Casey Cagle officially joins GOP field in crowded governor’s race

DULUTH — Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle made his bid for governor official at the Infinite Energy Theater in Duluth on Sunday by making some big promises.

Cagle is expected to face a crowded GOP field in next year’s governor’s race, with Secretary of State Brian Kemp and state Sen. Hunter Hill already announcing their plans to run for the office. Several other state officials, including Speaker of the House David Ralston, are rumored to be mulling bids for the seat as well.

Cagle pledged to create 500,000 new jobs in four years and to get a $100 million tax cut passed in the 2019 General Assembly session. Those are big numbers, but they are also goals that the lieutenant governor asserted can be attainable.

“I have a vision for this state — a more prosperous Georgia,” Cagle told the Gwinnett Daily Post. “As governor of this state, I will lead on jobs. … I want you to know I will lead on regulatory reform. The first act I will do is to bring agencies together to create an economic development liaison to push through the bureaucracy so businesses can get their permits, get their doors open and hire people here in Georgia.”

The lieutenant governor outlined an aggressive list of goals that he said he plans to accomplish if elected. In addition to his job proposal and the tax cut, Cagle also said he wants to bring state transportation agencies together to work on a 10-year strategic plan for Georgia’s transportation infrastructure.

He committed to having a transit needs assessment done for metro Atlanta to look at where transit expansion is needed.

After the announcement, Cagle explained the tax cuts would include a $12,000 tax exemption for families of four and indexing the personal exemption and standard deduction to inflation.

“It will serve as putting government on a diet as well as where we live within our means, just like every other Georgian has to do,” Cagle said. “So we will be committed obviously to fiscal stewardship (and) protecting the Triple-A bond rating, as we have over the years.”

Later this week, Cagle will make his first appearance in Albany since making his announcement. On Wednesday, he’ll make a stop at Nonami Plantation at 9 a.m.