Posted on 01/09/2003 5:07:26 AM PST by RGrizzle
Timing, they say, is everything. Casey Cagle played only one season as a strong safety for legendary football coach Erk Russell. The year was 1984, and Georgia Southern narrowly missed the playoffs that year. Over the next two years Erk’s Eagles began their storied march winning back-to-back Division 1-AA championships. With his unfortunate timing, Cagle “missed it by that much” as Agent Maxwell Smart might say.
The same cannot be said of his political career. State Senator Cagle was first elected to the 49th district in 1994 ousting the incumbent Democrat. Cagle’s election was one in a series of Republican victories that preceded their own storied march in the most recent elections. His timing could not have been better.
Cagle says it was never his life’s dream to go into politics. His family has long roots within the Hall County community, but none had ever formally served in public office. There was no political legacy from which Cagle could draw.
But in the early 1990’s he owned several small businesses and was becoming increasingly frustrated with regulations and taxes. He became active in local campaigns as a result. It was through these interactions that Cagle was ultimately swayed into making a bid for the State Senate seat. He won in this his first attempt at public office.
The first eight years of Cagle’s service, however, found him suffering as a member of the minority party where Democratic dominance was less than hospitable. This was the most disappointing aspect of public life for Cagle, “[the] Republicans weren’t treated with the amount of respect they should have. You would expect both Republicans and Democrats to get together to do the best for the county or state.” The epitome of such treatment was when then State Senator Sonny Perdue protested against mistreatment, and “cry me a river” was Democratic Lt. Governor’s Mark Taylor’s now infamous response.
Cagle’s tenure in the minority party although distasteful at times has given him valuable seniority. It is now Sonny Perdue occupying the governor’s mansion and Republicans ruling the Georgia State Senate where they will soon clip many of the powers of Mr. Taylor's office. The winds of change will soon bring its rewards for Cagle. “From a personal standpoint, there is a lot that will change for me. I am one of the most senior Republicans in the Senate.”
Cautious about the time and energy his majority status and a potential chairmanship will bring, Cagle is thrilled about the possibilities. “The governor has an opportunity to re-invent State government, the opportunity to impact change in a way that has never been done before in the state of Georgia. I’m excited to be part of that change”.
As to the future Cagle is not completely certain of his life in politics. A run at a statewide office may eventually be in order, or perhaps a run at a congressional seat one day. These decisions when and if they come will depend largely on “timing”, says Cagle.
In the meantime he is content to focus on the job at hand. Education reform that sets the bar for performance while allowing local school boards and teachers the flexibility to seek out creative ways to meet those standards tops his list of objectives. The next priority is to push for ethics reform among elected officials in Georgia. He would also like to get in a game of golf or two, but perhaps that is being a bit too ambitious for a self-employed business man/part-time State Senator/father of three/church leader.
Cagle has been successful in each election in which he was the candidate. However, comparisons suggest that he is perhaps underperforming. The Eagles while under the leadership of Erk Russell enjoyed a 82.5% winning mark after entering Division 1-AA in 1984. Cagle on the other hand was able eek out only 80.1% of the vote last November. Clearly, he has more work to do to rival his old coach’s record.
"Come on and reeeeeeeam 'em a new one.
Reeeeeeeeam 'em a new one...!"
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