By John Fredericks / Staff

First of a three part series

First elected to Georgia State House in 1968, Rep. Harry Geisinger (R-Roswell) is today the earliest elected official serving under the Gold Dome. The sage public servant may be getting a little long in the tooth these days, but his unbridled enthusiasm and energy for his job takes a backseat to no one.

He’s got Georgia on his mind. And if you think Georgia nowadays, you have to think “jobs.”

Case in point: tomorrow Geisinger will be introducing the biggest and most powerful one shot deal automatic jobs creation bill in the history of Georgia. It’s called pari-mutual horse racing. That’s right; Geisinger is on a one-man mission to bring real live horse racing to Georgia. And along with adding much needed revenue to the state’s depleted coffers, he says it will add upwards of 20,000 new jobs to a state whose unemployment rate just peaked this week at 10.3 percent.

His legislation will come in the form of a constitutional amendment — it will take a two-thirds majority in both chambers to get it on November ballot — where it will have to be approved by Georgia voters. Private polls show it’ll pass by a better than two to one majority once the public gets a chance to vote on it.

Once thought to be a long shot, Geisinger says his referendum now in the cards to pass this session. The wily official will have quietly lined up about 40 sponsors in the House by the time he takes to the “Well” to introduce it at around noon on Monday.

“This is a jobs creation bill, pure and simple,” Geisinger claims. “Almost everyone in Georgia knows someone who is unemployed, or about to face impending job loss. Horse racing will generate about 10,000 good jobs upon inception, and that number will soon double as the state progresses toward opening its first race track, along with many satellite facilities (Off Track Wagering, or OTB). Geisinger, Chairman of the Special Equine Study Committee, said his committee has done extensive research on the economic impact of horse racing on the state of Georgia. “The numbers are stunning,” he said.

Geisinger says his is the ultimate non-partisan amendment, maintaining he has robust support on both sides of the aisle. “Good jobs have no Party affiliation,” he claims.

DOING THE TWO-STEP HORSE TROT

Geisinger’s gambit comes in two stages. The first step is passing an amendment to the state constitution to allow horseracing and pair-mutual wagering. That’s what Geisinger is introducing tomorrow.

Horse racing is legal in Georgia, but wagering on it is not. His initiative, if passed, will simply get it on the ballot, thus allowing Georgians to decide its fate at the polls.

“This is true democracy where the people of Georgia can indeed decide for themselves,” said Geisinger.

As soon as the referendum is introduced, it’ll be assigned a number and be put on line.

The second step is referred to as enabling legislation—the details, so to speak. But there will be no need for such enabling legislation unless the amendment passes through the House and Senate with the required majorities. The best-case scenario would be getting it on the ballot this November. If it carries by a simple majority at the ballot box, Georgians could conceivably be attending opening night or day at the state’s first horse track by early 2013.

In the meantime, literally thousands of new employment opportunities will have surfaced as the track moves through the development stages.

“This is a tough one to vote against,” Geisinger said. “Not when unemployment is hovering in the double digits. This is good for our state, good for our residents, good for our farmers and good for our property owners.”

Where does Gov. Perdue stand on it? The good news is that sources in his administration say he has promised to stay neutral on the topic, at least for now. The bad news is — well –he’s still Perdue. But the best news is that because it’s a constitutional amendment, he can’t veto it even if he wanted to.

What about the gambling part? Will that be an obstacle in the heart of the Bible belt? “There is no bigger gambler than the Georgia farmer,” Geisinger said. “He plants his crop every year and gambles his livelihood on the next season’s harvest. And without farmers, where would we all be?”