Elections 2002 In December 2001, Perdue resigned as state senator and devoted himself entirely to running for the office of
Governor of Georgia. He won the
2002 Georgia gubernatorial election, defeating Democratic incumbent
Roy Barnes 51% to 46%, with
Libertarian candidate Garrett Michael Hayes taking 2% of the vote. He became the first Republican governor of Georgia in 131 years since
Benjamin F. Conley.
Political positions Economic issues Perdue advocated reforms designed to cut waste in government, most notably the sale of surplus vehicles and real estate. Prior to Perdue's becoming governor, no state agency had compiled an inventory of what assets were owned by the state. Perdue signed the legislation into law on April 12, 2005, three days before
tax day. Georgia rose to 49th place in 2006 in the combined math and reading mean score, including the writing portion added to the test that year. In 2007, Georgia moved up to 46th place. In 2008, Georgia moved up again, to 45th place. Perdue also created additional opportunities for
charter schools and
private schools.
Georgia state flag In 2001, Democratic governor
Roy Barnes replaced the
1956 state flag, which incorporated the
battle flag of the Confederacy, and which had been adopted by Georgia largely as a protest against
desegregation. In his 2002 election campaign, Perdue promised that he would let the state's citizens vote to determine the
state flag. The choices were a modified version of the
First National Flag of the Confederate States of America, with the
Georgia State Seal prominently displayed inside a circle of 13 stars, or the flag created in 2001 by the Roy Barnes administration. The design of the 2001 Georgian flag was widely unpopular, being derisively named the "Barnes flag". The
North American Vexillological Association had deemed it the ugliest U.S. state flag. Perdue disappointed some Georgians by not making the 1956 flag one of the choices on the ballot, despite a campaign promise to do so. However, Perdue was faced with a Democratic House that would not allow the 1956 flag to be included in the
referendum, due to its Confederate origins, and he needed support for a
tobacco tax he wanted to pass to raise revenue.
Environmental issues In 2004, Perdue sued the
Environmental Protection Agency to block
environmental regulations on
reformulated gasoline. In October 2007, Perdue directed the state of Georgia to sue the
United States Army Corps of Engineers in an effort to withhold
Lake Lanier's depleting water supply, which had been diminished by
a drought affecting the region. Perdue argued that continuing the usual practice of diverting the water downstream to preserve habitat conditions for endangered mussels and other species in Florida and Alabama was an "ill-advised choice" that unfairly prioritized species of mussels and sturgeon above humans living in Georgia. Perdue dropped the lawsuit a few weeks later, citing President
George W. Bush's intervention which limited the amount of water that could be released from the lake. In a 2014 editorial published by
National Review, Perdue criticized attempts by "some on the left or in the mainstream media" to connect climate change to weather events. Perdue wrote that "liberals have lost all credibility when it comes to climate science because their arguments have become so ridiculous and so obviously disconnected from reality." In 2019, he said that "we don't know" what causes climate change. When asked what could be causing it other than humans, Perdue said, “You know, I think it’s weather patterns, frankly. And you know, and they change, as I said. It rained yesterday, it’s a nice pretty day today. So the climate does change in short increments and in long increments."
Georgia drought On November 13, 2007, while Georgia suffered from one of the worst droughts in several decades, Perdue led a group of several hundred people in prayer on the steps of the state Capitol. Perdue addressed the crowd, saying "We've come together here simply for one reason and one reason only: to very reverently and respectfully pray up a storm" and "God, we need you; we need rain." According to
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, "As the vigil ended, the sun shone through what had been a cloudy morning. In fact, for the next two weeks after the prayer, the state's epic dry streak grew worse."
African-Americans in the Confederacy According to a March 5, 2008, proclamation by Perdue, "Among those who served the Confederacy were many African-Americans, both free and slave, who saw action in the Confederate armed forces in many combat roles. According to the Georgia government's website on Confederate History Month, they also participated in the manufacture of products for the war effort, built naval ships, and provided military assistance and relief efforts..." The proclamation was criticized by historians for its historical inaccuracies, although there were, in fact, African-Americans who served the Confederacy. However, most served in the early years of the war and were either forced at gunpoint or feared reprisals for disloyalty.
Disaster preparedness In 2008, Perdue worked with the
Georgia Emergency Management Agency to implement
Ready Georgia, a campaign to increase disaster preparedness throughout the state. The next year, Georgia was affected by the September
floods, which were the most severe in Georgia's recorded history. The floods resulted in Perdue declaring a state of emergency in 17 counties.
Go Fish Education Center criticism Beginning in 2007, Governor Perdue began to pursue the goal of making Georgia the "bass-fishing tourism mecca". The administration began acquiring bond money for the Go Fish Education Center near his home in Perry, GA. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, payments on the Go Fish bonds, approved by Perdue and the General Assembly in 2007, runs through December 2027 with most payments $1 million a year in bond money. Upon the end of Perdue's term as governor, many in the Georgia General Assembly condemned the project and Perdue after an advisory council (appointed by Perdue) began to funnel additional bond money to the project located in his home county. "To me it was a boondoggle because of the amount of money they were spending and the location," said Rep. Alan Powell, R-Hartwell, a member of the House Appropriations Committee. "You have got to have stuff where there is a lot of traffic. It's a little off the beaten path." The project overall has been scrutinized as a waste of taxpayer money due to mismanagement of bond money and extremely low visitors. The Georgia Department of Natural Resources figures showed 21,101 people visited the Perry facility in fiscal 2015, which ended June 30. It generated $102,077 in revenue or about 11 cents for every dollar it cost to run the center in years past. The State Ethics Commission ruled against Perdue twice, finding that he had taken improper campaign contributions from donors including
SunTrust Banks and that he had improperly used one of his family business's airplanes on the campaign, for which the commission fined the sitting governor. The land was adjacent to the Oaky Woods preserve being sold by
Weyerhaeuser.
Post-governorship Perdue was constitutionally ineligible to seek a third consecutive term as governor in the
2010 Georgia gubernatorial election. In 2011, he founded Perdue Partners, which facilitated the export of U.S. goods and services. During meetings with Georgia state port officials, then-Governor Perdue discussed his family business's use of a terminal, then started a new export company in Savannah soon after leaving office. ==Secretary of Agriculture (2017–2021)==