You could say our relationship is defined by fast cars, big boats and life in the fast lane.
It’s true that we teamed up with Porsche to move its North American headquarters to a site next to Atlanta’s airport; it’s also true we work hand in hand to deepen the Port of Savannah to accommodate the bigger ships soon to pass through an expanded Panama Canal; and we did travel to Washington together to get funding to build HOT lanes on the northwest corridor of I-75 and I-575.
With all that in mind, what really defines my relationship with Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed is our shared commitment to bringing good jobs to Georgians.
Our efforts aren’t about ribbon cuttings. They are big-picture projects that aim to spur economic development for the Atlanta region and the state for the next generation.
That eye on the next generation, for example, is why we have joined forces in the tough effort to save the accreditation of Atlanta Public Schools. On a happier note, it’s why we visited Drew Charter School in East Lake this week to celebrate it receiving a $1 million Innovation Fund grant.
The goals we pursue in tandem — economic development and educating our young people to compete in a global economy — cut across partisan lines.
Next year, Kasim Reed and I will work on opposite sides in the presidential race, but we’ll speak with one voice to encourage Georgians — Democrats and Republicans, liberals and conservatives — to support the T-SPLOST referendum.
Putting that proposal into law will create jobs building and improving our roads and bridges, it will empower each region of the state to set its own priorities, and it will give the mayor and me a great answer when business recruits ask us, “But what about the traffic?”
Nathan Deal is Georgia’s governor.
