Rick Jackson: Atlanta should retain control of Hartsfield-Jackson
ATHENS — For years, Georgia Republicans have toyed with the idea of a state takeover of Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport, but GOP gubernatorial nominee Rick Jackson isn’t one of them.
“Delta is our main customer, and as long as (they are happy), Georgia doesn’t need to take over the airport, in my opinion,” Jackson said Wednesday at the Georgia Chamber’s annual congressional luncheon.
The city of Atlanta has jurisdiction over Hartsfield-Jackson, but the threat of a state takeover of the world’s busiest airport has lurked in the background of Georgia politics for years.
Republicans in the Georgia Legislature attempted to take over the Atlanta airport during Democratic gubernatorial candidate Keisha Lance Bottoms tenure as Atlanta mayor. Lt. Gov Burt Jones, who was defeated by Jackson in this year’s primary runoff in June, introduced legislation in 2019 that would give the state control of the airport.
After passing the Senate, the legislation stalled in the House and failed to pass before the session ended.
At the time, Bottoms called the effort an attempted “theft” from the people of Atlanta. Republicans said the switch was needed to protect the state’s economic engine from corruption and mismanagement, a slap at Bottoms’ tenure as mayor.
Since the initial discussions by Republican state lawmakers, a state takeover of the airport has become a more remote possibility. A provision in a Federal Aviation Administration bill passed in 2024 and championed by U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock strengthened protections against hostile government takeovers of airports.
The Georgia Chamber luncheon, held annually during the August congressional recess, gives business leaders a chance to hear from and meet members of Georgia’s delegation in person. But the main event this year was dueling appearances from Jackson and Bottoms.
Bottoms did not debut any major platform announcements but used her time on stage to promise to focus on affordable housing, workforce development and supporting business development if voters make her the first Democratic governor in the state in more than 20 years.
“We can be a state that’s great for our Fortune 500 companies, where you can thrive, where thousands of people across the state are able to work for our big companies,” Bottoms said. “But we can also be a great state for those small businesses, for those microbusinesses — giving them an opportunity to compete, giving them an opportunity to access resources that can help their businesses to grow and survive in very difficult times.”
She said developments like Centennial Yards, the mixed-use development begun under Bottoms’ tenure as mayor, showed the importance of collaboration between the government, businesses and community leaders. That collaboration could fuel her tenure as governor as she seeks support for bringing back rural hospitals, apprenticeship programs for young adults and getting more Georgians insured, she said.
Bottoms promised to work to expand Medicaid, long a top Democratic priority but one she framed as nonpartisan.
“It’s not a Republican, independent or Democratic issue,” she said. “This is an issue that is impacting the strength of our state. Because we’ve not expanded Medicaid, nine more hospitals have closed.”
Jackson said he believes in an “intelligent Medicaid expansion,” but he emphasized that his goal was to get people working and off Medicaid.
“I’m not going to measure our state by how many people are on Medicaid,” he said. “I want to measure how many people are on commercial insurance.”
Jackson, a healthcare executive, said he will work to decrease the cost of commercial insurance and promised voters that, if elected, he will implement the most cost-effective healthcare plan because he knows the system “inside and out.”
Jackson’s campaign has touted his business success, and his massive personal fortune is fueling his run for the top state office. But he said that growing up poor and in foster care is what equips him to deal with the state’s affordability crisis.
“When you grow up in the projects like I did … you cannot walk by and see somebody else struggling and just look past it,” Jackson said. “I’m not in this to help people that are rich. I’m in this to help people that need it.”