VALDOSTA — Restoring the state’s priorities would be the top priority if state House Minority Leader DuBose Porter is elected Georgia’s governor.

Porter served on the House’s education committee for more than 20 years, and as its chairman for several years.

Witnessing the debilitating effects of the systematic cutting of education during the tenure of Republican Gov. Sonny Perdue’s two terms, Porter said, prompted him to seek the Democratic nomination for governor.

He hopes to restore Georgia’s educational system, from elementary schools through high schools and the university system, to its former glory.

“The state needs to re-establish its priorities,” Porter said. “People are worried about their families and jobs.”

The General Assembly “fights for two days over social issues when the people are worried if their kids will go to college or can they get the right kind of health care.”

Porter announced his bid for the Democratic nomination for governor in April. He visited The Valdosta Daily Times offices Monday while in town for the evening’s Lowndes County Democratic Party Annual Barbecue. Porter also visited the Bleu Cafe Monday afternoon.

A Dublin resident, Porter has represented the 143rd District since 1982. He served as former Gov. Zell Miller’s floor leader in the early 1990s, and introduced the HOPE scholarship in the House.

An attorney, Porter is also the editor/co-owner of The Dublin Courier Herald newspaper.

In addition to seeing education as a Georgia priority, Porter also lists transportation, water conservation, public safety, and utilizing Georgia’s alternative-energy potential in wood chips rather than importing coal.

These issues have become points of political battles between the state’s Republicans and Democrats, as well as within the controlling majorities of Georgia’s GOP, he said. Instead of serving as fodder for political gains, Georgia leaders should be seeking solutions to the issues.

“The emphasis has to return to the needs of the people,” Porter said.

For more information, visit duboseporter.us.