ATLANTA — Rick Jackson, the Republican nominee for Georgia governor, has rolled out a plan to restore historic commercial districts and boost minority-owned small businesses in six communities, including Atlanta’s iconic Sweet Auburn corridor.
Jackson announced his “Legacy Corridor Initiative” on Wednesday at Selena S. Butler Park in southeast Atlanta. Under the proposal, he would assign a dedicated state coordinator to synchronize Georgia’s 17 Small Business Development Centers. That coordinator would focus on helping entrepreneurs navigate licensing, secure financing, and compete for state contracts.
“We want to make it easier for Georgia businesses to bid, subcontract, and compete for state work,” Jackson said. He also promised to heavily promote the State Opportunity Zone Tax Credit.
A key part of the pitch is restoring historic commercial buildings without pricing out current residents and business owners. Jackson pointed to Sweet Auburn, once celebrated as one of the wealthiest African American commercial streets in the world. The area housed its own banks, insurance firms, newspapers, medical offices, pharmacies, restaurants, and a theater. Today, roughly half of the commercial stretch sits boarded up, abandoned, or vacant.
The decline led the National Trust for Historic Preservation to place Auburn Avenue on its list of America’s most endangered historic places in 1992 and again in 2012.
Jackson’s Democratic opponent, former Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms, dismissed the plan. Her campaign pointed to her own record, saying she had already created a program to help small and minority-owned businesses thrive.
“Keisha has both the record of success and a plan to help small and minority-owned businesses thrive,” her statement said. Bottoms also accused Jackson, a billionaire, of making his fortune off taxpayer-funded, no-bid contracts.
Jackson said he is used to being told he doesn’t belong. “They will say a Republican has no business being on Auburn Avenue. I’ve been told many times that I had no business being somewhere my entire life. But that’s OK, because I’m working every day to make sure Georgians know my heart,” he said.
Recent polling shows the governor’s race in a statistical tie, with tight contests also underway for the Public Service Commission.
