On Friday, a new Administration took over the reins of power in Washington and for the first time since 2006, the Republican Party will control the White House, both chambers in Congress, and Georgia’s state government.
The voters who elected this Republican majority are excited about the prospects of campaign promises becoming actual policy that will make their lives, our state, and our country better.
Some skepticism is unfortunately also needed. The pit of “politics as usual” has historically been far too easy for new leaders to fall into as backroom deals appear a lot more enticing than keeping your word.
Many have said that Donald Trump was an unorthodox candidate. I hope that unorthodoxy extends to avoiding the “politics as usual” trap. Personally, I believe he will succeed, because, like me, he is a business owner – not someone whose career has been politics.
In business, you won’t get very far with empty promises and empty rhetoric. I keep a list of my campaign promises on my desk so I can check them off as we accomplish different initiatives. Seeing a long list of checkmarks gives me a sense of pride in honoring my promises, but also focuses me on the work that remains to be done. I believe President Trump will lead in much the same way.
For example, when I ran for Secretary of State I pledged to streamline Georgia’s corporate filing system, launch a new voter registration system, and speed up processing times for licensees.
Over the last few years, the office has launched eCorp, an online filing system that saves taxpayer dollars by eliminating paper while giving business owners the convenience of renewing their corporation with just one click.
We have also launched a new voter registration system. It allows voters to register online, track their absentee ballot, find their polling place, view a sample ballot, as well as easing the burden on local elections offices.
Processing times have been dramatically reduced for professional license applications. When I took office, a licensee waited weeks for application processing; now these Georgians can get to work within days due to e-government solutions implemented by my administration.
During my time in public service, I have also unapologetically advocated for cutting government red tape and empowering small business owners in Georgia. We have done that in the Secretary of State’s office by launching the Cut Red Tape initiative, and I am proud that many of my ideas were included this year in Senate Bill 2. I am thankful my good friends, senators Mike Dugan, R-Carrollton, and Bill Cowsert, R-Athens, are pushing my initiatives forward.
Of course, first drafts of legislation are never perfect.
As SB2 moves through the legislative process, I trust that leaders in the State Senate will respect our local leaders and protect the sovereignty of local government, but this is a good first step toward supporting small business owners in our state.
These are just some of the good things we are doing in Georgia to make it a better state to live, work, and raise a family. It is the Georgia way – to make promises and to keep them.
Republican leaders on all levels of government have a historic opportunity to redefine “politics as usual” by honoring our campaign promises.
Donald Trump promised to “Make America Great Again” and, with a business-minded approach that rejects mediocrity and a “we’ve always done it this way” attitude, I am confident that he will check that campaign promise off the list.
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