chairman Michael Johnson observed, “On November 6, 2013 I had the opportunity to talk to Gov. Deal about the progress of the deepening of the Savannah River. It was good to hear that he is committed to see the project moving forward so that not only Savannah but the rest of Georgia will be able to benefit from the expansion of the Panama Canal. He knows, as all of Savannah knows, that this is the best opportunity to grow Georgia’s economy and create job growth.”

Meredith Jones, Chair of the Gwinnett County Young Republicans, was equally impressed with the format as she stated, “I am encouraged after a productive morning with Governor and Mrs. Deal that the Georgia GOP recognizes the value of the ideas and enthusiasm offered by our network of Young Republican organizations around the state.”

Joe Pettit, Chairman of the Cobb County Young Republicans, complimented Governor Deal on the use of social media to promulgate an important endeavor that resulted in his brother-in-law, Travis Lee Roberts, gaining national attention in his fight against Bile Duct Cancer. The #TravOnGameday Twitter effort achieved more than 750,000 “re-tweets”, countless Facebook posts and served as a palpable lesson about the power of New Media.
“When Governor Deal opened his home to the Georgia Young Republicans, I was finally able to personally thank him for helping the #TravOnGameDay cause. Bringing up that successful social media campaign opened a greater discussion on the use of social media in the upcoming election cycle. Governor & Mrs. Deal both emphasized the role Young Republicans need to play in getting the conservative message out in new and creative ways,” said Pettit. Buckhead Young Republicans Chair Greg Williams extrapolated the concerted, “social media” team effort and described how it could be a lesson for Republican campaigns to adopt in the future. For more information on this story, please visit these links: http://concretefaith.org/ and http://gregslistlive.com/2013/09/26/travongameday/.

Under Governor Deal’s leadership, the State of Georgia was recently ranked as the Number One place to conduct Business in the United States.

Deal takes to the airwaves

Governor Deal’s reelection campaign released a 15-second television ad that I suspect will also be playing as pre-roll on YouTube soon if it isn’t already.

Jim Galloway writes in the AJC Political Insider that the Deal campaign is putting $120k behind airing the ad.

Here is a longer-form advertisement story from Fox 5 Atlanta on the announcement that Site Selection magazine ranked Georgia #1 for business.

One thing I’d like you to note is that Governor Deal specifically cites removing the sales tax on energy used in manufacturing as a major component of Georgia’s appeal to business looking to relocate and create jobs here.

“I think we’re doing what’s within the opportunity of a state to do and that is to creat as good a job market and a good a marketplace for business as we possibly can. As you know, the tax reforms that we put in place were in part trying to re-stimulate manufacturing in Georgia. The taking of the sales tax off of energy used for manufacturing is a huge impetus for that.”

Public Service Commissioner Doug Everett joined his Republican colleagues in urging the General Assembly to remove the sales tax on energy used in manufacturing.

State School Superintendent Race

Next week, we are likely to see two women enter the race for State School Superintendent for the seat already vacated by Dr. John Barge, who continues to draw a paycheck while campaigning full-time on your dime.

State Rep. Alisha Thomas Morgan (D-Cobb) will announce Tuesday that she is running for State School Superintendent, presumably as a Democrat. The announcement will be at 4 PM Tuesday on the Washington Street side steps at the Georgia Capitol.

Former DeKalb County School Board Member Nancy Jester will be making an announcement on Monday. The best way to get an early start will be listening to Martha Zoller on Monday morning, when Jester will likely be on-air.

On Tuesday at 10 AM, Nancy Jester will be hosting “Coffee Talk in Cobb” at  Rev Coffee Roasters in Smyrna. Joining her to discuss education legislation in the upcoming Session of the Georgia General Assembly will be State Rep. Ed Lindsey and Senator Hunter Hill. Click here for directions, or to R.s.v.p. to the free event.

Preparing for the Democrat throwback ticket

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_EKObHrPdCU

John McCallum to enter CD1 campaign?

Martha Zoller writes on ZPolitics that 1998 Secretary of State Republican Nominee John McCallum is preparing to enter the campaign for Congress from the First Congressional District, which has to date been dominated by state Senator Buddy Carter.

Martha links to an invitation to a “Campaign Decision Announcement” paid for by the John McCallum Campaign Exploratory Account. I don’t guess you’d throw a big party to announce that you are not running.

Virginia Galloway leaving AFP-GA

Yesterday, Virginia Galloway announced via email that she will be stepping down as State Director for Americans for Prosperity Georgia to accept a new position with the Faith & Freedom Coalition. Thanks and best wishes to Virginia.

Conservative Events

Saturday at 8 AM, the DeKalb County GOP’s Tysinger Forum will meet at Panera Bread 2100 Henderson Mill Road Atlanta, GA. Get off their lawn.

Saturday at 9 AM, the Cherokee County Republican Party will host Rep. Jack Kingston and Col Larry Mrozinski to discuss their campaigns at the Winchester WoodFire Grill, 110 Mountain Vista Blvd Canton, GA. Plus five points to anyone who tweets to me from the event with the name of Jack Kingston’s favorite song by the Allman Brothers Band.

On Sunday, November 10th, the DeKalb County Republican Party will open its new headquarters from 2 to 5 PM. They’ll have a band, barbecue and Falcons football on large screens at the new digs, located at 1532 Dunwoody Village Parkway Dunwoody, GA 30338.

Georgia’s own Jenny Beth Martin, a Co-founder and  National Coordinator for Tea Party Patriots has been added to the list of speakers at the Georgia Republican Assembly’s “Let Freedom Ring” event next Saturday at the Atlanta Airport Hilton.