Gainesville a fresh wellspring of political influence

By Bill Torpy

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

For decades, Gainesville has been proud to call itself the Poultry Capital of the World, the birthplace of the modern chicken processing industry.

But, with the latest statewide election, the North Georgia city may have become known as an incubator of a different sort. Gov.-elect Nathan Deal built his political career here, as did Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle, the state’s second-in-command. It’s said to be the first time a Georgia city has had such a one-two punch.

Deal, who moved to Gainesville 42 years ago, fresh out of the Army, says it’s a coincidence. But local boosters say the ascendancy of two hometown pols to head the state is no happenstance, that it is a natural outgrowth of a community where residents are driven to succeed in business, politics and other endeavors.

“It’s a unique aligning of the stars,” said Doug Carter 47, president of a Gainesville real estate firm and the incoming chairman of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce. The city known for a large roster of successful entrepreneurs is indeed a sort of civic incubator for young up-and-comers, he said.

“Gainesville offers leadership roles in volunteerism, politics and business earlier on than in other communities,” Carter said.

The county seat of Hall County, Gainesville has become a conservative bastion. The county turned Republican in the mid-to-late 1990s, a few years before the rest of the state. It’s part metro Atlanta, part North Georgia mountains.

And it’s at the center of several pressing political issues.

The county sits on the shores of Lake Lanier, which is in the center of Georgia’s water war with Alabama and Florida. And explosive growth of the county’s Hispanic population has brought with it the accompanying debate concerning illegal immigration.

Hall County Commissioner Ashley Bell said there is an “activist sensibility” around Gainesville. Talk radio is popular, he said, with syndicated host Martha Zoller and former county commission Chairman Al Gainey broadcasting from Gainesville. Politicians here know how to talk to Georgia’s voters, who are increasingly growing more conservative, he said.

“This is the fourth most conservative congressional district in the country, and Hall County is the anchor of that district,” said Bell. “We’re very competitive here. If you cut your teeth here, you’re given a strong sense of politics, conservatism and leadership, and can succeed.”

Bell, a 30-year-old former president of College Democrats of America and a prime-time speaker at the 2004 Democratic Convention, made news last month when he switched allegiances and became the state’s first African-American elected official in memory to switch parties from Democrat to Republican. It was same move Nathan Deal made nearly 16 years ago as a U.S. Congressman.

“Up here, you have no political future if you’re a Democrat,” said Dan Summer, a local lawyer who calls himself a “right-wing Democrat” and has a Deal campaign poster in his office.

In May 2009, Deal used the home-towny backdrop of the Gainesville courthouse to kick-off his campaign for governor. At the time, Deal was not widely known outside his district, but supporters seemed optimistic. It was this base, and a healthy war chest, that helped catapult him into being a viable statewide contender.

“Any political candidate depends on a strong base and then builds outward,” Deal said in a recent interview. Deal noted he also has family roots in Middle and South Georgia.

Deal moved to Gainesville in 1968 because his wife was from Hall County and he figured it would be a nice medium-sized city to start practicing law. He liked the proximity to — and distance from — Atlanta, which is about 55 miles southwest.

“It’s far enough from Atlanta that it has retained its local flavor,” he said. The city-country feel kept him there, he said. And there were opportunities to flourish.

The poultry industry was booming. And, with the extension of I-985 and the growing popularity of Lake Lanier, Gainesville and Hall County became a destination for business and new residents, Deal said. The area was filled with deep-pocketed businessmen with interests in philanthropy and politics. It was the perfect place for an ambitious young man to launch a successful political career.

Deal built statewide relationships during a decade in the Georgia legislature and then served nearly 18 years as a Congressman without making too many waves — quiet, just like a businessman would operate.

But it was his own personal business dealings that caused Deal his worst political trouble. Deal personally intervened with state officials to preserve a state program that inspects rebuilt salvaged vehicles. Deal and a partner own a Gainesville company that earned $1.5 million from 2004 to 2008 through the program.

Deal maintains he did nothing wrong and simply acted as any business owner would do. He said he was trying to ensure the program would continue to save lives.

The issue never grabbed hold with voters as his opponents had hoped. In Gainesville, people fondly speak of “Nathan” and “Casey” on a first-name basis. A large banner at a business downtown congratulates the governor-elect.

From his cluttered desk, attorney Summer can look out a second-story window of his renovated 1871 building and see the city town square, which is dominated by a statue of a Confederate soldier affectionately known as “Old Joe.”

Summer has renovated seven or eight historic buildings downtown and has watched the square bounce back in recent years. Coffee shops, restaurants, an art gallery and clothing boutiques on the square increasingly draw customers, and the city often sponsors events to increase regional recognition and foot traffic.

On a walking tour of downtown, Summer gushed about the area’s attractions: Historic Brenau University, the fast-growing Northeast Georgia Medical Center, the old railway bed slated to become a biking path and the Quinlan Visual Arts Center.

“It has a progressive, open-minded people willing to take risks,” he said. “It’s tight-knit but nurturing and supportive of outsiders.” Summer paused and added, “It was nurturing to immigrants.”

“The immigrants here thrived until 287(g) [a federal law that allows localities to get involved in immigration enforcement] and some of the harsh rhetoric,” said Summer.

He said local law officials have pushed to deport illegal immigrants after stopping them for minor incidents like traffic offenses. “I think it has hurt the reputation of our community.”

Bell, who sponsored a county resolution to make English the official language, supports the actions. “Gainesville the last 10 years has been ground zero for the failure of the national government’s immigration policy,” he said. “Outsiders say we are insensitive. We don’t look at it that way. People here are pro-assimilation, not anti-immigration.”

In 2009, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated Hall County’s Hispanic population at 27 percent, many working in the poultry and other manufacturing plants. The number has probably diminished, several Gainesville officials believe. Statewide, the Hispanic percentage in was 8 percent in 2009.

Arturo Corso, a Gainesville attorney who handles immigration matters, sees a conflict in the conservative community concerning immigration.

“What is popular with the conservative voter is not necessarily popular with conservative leaders,” he said. “Some of the most conservative people in town, ultra-conservative people, call me asking how they can legalize their immigrant employees.”

Gabriel Sanchez, 20, was born in Gainesville, but he has seen his family leave as work dries up and they fear being deported. “I feel betrayed; we’re the backbone of the community,” he said. “You can’t find anyone like us who will work as hard as us. Americans won’t do the job, at least not for the same pay.”

Deal said on the campaign trail he supports an Arizona-style law, which allows police to question the immigration status of people they stop for other violations. This week, he said immigrants “have provided an important element to the workforce” and supports a “thought-out, narrowly crafted” immigrant worker bill.

Gainesville will be at the center of other political issues the newly elected state government will face in the coming years.

Deal noted Lake Lanier has been a catalyst for growth both in Gainesville and metro Atlanta but an ongoing legal dispute with Florida and Alabama on how much water Georgia can draw from the lake has led him to support building new reservoirs in the state. That promises to be a tricky move that would have to be done as the state cuts hundreds of millions of dollars in spending.

Also the state’s financial environment means those back in Gainesville might not see the lucrative local projects that historically have found its way to the hometowns of Georgia leaders.

“We are indebted to those who gave us that base of support, but we represent the entire state,” Deal said. “We probably will be more conscious of the fact that we can’t appear to be parochial.”