Dismal job market drives labor commissioner race

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Posted 8:00AM on Monday, October 14, 2002

ATLANTA - Georgia lost 89,000 jobs last year after a decade of healthy expansion, and the floundering labor market is heating up the race for state labor commissioner. Two challengers are hoping the job losses will help them unseat Democrat Michael Thurmond, a tough task because the office gets little attention and is considered safe for incumbents. Thurmond himself concedes the picture isn't rosy for the economy in Georgia, a state that's become accustomed to rapid job growth and rising incomes. Atlanta lost 60,000 jobs last year, many in transportation and technology, according to state estimates. The textile industry in north Georgia has struggled as manufacturers left the country. Paper mills have shut down. "Georgia has been hard hit by the national recession," said Thurmond, 49. "But what I'm very proud of is how we've responded to the situation." That response is likely to be the top issue in a statewide race that has drawn little interest, even as polls show that the economy is a top voter concern. Thurmond said Georgia is well-suited to bounce back when the economy turns around because unemployment centers have been updated to better match workers with jobs. The commissioner oversees unemployment benefits, tracks the jobless rate and manages job training funds. In 1998, Thurmond became the first black elected statewide without being appointed to the job first. He was a former state representative who oversaw then-Gov. Zell Miller's welfare-to-work plan as head of the state Department of Family and Child Services. Republican Richard McGee thinks he can do a better job. A small businessman from Waycross who was once a deputy labor commissioner, McGee said Thurmond approaches the job as a government bureaucrat. McGee said he would put greater emphasis on helping businesses find workers, not helping jobless people take advantage of the state. McGee said fraud is rampant in collections for unemployment checks and that bogus claims are draining state resources that could be used to create jobs. "The attitude today is to pay pretty much whoever comes in. Unemployment is not designed as a means of living, it's designed to be temporary. But that's not what's happening," said McGee, 63. A libertarian candidate in the race, William Costa, is also making unemployment benefits a major platform in his bid to become the first libertarian elected statewide. The Atlanta businessman said companies should pay less for unemployment insurance, and workers should be able to buy their own unemployment insurance. "This department is being run like a big employment agency," said Costa, 34. "I have no problem with the department of labor tracking jobs and working with the department of education to develop the labor pool. But to actually be out there trying to get someone a job, that's better done by the private sector." Both Thurmond's challengers would like to see less reliance on unemployment checks, even though Georgia ranks near the middle in the amount it pays the jobless. Georgia ranks 29th in unemployment benefits, which top out below $300 a week. Massachusetts pays up to $715 a week. All three candidates agree with the state's policy not to aggressively woo auto manufacturers with excessive tax breaks. Alabama and South Carolina have both attracted auto makers in recent years, and while state officials are in talks with DaimlerChrysler to bring a plant to rural Pooler, there's been no announcement of a deal. "It is true that you can't give away the store," McGee said. The candidates will debate Oct. 20 in Atlanta.