Jason Esteves floats $1 billion fund to help small businesses

Today’s newsletter highlights:

• Mike Collins takes shots at his Republican U.S. Senate rivals.
• Decline of high school graduates will impact college enrollments.
• Marvin Lim pushes to pay teachers more for teaching English as a second language.

Business perks

The water storage tank at the Hyundai EV factory site in Ellabell features artwork designed by Savannah College of Art and Design students.

In the last campaign for Georgia’s top job, Gov. Brian Kemp’s Republican rival turned the mega tax breaks used to land Hyundai and other headline-grabbing economic development projects into an attack line.

Now it’s surfacing again in another race for governor — but with a twist. At stops in his hometown of Columbus on Wednesday, Democratic state Sen. Jason Esteves said he would preserve massive incentive packages to lure huge projects, which sometimes top $1 billion.

But the gubernatorial candidate also proposed creating a separate $1 billion fund for low-interest loans designed to help small businesses. He said it could help generate 30,000 to 50,000 jobs a year.

“We can attract new businesses into the state, but at the same time, we should be supporting our small business owners who are taking chances, taking risks on small towns and rural counties across the state,” he said.

State Sen. Jason Esteves (center) D-Atlanta, is a candidate for governor.

The lucrative taxpayer-funded perks used to recruit major businesses have come under increasing scrutiny from both parties.

Republican U.S. Senate candidate Mike Collins is among the conservatives who have criticized the $1.5 billion state and local incentive package tied to the $5 billion proposed Rivian plant in his northeast Georgia district.

And Democrats warn that the GOP-sponsored tax and spending law rolling back federal green energy incentives could undercut the state subsidies used to land major electric vehicle and battery manufacturing projects.

Supporters counter that these big-ticket incentives are essential to secure high-tech, high-paying projects in a fiercely competitive environment.

Things to know

State Senate candidate Ashwin Ramaswami campaigned in Suwanee last September, but eventually lost the election.

Good morning! We’re just four days away from the start of the candidate qualifying period for the November municipal elections.

Here are three other things to know for today:

• Atlanta Beltline officials unveiled a $3.5 billion plan that details a near complete route and price tag for transit along the popular 22-mile loop of parks and trails, the AJC’s Sara Gregory reports.
• Ashwin Ramaswami, a Democrat who lost to Republican state Sen. Shawn Still last year, has sued Still and a political consulting firm for defamation, the AJC’s Michelle Baruchman reports.
• A federal appeals court questioned whether providing food and water to voters waiting in line is a form of free speech protected by the First Amendment, the AJC’s Mark Niesse reports.

Shots fired

Republican U.S. Senate candidates (left to right); U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, Derek Dooley and U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter.

At a Muscogee County GOP meeting this week, U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, R-Jackson, delivered some of his most pointed attacks yet on his Republican Senate rivals, casting himself as the only candidate ready to take on Democratic incumbent Jon Ossoff.

On U.S. Rep. Buddy Carter, R-St. Simons Island:

• “Great guy, like him a lot. He’s a friend. Folks, you spend $3 million on ads, and you don’t move the needle, and you’re still running percentage points way behind me and I’m not in the race. That doesn’t mean you’re a bad person. Means you just didn’t fit.”

On former football coach Derek Dooley:

• “I don’t know about y’all, but I don’t know this guy. Matter of fact, I can’t even tell where he voted until 2024. The guy’s had 12 jobs in 10 locations and been gone from here for 25 years. We need somebody that is proven sitting in that seat … . We don’t need to go with a childhood friend and an experiment for something that is that important.”

Carter didn’t immediately comment on the ribbing. But Dooley shot back:

• “It’s not surprising that typical politicians like Congressman Collins start panicking when their dream of another political promotion is in danger. I get it. My focus is on earning the support of the people of Georgia, beating Jon Ossoff, and then bringing some commonsense leadership to the Senate.”

Graduation deadline

More people are graduating from high school than ever before. Don’t get used to it.

The total number of high school graduates are projected to tank after this year — dropping 13% by 2041. That’s according to an analysis by the Western Interstate Commission for Higher Education.

The reason is simple: fewer people are having children. Birth rates started to decline in 2008 during the Great Recession. The kids that were born then are just now preparing for college.

Aside from making many of us feel old, the drop-off has big implications for colleges and universities trying to grow their enrollments. It’s something University System of Georgia Chancellor Sonny Perdue acknowledged this week.

“We’ve got to go fish somewhere else,” he said.

His plan is to get universities to focus on adult learners, saying there are at least 1.4 million Georgians who have not finished their degrees.

“Get them back in the door and let’s get them graduated in that regard,” he said. “That’s what we’re planning to do.”

English learners

State Rep. Marvin Lim, D-Norcross, spoke at a news conference at the Capitol in Atlanta on Wednesday.

When state Rep. Marvin Lim moved to the U.S. from the Philippines at age 7, his parents were fairly fluent in English. But Lim said he learned English in public schools, which he needed to progress through the state’s English-only school system.

Now, Lim wants to change the state’s education funding formula so school districts can pay more money to teachers certified to teach English as a second language.

“Those who are getting certified are simply not choosing to teach it because they’re not necessarily getting paid more,” said Lim, a Democrat from Norcross. “We’re not incentivizing those teachers for their time and expertise.”

Lim’s proposal is part of House Bill 796, introduced last year by state Rep. Karen Lupton, D-Chamblee, to update the state’s 40-year-old school funding formula. Lupton noted the formula is the same age as Whitney Houston’s version of the hit song “Greatest Love of All,” which begins with the line: “I believe the children are our future.”

“Even what we can call a fully funded … formula is a 40-year-old formula that is not meeting the needs of our modern classrooms,” she said Wednesday during a news conference at the Capitol.

Collins’ captains

U.S. Rep. Mike Collins, R-Jackson, is running for the Senate in next year's GOP primary.

Mike Collins’ U.S. Senate campaign says it now has a statewide network with grassroots organizers deployed in all of Georgia’s 159 counties.

Some campaigns take months or even more than a year to build this kind of network. Collins did so just two weeks after he announced his Senate bid — impressing even supporters of his rivals.

Now, Collins says he has 413 “convoy captains” across the state — a nod to his history in the trucking industry.

For context, other Republicans seeking higher office have yet to publish similar lists.

It’s also noteworthy that Collins compared his campaign organization to that of Gov. Brian Kemp, who is backing former football coach Derek Dooley’s U.S. Senate bid.

In a news release, Collins’ campaign noted the Republican governor had 253 county leaders across the state when he launched his reelection campaign in 2022.

Dooley, meanwhile, is starting to build his own grassroots network. He’s had a spate of fundraisers and meetings since entering the race, including stops in Augusta, Cherry Log, Cook County, Dublin, Macon, Metter, Statesboro, Valdosta and Waycross.

Listen up

Michael Thurmond attended his final event as the DeKalb County CEO in late December. He is now a Democratic candidate for governor.

Today on the “Politically Georgia” podcast former DeKalb County CEO Michael Thurmond talks about his campaign for Georgia governor. The longtime Democrat reflects on lessons from past campaigns, his vision for bridging political divides, and urgent issues he says Georgia must address — from Medicaid expansion to rural economic recovery.

You can listen and subscribe to Politically Georgia for free at Apple Podcasts, Spotify or wherever you get your podcasts.

Have a question or comment for the show? Email us at politicallygeorgia@ajc.com or give us a call at 770-810-5297 and you could be featured on a future episode.

Town Hall

Atlanta City Council member Andrea Boone is co-hosting a town hall tonight.

U.S. Rep. Nikema Williams and Atlanta City Council member Andrea Boone are teaming up to host a town hall meeting tonight focused on President Donald Trump’s tax and spending law known as the “big, beautiful bill.”

Hundreds of people are expected to pack Jackson Memorial Baptist Church in west Atlanta for the 6 p.m. event.

Williams, a Democrat from Atlanta, and Boone have said the event will cover the ways the law will impact “billionaire tax breaks, Medicaid cuts, and you.”

“A lot of elected officials are shying away from town halls, but we believe people have a right to be heard and a right to address their elected leaders in person whenever possible,” Boone said in a news release.

Trump today

President Donald Trump will receive an intelligence briefing and then speak at the White House to celebrate the 90th anniversary of the Social Security Act.

Shoutouts

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