Governor Kemp delivered his final State of the State Address on Thursday. It’s a bittersweet moment.
When I moved to Georgia, the 2018 Governor’s race was well underway. Our endorsement of Brian Kemp was really the first flashpoint of statewide significance for what would eventually become Frontline. And, while it feels so long ago, I still remember sitting in his campaign office before that endorsement, listening to him share what kind of executive he hoped to be for our state.
Everything he said he would do in that meeting, he did. Everything he said about the kind of leader he would be, he has been.
It’s rare for a politician to live up to their campaign rhetoric, but that’s exactly what makes Governor Kemp a unique figure. Lives are saved, girls sports protected, school choice expanded, and religious freedom was restored because of his leadership.
Along with a host of other conservative policies he implemented, Brian Kemp altered the way Georgia politics was done – refusing to cater to big business or special industries who blustered when bold legislation was introduced.
It is fitting that much of the news after his speech focused on how he will allocate one-time expenditures on special projects as a result of a ballooned rainy day fund – the result of a roaring economy created under his watch.
His budget proposals involve a significant spend to improve Georgia’s infrastructure and traffic woes – while still leaving our emergency fund with 4X the resources it had when he took office. Personally, I am counting on him to fix the atrocious traffic in Peachtree City 😊.
