continued from page port. “Fourteen ….

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port. “Fourteen years ago, I asked to be the chairman of your county commission. Y’all were kind enough to give me that honor. Then, later on, to be your representative at the Georgia State Senate. It has been a meteoric rise; it’s been so kind. The folks in Atlanta realized that I wasn’t going anywhere for a while because I had support back home. Because of that support, I was able to elevate quickly and chair the Appropriations Committee.”

He continued, “A lot of the improvements you see out here behind us – the things we have been able to do in the community both seen and not seen – are because of you. You supported me financially, you supported me overwhelmingly with your vote, and you just supported me as your friend.”

Tillery shared a quote from Zell Miller, which said “If you see a turtle on a fence post, you know that it didn’t get there by itself.” He added, “Well, ladies and gentlemen, in this community tonight, I am the turtle on the fence post thanks to you. As I look through this audience, I can say a personal story about almost each and every one of you about how you helped to put me where I am now.”

He reflected on the things that he has been able to do while serving as a state senator. “There’s a lot of things that I think we have accomplished. When I ran for State Senate nine years ago, I told you I wanted to do three things: I wanted to bring jobs to our community, I wanted to make sure that broadband [was available to Rural Georgia], and I wanted to keep our taxes low,” Tillery explained. “Now, after being in the Senate for 9 years, we’ve been able to do those things. We have job growth that you see everywhere; jobs themselves are not our problem anymore – [our problem is] how we keep up with inflation. We’ve been able to make some areas of rural Toombs, Montgomery, and Wheeler County have faster internet speeds than even the cities – we accomplished that goal. And we reduced the tax burdens on Georgians every single year that I’ve been in office.”

Tillery told attendees that he was asking for a chance to accomplish another set of goals, which are to eliminate the state income tax, fight illegal immigration, defend conservative values, protect constitutional freedom, and reduce crime.

“I think that we should make sure that Georgia’s borders are protected.

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Ashley Nicole and I want our sons and foster sons to grow up in a community where they know right from wrong – where they’re not afraid to say that a man is a man and a woman is a woman, [and] where they grow up with the same faith in God and the same Georgia values that our parents instilled in us,’ he remarked.

“We also think that we need to give something back to all Georgians,” he continued. “You see, the states surrounding us have been able to eliminate their State Income Tax – Florida and Tennessee are already there. For competitive purposes, North Carolina and South Carolina are quickly on their way. If Georgia wants to stay the Empire State of the South, we have to do the same. It isn’t about reducing anymore, it’s about carrying the state income tax as it relates to your personal income tax to zero. I’ve campaigned on this issue, I’ve spoken about this issue, I’ve done what I can as Chairman of Appropriations, and now, I’m asking you for the opportunity to be your Lieutenant Governor and carry it to zero.”

He added, “Georgia families are feeling it – they’re feeling it at the pump, they’re feeling it on their grocery bill, they’re feeling it with everything that has to do with spending in general. And if we can give them a 5% raise almost automatically, and let them decide how much they pay, then they’re at a better position.”

Tillery also addressed his decision to announce his campaign with a flyaround tour of the state, as he traveled to Augusta, Albany, Atlanta, Columbus, Perry, Savannah, and Vidalia on Monday. “We know that every voice in Georgia matters, and we wanted to make sure that everyone in Georgia had an opportunity to be a part of this campaign. A lot of folks do fly-arounds at the end, and I’m sure that someone will do a fly-around at the end again. But we wanted to do it at the start because when you’re running for office, you don’t run on your ideas – you run on the ideas of others; you run on the ideas of the community. You can see by looking to your left and right here that we have an awesome community,” he emphasized.

He concluded his address sharing his gratitude to the community. “I can’t say how thankful I am to be in this community. Thank you for what you’ve done to support us. Thank you for letting me come to you one more time to go to the well. Let’s get out and vote as hard as we can so that when we’re in November, we know what the election results are going to be,” Tillery commented.