House minority leader talks politcal behavior

     Dubose Porter, the minority leader in the Georgia House of Representatives, spoke on campus Tuesday, Nov. 13 about his experiences in the House. The event was sponsored by Pi Sigma Alpha.
     Porter, a democrat, spoke to a political behavior class in the A&S Auditorium and discussed the political behavior – and misbehavior – of the people in charge of Georgia’s government.
     “(Republican Governor) Sonny Perdue does not have an agenda that moves Georgia forwards. Georgia has moved backwards,” Porter said. “Perdue is not available to legislators, and I had to fight with him for priorities in Georgia.”
     Porter recalled trying to get a meeting with the new Governor when Perdue first entered office and used the story to explain how deal making tends to work at the capitol.
     According to Porter, Perdue cancelled meetings with him on three separate occasions, only sitting down to speak with him when the governor needed Porters vote.
     Porter and the governor have clashed over many issues since Perdue took office in 2003, but by far the most contentious issue has been the HOPE Scholarship.
     Porter was Chairman of the House of Higher Education Committee, and was one of the politicians most instrumental in the creation of the HOPE Scholarship.
     “It provides more people with more opportunities to improve their quality of life,” Porter said. “It built this campus (GCSU) to the greatness that it is.”
     Porter had disagreed strongly with the Governor about the changes to HOPE Scholarship, however.
     “His administration, this governor, has made changes that have been horrible to this state,” Porter said. “Its true impact is one-third of students who would be qualified (with a ‘B’ average) do not qualify with a 3.0.”
     He cited that a lack of a uniform grading system throughout the state made this policy unfair, particularly for under-funded schools in rural areas.
     “There are four things the Georgia Lottery pays for,” Porter explained. “Pre-K, technology, construction and HOPE. If we had to put all the money into HOPE, K-12 would never receive one penny from the lottery.”
     “If people keep buying lottery tickets, the future looks bright,” Porter said. “We had another record breaking year this year (in ticket sales).”
     At the end of his talk, the floor was opened up for questions, which ranged from the sewage situation in Atlanta to his stance on the current housing crisis. He was also asked about how he would keep HOPE afloat if lotto sales declined.
     “I’m not opposed to using General Funds,” he said. “Access to higher education is one of the higher priorities in this state. I would (use those funds).”
     When asked if he intended to run for governor in the 2010 election, Porter wasn’t ready to commit to an answer.
     “It depends,” Porter said. “I’ve got to get through another election cycle. If we can raise enough resources and unify the Democratic Party, we will certainly look at that.”
     Porter, a native of Dublin, Ga., was first elected to the Georgia House of Representatives in 1982. From 1991-1992 he served then Governor Zell Miller as the Floor Leader for the Democrat Party.
     Currently he serves as representative for District 119, and is Chairman of the House of Education Committee and Chairman of the Higher Education Committee.

Posted by Colonnade Archives on Nov 16 2007. Filed under News. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can leave a response or trackback to this entry