Radio Daze

My appearance on the Al Gainey show today reminded me of a bushwhack debate I had in South Hall last year when my 5 minutes to give opening remarks turned out to be less than three. Although told "This will be by phone for 8-10 minutes live," I was told at just over the two minute mark that I had one minute to wrap things up. Interestingly enough, the average time my fellow candidates had was 7 minutes. I am told I should have expected to get less than half the time the Republicans did, but I never really thought Al Gainey would do that. I'm sure he was just coming up against a hard break as the other candidate interviews had run long. In any event, had I been given equal time, the interview might have gone something like the following:

AL: Good Morning Paul Wayne Godfrey

PAUL: Good Morning Al. You know, the last time we talked we agreed on an issue-the disparity in water rates in Hall County versus the city of Gainesville. And lo and behold, the city addressed those disparities and layed out a plan that will make the rates more equitable. I had thought about seeing if we could agree on some issues this time.

AL: You are running for the 25 district seat vacated by James Mills. Why don't you tell us something about yourself and why you are running?

PAUL: Well, I'm Dr. Paul Wayne Godfrey. I served 23 years in the military and retired a Lt. Colonel, then I spent 15 years teaching people how to learn a career and get a job. I am retired from both now and want to continue that service I have given throughout my life.

AL: Tell us what you think are the major issues facing Georgia today?

PAUL: Well, for me there are four major issues. They all revolve around money, and that's the issue of jobs. We seem to have reached a dry spell in attracting jobs into Georgia, and this needs to be addressed.
Another area is people. For example, take the area relating to support of our veterans. Veteran Health care is an issue that the American Legion Post 328 in South Hall has been concerned about. Now, the recent VA decision to expand clinic services in South Hall is one example of the kind of support the veterans should have. As a Veteran and a Legionnaire myself, I applaud that addition, as I know you do as well. But, there are other issues relating to our Veterans that we need to address, especially as they come home from the wars. We certainly don't want a Tommy attitude like we had after the Vietnam War. Rudyard Kipling captured this sentiment in his poem Tommy. Part of it goes:
For it's Tommy this, an' Tommy that, an' "Chuck him out, the brute!"
But it's "Saviour of 'is country" when the guns begin to shoot;
A problem in being accepted into a major state college by a local veteran is an indicator of what I'm talking about. His score on the graduate school entrance exam, the GRE, was second only to one person that college accepted for the program. Although he was accepted by another state college, I fear the turn down may have been motivated by that anti-Tommy attitude.
AL: You've got one minute to wrap things up.
IF I had been given the time-
PAUL. On the bright side, I'm happy to say that efforts by our local government to support our troops, such as the Library systems support for the Legion sponsored "Stand Down" a couple of weekends ago to help homeless and unemployed Veterans, and Wounded Warriors, have been praiseworthy.
Another area that I think we owe people is that of our senior citizens. Many are on fixed income and often have to choose between medicines and food when managing their budgets. But just when they have it balance, lo here comes their property tax bill. Now, true, many can reduce this with their Homestead exemption if their income is well below the poverty level. I think they should be able to exempt all property taxes that do not pay for services they receive when they are 65 or older, but at least, the threshold that lets seniors exempt needs to be raised above the poverty level.. The recent action in the state house to lower the age at which some tax benefits can be realized are encouraging, but I think we should do more.
Well, as you know, a good portion of our property taxes go to pay for education. Now, as a former teacher myself, I absolutely support education, but education dollars need to focus on the classroom and not the boardrooms of the school administrators. I believe if we consciously applied that principal, we would find the education levels of Georgia's students to be the envy of the nation, like we are now in postsecondary workforce education. Education for Georgians is a major thing that will help those out of work find work, and especially workforce education. That's why I believe that every unemployed Georgian receiving unemployment should be afforded the opportunity and incentivized to at least enroll in a job education program like those delivered by our technical colleges. That will not only prepare them for new jobs, but also help bring in businesses by offering businesses an educated and prepared work force.
Now, everything costs money, especially when the government does it. That's why I believe we need to find ways to foster cooperative work among our states multiple levels of government. Consolidation of services has a potential of significant cost savings, as does having joint planning projects so that all local and state governments are pursuing the same goals. We need this same level of cooperation among the state representatives who have the interests of their district at heart. We need to recognize that South Georgia and Metro Atlanta may have different priorities and we need to work cooperatively and address the needs of the entire state, not just one region. I believe the first duty of every member of the Georgia House is to represent their district to the utmost of their abilities, and second, they need to work cooperatively with the other members of the house in doing what is best for Georgia, and I intend to pay attention to these needs.
Of course, there are many more things I could identify that need attention. Why, there were 182 House Bills in 2011 that Survived Crossover day ranging from Coin operated amusement machines (HB 164) to immigration law (HB 87). But one representative can only do so much in one year, and that is the term remaining for this seat. And someone who thinks they can achieve a positive difference with platitudes of good business principals or touts their leadership ability without a plan to lead will get nothing done. In my 23 years military service I commanded three units and was the deputy for the fourth. Leadership principles I understand, but what is most important is a leadership plan. That's what earned the outstanding unit awards.
If I had more time, I could hammer away at more problems. We all know the landscape of house seats is changing and even some of the candidates for this seat will end up in mixed county seats next year. I happen to live in the only district that is drawn to be wholly Hall County. I hope to win this election so I can serve Hall. If I do, I am convinced the people of Hall will see what I can do and elect me to serve them again.