ATLANTA — Republican gubernatorial nominee Rick Jackson rolls out a new policy initiative aimed at boosting minority-owned businesses, with specific support for six historically Black commercial districts across the state, including Atlanta’s Sweet Auburn neighborhood.
“Every Georgian deserves a shot at the American dream, and everybody deserves respect,” Jackson said during a Wednesday news conference at Atlanta’s Selina S. Butler Park. “Auburn Avenue is still fighting, and when I’m governor, starting one day, it is going to have somebody in its corner.”
Jackson’s proposal, dubbed “The Legacy Corridor Initiative,” calls for assigning a designated coordinator to work across all 17 of the state’s Small Business Development Centers. Their job, according to the campaign, will be to assist with licensing, certifications, financing and state contracts.
The policy calls for using the state’s rehabilitation tax credit to freeze assessed property values in the six historic districts so that improvements don’t spike property taxes, forcing businesses and residents out.
Jackson’s policy also aims to make it easier for entrepreneurs to buy their space rather than rent it.
“On a street like this, the wealth is in the deed,” he explained. “You can run a good business for 30 years and have nothing to pass on to your kids because somebody else owned the building the whole time.”
In response, a spokesperson for Jackson’s Democratic rival, former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, said in a statement to WSB: “Let’s be clear: Slick Rick Jackson’s a billionaire who made a fortune off taxpayer-funded no-bid contracts and is running to continue profiting from a rigged system that hurts everyday Georgians and small businesses.
Keisha has both the record of success and a plan to help small and minority-owned businesses thrive by increasing the Department of Economic Development’s focus on small businesses, while expanding access to loans, grants, and other tools they need to grow.”