Sex trafficking and data on mind of Georgia candidate for governor

Republican gubernatorial candidate Clay Tippins was in Columbus on Monday to speak to the Republican Women of Muscogee and Harris Counties and was asked why he was running for the state’s top office.

“I am madly in love with the state of Georgia,” he said before his talk at the Hilton Garden Inn.

And because of that, he wants to make life better for its residents.

He had a question of his own, though:

“Why are politicians still running government the same way they did 50 years ago?”

Tippins is in favor of using data to target out of control spending, fight sex trafficking, aid education and improve Georgia’s infrastructure.

“We need to move into the 21st century,” he said.

He said with about 20-25 percent of state workers expected to retire in the next five years it is a great opportunity to transform the way things are done in Georgia and save money.

Perhaps, his biggest issue is stopping sex trafficking.

“Sex trafficking is one of the best examples of pure, raw evil,” he said. “Atlanta is the No. 1 city in the country for sex trafficking. We need to put sex trafficking gangs and rings out of business for good.”

Speaking about infrastructure he mentioned a need for a bypass around metro Atlanta.

He is adamant about improving education with a focus on third-grade reading.

“Third-grade reading rates are the No. 1 indicator of a child’s future success and the number of people that will be in prison in the future,” he said. “It is time we draw a line in the sand and lead.”

Tippins was a swimmer at Stanford University and served as a Navy Seal. Following his military service he worked for several Silicon Valley high-tech companies before returning to his home state.

He served as manager of the Easter United States for Capgemini, a world-renowned international business consulting firm. After serving as managing director of Easter Europe for the BrightStar Corporation, he returned to Capgemini as executive vice president for the firm’s entire North American high-tech, entertainment and telecommunications business.

Serving with the Navy Seal Reserves, Tippins, a lieutenant commander, was deployed to Iraq.

This story was originally published February 19, 2018 at 4:35 PM with the headline "Sex trafficking and data on mind of Georgia candidate for governor."