Published Wednesday, May 12, 2010

Kemp praises support from elected officials
By Jeff Bishop

The Times-Herald

 

Georgia Secretary of State Brian Kemp told supporters Tuesday morning in Newnan that he feels good about the backing he's getting around the state as the July primary date nears.

"I'm so humbled to have folks like you all who have gotten on board with us early," he told local supporters, including Arthur B. "Skin" Edge, former state senator, and current State Representatives Lynn Smith, Billy Horne, and Sen. Mitch Seabaugh. Kemp spoke at a breakfast at Ten East Washington restaurant in Newnan.

"We've had a lot of strong, early support from a lot of elected officials from all over the state," in every county, said Kemp, who was recently appointed to his position by Gov. Sonny Perdue when Karen Handel resigned to run for governor full-time.

"We're getting our message out," Kemp said.

The message is that "we need common sense in government," Kemp said. His background as a small business owner has given him plenty of real-world experience when it comes to trimming budgets and remaining accountable, he said.

Kemp said that he voluntarily cut his own salary and streamlined operations at the Secretary of State's operations to cut millions from the office's budget.

"We reduced our budget by $3 million, out of a $26 million budget," said Kemp. "We're looking to save another half a million in 2011."

Government has to be willing to make the same tough choices American households are facing in times of economic uncertainty, he said.

"We're not only going to save money, but also make our office that much more efficient," said Kemp. "We continue to look at ways to do more with less."

Technology is providing one way for the secretary of state's office to offer more and better services for less money, he said. One example is this week's election to fill the seat of Congressman Nathan Deal in North Georgia. A bar code scanner is being used to examine driver's licenses, "and the information immediately pops up," he said.

"This is saving us 15 to 20 seconds per person," said Kemp. For small elections that may not add up to much, but for the next presidential election the cumulative difference in wait times will be enormous, he said.

"You can imagine how that's going to speed up the process," said Kemp.

On the secretary of state's Web site, absentee ballots can be tracked and sample ballots can be found. Georgians can even find their voting precinct.

"It's a great way to educate the voters without spending a lot of money," he said. Thirty-five state licenses are now renewable online, said Kemp, "and we should have 50 by the end of the year."

The secretary of state's office "handles a lot of the business functions of government," Kemp said. "We regulate securities, run the state archives, and work with business people every day."

He said that it's important to focus on the needs of business and economic development, because "with 10 percent unemployment, we need all hands on deck."

Kemp said he's particularly interested in finding ways to meet the needs of existing industries in Georgia.

"Sometimes we forget about the existing businesses we have here," he said. "We need to cut the red tape for them, when we can. We have to get outdated regulations out of the way, when we can do it without hurting consumer protections or the environment."

Kemp said that he is a respected former state senator who understands how the legislative process works. In fact, he said, he successfully managed to pass legislation to ease the voting process for military personnel serving overseas.

"It's important that every one of their votes gets counted," he said.

Kemp said he is the type of secretary of state who "listens to what the people need," and he is committed to doing just that.

"People want leaders who do what they say they are going to do," said Kemp. "We are implementing these things, and with your help, we are going to continue to do that for the next four years."

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