Oxendine Talks About Bid for Governor

Georgia's Insurance Commissioner John Oxendine has thrown his name into the crowded field for Georgia governor.

"I think if you look at state government and ask yourself, 'Does Georgia really have a true state government for the 21st century?' I don't think it does," Oxendine said.

Oxendine is now almost 47-years-old and he is in his 15th year as the state insurance commissioner. On Thursday, Oxendine worked to move his office into the Governor's suite at the Gold Dome. Oxendine said state government needed to be remade.

Oxendine cited transportation as a key area where government has failed.

"Transportation is a statewide issue. We are one state. We will get out of this mess, but only if we pull together as a team," Oxendine said.

Metro leaders have called for the state to allow Atlanta and other regions to vote on a sales tax increase to pay for improvements, but Oxendine argued that if a transportation tax is needed it should be used statewide.

"Some of the polling figures have actually showed the statewide as the regional have similar likelihood of passing. Georgia is one state. We are either going to succeed together or fail together," said Oxendine.

Oxendine suggested the possibility of privatizing MARTA. The transit system recently failed to win state approval for more flexibility in spending tax collections and had to be rescued by the Atlanta Regional Commission using federal stimulus money to maintain service.

"I think MARTA needs to be completely reworked actually," Oxendine said. "I think the jury's still out if MARTA should be privatized, but I think it is a very important question that we should be looking at."

Despite recent rains, Georgia must also still address a looming crisis centered on the region's water supply.

"We have to prioritize. Providing water is a basic function of government and we have got to prioritize on building state-owned and operated reservoirs. The state hasn't built any, we've got to do that," said Oxendine.

At the same time, Oxendine called for a complete rewriting of Georgia's tax code and the elimination of the state income tax.

"There are many other ways. A lot can be done. Obviously the sales tax, we need to look at what should be exempt from the sales tax and what should not be," said Oxendine.

Oxendine argued that other states have made changes while Georgia hasn't.

"We were asleep while our sister states in the southeast were busy fighting and challenging us and now we've got to play catch up," Oxendine said.