This weekend 21 University of Georgia College Republicans traveled to the State Capitol to participate in the 2009 Georgia Association of College Republicans convention. Below you will find my blog updates about the candidates for Governor and Lieutenant Governor in the 2010 Primary.

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Senator Chip Rogers, Majority Leader, sponsored GACR’s use of the Senate Chamber. Senator Rogers talked about the impact of College Republicans in the State of Georgia. The theme of his speech was summed up when he said, “America is based on the principle that you set your own destiny.” Talking about Leadership Majority Leader Rogers said:

“Remember elections matter, who you get out and work for. Realize what your doing is contributing to a process that makes a difference. It is fun to work for things you believe in. The fun doesn’t end the day of the election. We need to hold onto the Republican majority.”

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State Senator Eric Johnson, who is running for Lieutenant Governor, spoke about his long record of service to the State of Georgia. Senator Johnson was elected to the General Assmebly when Georgia was a solid blue state, and working slowly and strategically with Congressman Tom Price, they worked to increase the number of Republicans in the assembly.

Senator Johnson talked about one of his key issues–school vouchers. He said:

“Parents ought to be able to pick the school that is best for their child…and use a fair share of their tax dollars to educate their child.”

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State Senator David Shafer, currently a candidate for Lieutenant Governor, spoke about his work in the Senate to reform Georgia’s Budgeting Process. During his time in the Senate he has worked to bring Zero-Based Budgeting into practice. Currently Georgia does not review spending that has already been passed.

His bill would make the executive:

“justify every penny of spending. This bill would require ¼ of the budget to be zero based every year. That is an important tool that your legislators need to save us money.”

Also on Wednesday, Casey Cagle shook up the 2010 election by announcing that he would not run for Governor. David Shafer said that he would wait for the dust to settle before making any decisions. He said, “whatever I decide to do, I will be standing shoulder to shoulder to you to support the conservative principles we care about.”

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State Representative Austin Scott, who has announced that he plans for run for Governor, addressed the GACR Convention, telling his story. A graduate of the University of Georgia (GO Dawgs!!) Rep. Scott ran for office at the age of 26 against a long-time incumbent. Scott said, “No one is unbeatable…It is up to people like you. Trust me, giants fall.”

The theme of his speech was about reforming the Board of Regents. He made a promise to not appoint anyone who contributed over $1,000 to his campaign to the Board of Regents and said, “Those seats are not for sale.”

In a crowded race for Governor I would keep my eye on Representative Scott, as time and time again he has come from behind to win  elections.

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Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine, candidate for Governor, talked about how his first vote cast was for President Ronald Reagan in 1980 and how that inspired a life of public service. He said, “The job of government isn’t to tell you what to do, but to serve others. That is what public service is.”

Commissioner Oxendine discussed the customer service, citizen first initiatives he has put in place since being elected in 1992. He remarked that when he was first elected, most government offices closed at 4:30 or 5:00, but that he felt that government offices should be open later to serve the citizens.

On reforming the Board of Regents, Commissioner Oxendine said:

“The University  System of this State, it should be governed by elected representatives  the State of Gerogia. If they want to change the fees or raise the tuition,that is fine, but that is nothing more than a tax. Right now they do not answer to anybody and that needs to change.”

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Finally, the last candidate to address the Association was Georgia Secretary of State and candidate for Governor, Karen Handel. Secretary Handel talked about the challenges that she has faced in her life and her experience with overcoming them. At the age of 17, she was on her own and had to work to support herself. Her first job was working for AARP and attending class at night. “Being able to meet and overcome challenges is a strength I bring to the state,” Handel said.

She identified the challenges that the next governor will have to tackle:

-Transportation: “This includes not just Metro Atlanta, but we have 159 counties in the state. A sound transportation system is key for economic development and job growth in the state.”

-Water: “It is not a question of if we have another drought but when we have another drought.”

-Education: “We made a lot of progress on SAT scores, when you think about 30 to 40% of students aren’t even staying in school long enough to take the SAT.”

She concluded her speech by saying that she is a “common sense, results-oriented girl who will bring people together to do better for Georgia.”

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Finally, the convention ended with the election of officers for the 2009-2010 GACR. Jade Morey was elected to the Chairman. Andrew Laarhoven, current Vice-Chair of the UGA CR’s was elected Vice-Chair of GACR and Tori Wester from Kennesaw State was elected Financial Secretary. On behalf of our organization I want to congratulate each one of them and wish them luck over the next year