Last week, Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp talked to journalists throughout the state, one-on-one, letting them ask questions of concerns about their communities.
WRBL News 3 reporter Chuck Williams was the only journalist from the Columbus area to sit down with Kemp as the governor starts his second year in office.
According to a recent post by Siti di Scommesse – in the 20-minute interview, they talked about gangs, casinos, the movie industry in Georgia, budget cuts and about new U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler. Kemp appointed Loeffler and she took office on Monday.
The entire interview can be watched on the link above.
Here are some excerpts from the interview:
On gangs …
“We need to do something about it. That’s why I proposed the Gang Task force in the campaign and that’s why last year in the General Assembly we funded the start-up of the Gang Task Force.”
On casino gambling being proposed for the state …
“We have so much going for us in our state that I don’t think we need that in our state, but I think you have a lot of communities like Columbus that have legislators like Calvin Smyre and other good friends of mine, that will have better success like the best casino online in PA, for example. And if it’s going to happen, they want it to happen in their community. Part of the problem is if you do one, you are going to have multiple casinos and I don’t think that’s good for our state.”
On the possibility of curtailing the state incentives offered to filmmakers to work in the state …
“Reserving judgment. One of the issues that things may pop up during the session that may not have been on the radar six months out.”
On statewide budget cuts …
“I have been amazed at how much money state agencies have saved on phone expenses and computer expenses. By simply asking how many phones do we have? Looking at the usage and seeing if we need all of these landlines. A good example is the governor’s mansion. There were phones everywhere in that place and we got rid of so many lines. I haven’t used a landline in the governor’s mansion since I have been there. The same thing was going on in other agencies.”
On new U.S. Sen. Kelly Loeffler, who was a controversial appointment and did not appear to be the choice of President Donald Trump …
“I think the president wants to have somebody who’s going to be up in the swamp fighting with him to change the swamp. And that’s exactly what I have sent him. An outside business person who has spent their adulthood in the private sector and not in the government. Much like the president. Much like Sen. David Perdue.”
