Carter Delivers Harsh Critique of Deal’s State of the State

“If you’re a small business or a regular middle class family, chances are you’re feeling forgotten,” said Carter. 

The 38-year-old Decatur resident blasted Deal’s handling of the child welfare system as a “moral failure” and said the governor’s proposed $547 million spending increase on education is an election year ploy.

“Georgia has the fourth worst graduation rate. Almost three quarters of our school districts have stopped teaching students the full 180 days per year. There’s simply less educating going in Georgia today.”

Carter said schools are in crisis. He proposed separating education from the budget process so lawmakers can’t play politics with it.

“Today, our education budget is a shell game. A separate education fund will make investment in education our state’s top priority every year, even in the hard times. Especially in the hard times,” said Carter.

He blamed Deal for a steep drop in technical college enrollment and made light of the governor’s frequent references to Site Selection magazine’s endorsement of the business environment statewide.

“It’s nice to have a magazine say you’re pro-business but if you’ve decimated the technical colleges in this state the way this governor has and you’ve denied businesses the skilled, trained workers that they need, you’re hurting Georgia’s businesses, not helping them,” said Carter.

He didn’t mention his famous grandfather, former President Jimmy Carter, but cited his roots as a ninth generation Georgian coming from a long line of farmers, businessmen, and Sunday School teachers.