Rick Jackson visits Columbus, speaks on campaign ads, taxes and data center
Republican gubernatorial candidate Rick Jackson, founder and CEO of Jackson Healthcare, pushed back on attack ads and promised to cut property taxes during a visit Tuesday to Columbus.
Jackson and Lt. Gov. Burt Jones, another Republican candidate for governor, have sparred in campaign ads, which became a point of contention during Monday’s Atlanta Press Club gubernatorial debate.
The flurry of campaign ads has helped Jackson overtake Jones to lead the Republican primary race, according to a poll released April 24 by InsiderAdvantage. Early voting started Monday. Election day is May 19.
He expected to be verbally attacked during the campaign, Jackson said during Tuesday’s campaign stop at the Columbus Airport, but he said he didn’t realize people could “just make up stuff.”
“When you tell a lie about me, I’m going to tell the truth about you from that standpoint,” Jackson said. “I don’t like it, from that standpoint. But I can’t just let it lie either. When you draw first blood with me, I’m going to end it.”
Jackson said, while others are “making up something” to attack him, his attorneys have ensured there are sources for everything he claims in his ads.
Business, taxes and veteran healthcare
During the news conference, Jackson aligned himself with President Donald Trump and compared his governing style to the president’s. His background as a businessman, rather than being a politician, sets him apart from other candidates, Jackson said.
“I’m going to be the No. 1 business development person in Georgia,” he said. “I’m not going to abdicate that responsibility because I know how to do deals, just like President Trump does. And I believe I have solutions to our farms in our rural areas.”
Jackson promised to cut income taxes in half and freeze, then reduce, property taxes in his first term.
“I’ve had six widows come up to me, two of them crying — which broke my heart — saying, ‘I’ve got to sell my house because I can no longer afford the property taxes,’” he said.
To make up for lost revenue if property taxes are cut, considering previous proposals called for raising sales taxes, Jackson said different solutions should be created for different counties. Each county has a unique issue, he said, so this plan would have to be done “deliberately and by the numbers.”
He has accountants working on different plans for property taxes and the impact on every county, Jackson said.
“If I’m going to do something, I’m going to come to Columbus and say, ‘This plan or this plan and this is the way it’s going to impact you,’” he said. “We can’t destroy what you have.”
Jackson also proposed eliminating taxes for people 65 and older who worked as military veterans, law enforcement and teachers.
“The people who are serving us, they don’t get a lot of money during their lives,” he said. “I want to take a look at that.”
Jackson also promised to look into ways to improve healthcare for veterans in Georgia.
Support for data centers
Jackson expressed support for data centers.
“The key is that every community has to have control over this issue,” he said. “But, as a businessperson, I want to educate people on the financial benefit in some of our counties, especially rural counties.”
If there are guardrails, then having a data center in a county could help eliminate property taxes and lower power bills, Jackson said.
“If I can structure something like that, I’ll just let the community decide,” he said. “If they don’t want that, then that’s fine.”
People tend to be skeptical and scared of new technology, Jackson said.
“I just think there’s a lot of misinformation about the negative,” he said. “But every community absolutely will make a decision. I would never force that on them.”
The Columbus Council expects to begin next month considering a vote on creating a technology overlay district for Project Ruby a proposed data center.
