GAINESVILLE – If you didn’t secure your tickets weeks ago to the annual Greater Hall Chamber of Commerce Eggs & Issues Breakfast, you were out of luck. “This Event is Sold Out” was the advisory on the Chamber’s website, indicative of the keen interest in politics that permeates our area.
The annual Question & Answer/Meet & Greet session has been around in some form or fashion for nearly 35-years according to GHCC President and CEO Kit Dunlap. Dunlap credits the willingness of those in the Hall County Legislative Delegation to participate and the community’s political savvy as reasons for the event’s popularity.
A high level of excitement filled the grand ball room at the Gainesville Civic Center Thursday morning as nearly 500-people talked politics and business over breakfast.
Seated nearby “butterflies” might better describe what was in the stomach of Matt Dubnik, District 29 State Representative-Elect. Dubnik termed the breakfast as “his coming out party”.
“It’s kind of like Christmas morning,” Dubnik explained, “you can see a box under the tree with your name on it and you have no clue what’s in it; all you can think is ‘let’s open it and play with that toy’.”
Dubnick was elected last month to the State House of Representatives, replacing long-time (22-years) Representative Carl Rogers. Rogers announced earlier this year that he was not planning to seek re-election.
“It’s that nervous anticipation and excitement,” Dubnik said of sitting on the stage with the rest of the Hall County Legislative Delegation to answer questions about the 2017 General Assembly, just over three weeks away.
Dubnik pointed at his predecessor, saying Rogers had been his biggest advocate and advisor as he prepared for the opening of the Georgia General Assembly in Atlanta. He said he had experienced nothing but support and offers of help from the other Delegation members.
A last minute addition to the Eggs & Issues program was the arrival of 9th U.S. District Congressman Doug Collins. Collins spoke briefly about the excitement in the nation’s capital over the incoming administration under President-elect Donald Trump.
“For those in business, get ready: some of those regulatory burdens hopefully will be lifted,” Collins said much to the delight of Chamber of Commerce members.
Later Collins told Access WDUN that he felt Trump’s nominees for key cabinet posts bode well for American business.
“I think the appointments have said, we’re committed to our county…to a fiscally sound government, committed to making sure that things work,” Collins said.
And that, Collins continued, “…people that get up and go to work every day are thought of first, and that any regulatory burden would be a regulatory burden that is needed and not over-reaching.”
Lieutenant Governor Casey Cagle followed Collins to the stage and said that on a state level continuing the direction Georgia was heading would be the focus of Governor Nathan Deal’s remaining two years in office.
Cagle said bringing more jobs to Georgia, fueled by having job-ready citizens trained by a strong educational system, would sit atop the list of state priorities.
But, Cagle explained, as Georgia continues to experience growth (now the 8th most populous state in the nation), transportation, including regional transit, and water-supply would be the issues needing the most attention under the Gold Dome at the state capital.
“I’m excited about where we are today but more importantly about where we are going,” Cagle said, concluding his comments.
For the next 45-minutes the members of the Hall County Delegation – District 49 State Senator Butch Miller, District 50 State Senator John Wilkinson, District 27 State Representative Lee Hawkins, District 29 State Representative-Elect Matt Dubnik, and District 30 State Representative Emory Dunahoo – fielded a variety of questions from the audience covering topics ranging from Medicaid in Georgia to legalization of medical cannabis oil and casino gambling.
Overall there was uniformity of opinion by the Hall County Legislative Delegation on most of the matters brought up, but the times opinions differed underscored the fact that there remains a lot of work to be done during the forty days of the 154th Georgia General Assembly that gets underway promptly at 10:00 a.m., Monday, January 9, 2017.
http://accesswdun.com/article/2016/12/481413/annual-eggs-issues-breakfast-sets-stage-for-2017-state-legislative-session