Sunday, April 23, 2006

What Has Cathy Cox Ever Done?

Let's just get this out of the way. Cox and Taylor both support the HOPE scholarship, and while that's a good thing, simply supporting HOPE does not alone qualify someone to become Governor. If that were the case, hundreds of thousands of people would be standing in line. The real question we have to answer is, whose experience would make them the best Governor?

Taylor-ites are fond of reciting their candidate's resume that, frankly, reflects more about what Mark has done at the behest of others like his father, Governor Miller and Governor Barnes than what he has initiated on his own. For the last three years, during the Perdue years, without someone else's agenda to carry, Taylor's role has been largely ceremonial.

Yet, Taylor-ites are fond of asking, "What has Cathy Cox Ever Done?", as if there could not possibly be an answer to that question.

It's one thing for Taylor supporters to spout this Dent-generated rhetoric. They may not know better. It is quite another thing for the Taylor campaign to intentionally generate this inaccurate perception one of the the best and most accomplished leaders in our state, Cathy Cox.

Not only does she, like Taylor, have legislative experience, but she also has administrative experience that includes setting the agenda for her department, hiring and supervising a staff of 300 and managing a budget- all things that sound a lot like what a Governor would do!

Here are some facts about what Cathy Cox has already done for Georgia:

1) A Record of Service: Both in her faith and in her early community service, Cathy Cox embraced the concept of servant leadership, volunteering in her church and in her community, choosing service that included becoming a volunteer firefighter.

2) Commitment to the People: As a legislator, Cathy Cox continued her common sense approach to public service and, then as now, kept the needs of her constituents at the heart of her agenda, advocating for tax cuts and investment in education and infrastructure.

3) Ability to Lead: Those who served with her in the legislature, like Judge Billy Randall, speak of her ability to organize and lead others during her term of service.

4) Commitment to Open, Ethical Government: As Secretary of State, Cox demonstrated her commitment to public access to government by creating an award winning, state of the art website that provided the average Georgia with unprecedented access to information about businesses, elections and campaign finance.

5) Fiscal Soundness: Also, as Secretary of State, Cox has demonstrated her ability to be an administrator. She manages one of the larger state agencies, supervising over 300 employees. And in that administrative role, she managed her budget so effectively that she has been able to return hundreds of thousands of dollars to Georgia taxpayers, every single year.

6) Commitment to All of Georgia: Cox knows that Georgia does not stop at the boundaries of the metro counties. In her tenure as Secretary of State, Cox ordered the biggest decentralization in Georgia government history, moving her largest operating division, the licensing division from Atlanta to Macon, creating many midstate jobs in the process.

7) Commitment to Seniors: Through her Securities division, Cox engaged in an aggressive campaign to protect out most vulnerable citizens from investment fraud.

8) Commitment to Voting Access and Accuracy: Cox implemented the nation's first electronic voting system and moved Georgia from 47th to 2nd in voter access and accuracy.

9) Commitment to Business: Cox, through her Corporations Division, made Georgia a leader in e-commerce and began providing many services via e-mail and the Internet.

These are just a few of the things that Cathy Cox has done. Never one to sit on her hands or wait for someone else to lead, Cathy's record of service and her vision for the future of Georgia make her the best choice for Governor.

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5 comments:

politically blonde said...

you also forgot ability to inspire Georgians across racial and party lines for the better good of our state. Something Mark Taylor will never, ever be able to do, no matter how much weight he throws around...of off.

Button Gwinnett said...

Wow Amy, you really did a great job of laying out Cathy's accomplishments. It's not just fluff. It's reality. Because of Cathy's time as SoS, Georgia is better off in many of the areas that the office has influence over. If only we had a governor that we could say the same thing about.

Cathy is a worker, a do'er, a transformer, and a natural leader. And that's why it's so easy to get behind her and help her to help us.

Amy Morton said...

Msatl: What questions do you want Cathy to answer?

Amy Morton said...

I expect her to say what the problems are, and she does, and she not only offers solutions but her track record demonstrates that she has the ability to solve problems. I don't know where you have heard her speak, but I have never seen her back up from answering questions.

Insider deals? Am I the only person in Georgia who feels that big government, big business and lobbyists have say so, but the average Georgian does not? Cathy intends to change that and advocates for real ethics reform.

Brittany Andrews said...
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