THOMASVILLE — A candidate in the 2010 Georgia gubernatorial race would fire the incumbent revenue commissioner and revamp the agency that collects Georgia taxes.

“The one we’ve got is a nice fella, but we need a new one,” candidate David Poythress said, referring to Bart L. Graham, incumbent revenue commissioner.

Poythress, a Democrat, addressed the Thomasville Kiwanis Club at The Plaza Restaurant Friday.

At the rank of major general, Poythress is commander of the Georgia Army and Air National Guard. In addition to practicing law, Poythress has served as Georgia’s secretary of state, labor commissioner and deputy revenue commissioner.

As governor, Poythress would identify money being “given away” in Georgia tax exemptions. Some exemptions “crept in” decades ago, he told Kiwanians.

Some 18 special-interest exemptions were approved during the 2009 legislative session at a cost of $99 million, he explained.

“There is a tremendous amount of money out there that’s not being collected. It’s money that belongs to the state,” the Macon native said.

He would establish a robust audit system to ensure a fair taxation system.

Prior to the meeting, Poythress told the Times-Enterprise his biggest job as governor would be to establish economic security for the Georgia of 50 years from now. His greatest challenges would be:

• Public education

• Water

• Transportation

Georgia has many great features, Poythress told civic club members, but there is work to be done if the state is to continue to be economically competitive.

“Public education obviously must do something different than what is being done today,” he said. “Every year we bump along the bottom. ... We must fundamentally change how we educate children.”

Poythress described recently watching a cable news program on which his television screen showed four pictures and five messages.

“That’s the world we’re coming up in,” he said, in reference to a need for advanced technology-related education for Georgia students.



Senior reporter Patti Dozier can be reached at (229) 226-2400, ext. 1820.