Meet the Candidates: Phil Daniell

Phil Daniell is the only Republican seeking nomination for District 41 State Representative. This fall he'll run against the Democratic nominee for the seat being vacated by State Rep. Terry Johnson.

What do you think are some of the most important issues facing Distirct 41?

I think the jobs and the local economy are one of the great things here that we have to consider. I think we’re going to need to try to improve the economy in the area as best we can do. I think as a state legislator what we’d be doing what have an affect on taxes. The big thing is I think for small business to be able to grow and develop and be able to provide jobs and this will increase the tax base too. When people are not working and not spending, you don’t have the income from the taxes that you’d normally have. I think that’s what we need to do and try to make it easier for small businesses to get started and be able to function and grow and hire other people. 

What’s your position on charter schools?

I have some mixed feelings on that. I like the idea of school choice, but the way some of this has been proposed and some of these propositions about charter schools the funding on that would be local funding. It would be taking the tax dollars here. I don’t want them to affect the public schools in that they cripple them from taking too much funding from them. It has to come out of the same pot basically. Part of what they’re proposing from my understanding on this coming referendum will be that they could go to the state, the state could mandate you’re going to have this charter school and you have to pay for it. I think it needs local control, so I think that needs to be looked at closely, but I do like the idea of school choice. 

What’s your position on TSPLOST?

I’ve looked at it and listened to it and personally I don’t favor it right now. What they’re proposing is going to be spending so much money on rail and it’s not in the city. They’re not talking about running any rail through District 41. So the projects that they have on here I don’t think would benefit our people very much. It’s going to be another one-percent tax that’s going to go for 10 years. Some of these projects that they’re talking about doing, which would be concentrated on rail, would be of more benefit to Atlanta and Fulton County and DeKalb County than Cobb. I think we’ve got so many other taxes going on right now that I don’t think it’s a good time to have this thing. We do need to improve transportation. I just don’t think that the way this is set up is the way to do it. 

What made you decide to run for office?

I’m a native of Cobb County (…) I grew up in this area. I’m familiar with the area. Where I live right now is within a mile and a half of where I lived when I was five years old. My dad was a builder/developer and I worked in that. As I went on through I started with Southern Bell right after college and had six years in the Naval Air Reserve and I was also working. Then I got into construction also building houses. Just about all the houses that I built were in this district.

I run a small business. I’ve had to meet a payroll with a lot of different people and get the work done and be able to manage it. So I’ve got the experience of working with a small business and I think that helps me be able to develop one, which is what I think we really need in this area is to do what we can to help small businesses grow and develop. 

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