georgia historical society’s CEO Spotlight: page 24 w. todd groce JAN/FEB 2018 AN INSIDE VIEW INTO GEORGIA’S POLITICS, BUSINESS & NEWS THE LEGISLATIVE ISSUE COLUMNS BY JOSH BELINFANTE • REP. MEAGAN HANSON • CINDY MORLEY BAKER OWENS • U.S. SEN. DAVID PERDUE • MICHAEL ROBISON $3.95US MICHELE SWANN • LARRY WALKER • DICK YARBROUGH . AND MORE 7 56756 99948 7 DEPARTMENTS Publisher’s Message 4 ON THE COVER The Georgia House of Representatives chamber, circa 2010. Floating Boats 6 FEATURES The Public Service Commissions’s Proper Vogtle Decision 12 JAMES by David Gattie & Nolan Hertel P.O. BOX 724787 Various GOP Priorities Range ATLANTA, GEORGIA 31139 from Rural Georgia to Transportation 19 678 • 460 • 5410 by Cindy Morley PUBLISHED BY CEO Spotlight: W. Todd Groce 24 INTERNET NEWS AGENCY LLC Georgia Democrats Optimistic for 2018 27 by Baker Owens CHAIRMAN MATTHEW TOWERY CEO & PUBLISHER PHIL KENT [email protected] COLUMNS ASSOCIATE EDITOR GARY REESE Impressive Growth for Cobb’s Coliseum 9 COO & MARKETING DIRECTOR MELANIE DOBBINS & Exhibit Hall Authority [email protected] Michele Swann ADVERTISING DIRECTOR PATTI PEACH 15 [email protected] Passing the “Brunch Bill” Ensures Fairness State Rep. Meagan Hanson ADVERTISING REPRESENTATIVE JOSEPH PITTS [email protected] Looking into the Crystal Ball at 2018 Legislation 17 CIRCULATION PATRICK HICKEY Josh Belinfante [email protected] Parking Made My Career, Now I’m Car Free 23 STAFF WRITERS Michael Robison CINDY MORLEY BAKER OWENS HARRISON FLETCHER Education: What We Could See and What We Should See 31 CONTRIBUTING WRITERS Dr. Dana Rickman JOSH BELINFANTE JAKE EVANS DR. W. TODD GROCE Venture Capital: Georgia Must Step On the Accelerator 33 STATE REP. MEAGAN HANSON Jake Evans PHIL KENT U.S. SEN. DAVID PERDUE Reflections On the Past; Books to Read Now 35 DR. DANA RICKMAN Larry Walker LARRY WALKER MICHELE SWANN DICK YARBROUGH Figuring Out Those Special Tax Exemptions 39 Dick Yarbrough VISIT INSIDERADVANTAGE.COM 2017— A Year of Accomplishments 43 SUBSCRIBE TO OUR DAILY INTERNET NEWS SERVICE U.S. Sen. David Perdue $17.50/MONTH & RECEIVE JAMES FOR FREE CHECK OUT OUR SISTER PUBLICATION: Contracting Corruption Hovers Over Atlanta 45 SOUTHERNPOLITICALREPORT.COM Phil Kent DESIGN & LAYOUT PCOM Seeks to Grow in South Georgia and Suwanee 46 BURTCH HUNTER DESIGN H. William Craver III PUBLISHER’S MESSAGE 2018 . And Time Marches On! AS JAMES MAGAZINE ENTERS ITS 14TH YEAR, THE 154TH Georgia General Assembly reconvenes on January 8. special welcome back to Dick Yarbrough!) tackle Our companion company InsiderAdvantage Georgia other legislative topics. And Georgia’s U.S. Sen. again has staff reporters (who also write for James) oper- David Perdue provides a review from Washington, ating out of a press gallery office in the Paul Coverdell D.C. of 2017 successes. Legislative Office Building next to the Capitol. Our staff, Our main feature by two university professors including yours truly, will be reporting on various public addresses the state’s largest construction project— policy issues, as well as providing “inside information” two new nuclear generating units at Plant Vogtle— that underlies the 2018 legislative process. that was given the green light to proceed by the Public We believe such fresh information— coupled with Services Commission. While the controversial project is analysis pieces written by Republican. Democrat and over-budget, the authors argue it would have been independent opinion molders for our daily online reckless to abandon it. InsiderAdvantage subscription service— keeps us a As we measure economic progress and its impact relevant part of Georgia’s communications and news on our quality of life, we draw attention to the continu- fabric. Check out the website insideradvantage.com ing but underreported progress by the Cobb-Marietta to subscribe. A subscription is $17.50 a month for daily Coliseum and Exhibit Hall Authority. CEO and General IAG online news— and includes a complimentary Manager Michele Swann provides an update as well as James subscription. a vision for the future. And speaking of CEOs, our “CEO Perhaps it’s instructive, though, to review what Spotlight” features Todd Groce who mans the helm of happened last year in the Republican-controlled legisla- the Georgia Historical Society headquartered in ture. Senate and House GOP leaders announced “prior- Savannah. He is clearly a “man on a mission” and his ities” for 2017 but few passed because leaders in both column reveals a lot of information we didn’t fully real- chambers stymied some of each other’s pet bills during ize about the society’s impressive statewide work. last-minute infighting. For example, polls show a major- Finally, the James team especially appreciates the ity of Georgians want more parental school choice as support of our readers and advertisers. We wish all a well as a state income tax cut. Yet those two bills— happy and prosperous 2018! which enjoyed (and still enjoy) strong GOP support in both chambers— died as the clock ran out. It shouldn’t have happened, but it did. With 2018 being an election year, requiring all state PHIL KENT CEO & PUBLISHER legislators to answer to their constituents, hopefully such positive reforms will pass this time. Josh Belinfante covers overall topics on the 2018 legislative agenda and staff writers Cindy Morley and Baker Owens report on the Republican and Democrat agendas, respectively. An array of other authors (a FLOATING BOATS WHO’S RISING AND SINKING IN GEORGIA BUSINESS AND POLITICS It was a banner election season for female and minority can- deputy who removed her was a lawman even though he didates running for office in Georgia. Most notable: Keisha initially refused to identify himself. Tisdale ended up Lance Bottoms eked out an Atlanta mayoral win; paying a fine but should never have been charged with Energy that puts Republican Lori Henry won the Roswell mayoral runoff; anything. Those who persecuted her deserve to SINK… African-American Craig Newton is the new Norcross mayor; Rey Martinez (a prominent Donald Trump sup- Atlanta Steeplechase fans were dismayed when it was Georgia first porter) became the first Hispanic-American to win a seat in announced last year that the event would end after 52 Gwinnett County as mayor of Loganville; Cairo elected as years. However, the popular event has been brought back mayor 28-year-old African-American Booker Gainor; and as the Georgia Steeplechase of Atlanta spearheaded Milledgeville elected (by a six-vote margin) Mary Parham by Cobb County businessman Anthony Scott-Hobbs. Copelan as its first black mayor. More female and minority Held near Rome in April and featuring new attractions, candidates for public office has their ship RISING… the charity event benefitting the Atlanta Boys and Girls Club, Trinity Rescue, and Must Ministries Two Democrat lawmakers introduced legislation to let Summer Lunch Program is RISING… cities and counties control keeping or removing Confederate statues and war memorials, rather than con- After five years at the helm, Debbie Alford stepped tinue having the state of Georgia retain control. But state down as president and CEO of the Georgia Lottery Corp, House of Representatives Speaker David Ralston, R- and is succeeded by Gretchen Corbin who headed the Blue Ridge, indicates no change is going to happen. “The Technical College System of Georgia. The $19 billion gen- history of Georgia is the same whether you live in Blue erated by lottery games since 1992 have provided the Ridge or whether you live in Bainbridge or whether you HOPE Scholarship to more than 1.8 million college stu- live in Decatur. And so to allow that history to be controlled dents and offered access to lottery-funded pre-k pro- depending on the jurisdiction you’re in strikes me as very grams for more than 1.4 million four-year-olds. With the divisive in and of itself,” he says. Translate that to mean the lottery breaking all revenue records in 2017, and with ship of the two Democrats is destined to SINK… Alford temporarily staying on as a consultant to assist Corbin, odds are their boat will be RISING… atlantagaslight.com In November InsiderAdvantage was the first Georgia news outlet to report that Kennesaw State University Augusta Mayor Hardie Davis is championing a vision of President Sam Olens was in serious trouble with the “re-connecting Augusta” that includes a plan to move the University System’s Board of Regents. Sure enough, on civic center from downtown to a defunct south Augusta Dec. 14 Olens resigned having “decided that new leader- mall location. He and members of the Coliseum Authority ship will be required for KSU to fully realize its potential.” believe the relocation would economically and socially He failed to address management problems inherited revive the area. However, some downtown business from predecessor Dan Papp and his doom was sealed interests are opposed and the mayor has not been able to For the last 20 years, Atlanta Gas Light has been working with the garner approval from a majority of the 10-member after a KSU game when cheerleaders kneeled during the Georgia Public Service Commission to build a safe and reliable natural gas national anthem and he failed to inform an angry chancel- Commission for the project. There will be continued system that puts Georgia first. Because we were one of the first in the lor about keeping them in the locker room for future negotiations about the fate of the new arena but so far the anthems. This time there will be a nationwide presiden- relocation boat is DRIFTING… country to replace aging pipe, Georgia is way ahead of the curve compared tial search, as KSU’s boat DRIFTS… Walter Rabon Jr., a deputy commissioner for the Georgia to other states withh newer programs that are twice as costly as ours.