Saxby Chambliss appears at Albany Area Chamber of Commerce luncheon for southwest Georgia homecoming

ALBANY — Former U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss had a homecoming Thursday, acting as the guest speaker at the Albany Area Chamber of Commerce’s inaugural federal luncheon at Albany State University West Campus.

Chambliss, who lives in Moultrie, has been hopping around the globe as a partner of the DLA Piper law firm. He was asked what it was like to be home for once.

“The best thing about being in southwest Georgia is I’ll get to sleep in my own bed tonight,” he said. “This is like coming home because this is where it started when I was campaigning for the position in the Eighth District in the House.

“Albany was always a focal point of not just my campaign but coming back and talking with folks to find out what was happening on the ground, and to be able to incorporate some of the ideas from the people of southwest Georgia into what we were doing in Washington. I always look forward to getting back to this part of the state because I am coming home.”

He served as one of Georgia’s two senators from 2003 to 2015, and he previously served in the U.S. House of Representative from 1995 to 2003.

After leaving the Senate, Chambliss has had time to reflect. When he was asked if it was a brave new world in Washington, Chambliss grimaced.

“That’s putting it mildly. It’s certainly a different day in Washington D.C. these days. The atmosphere is toxic,” he said. “And as you see it has filtered down to the state and local levels. Politics today has certainly changed from where it was 20 years ago when I was getting involved in it.”

Chambliss added he has never seen a greater divide in the country.

“I think the division of the hard right and the hard left which has rolled into the population on both sides is the biggest change I’ve seen,” he said. “In my opinion that’s not good for our country. You should always govern from the middle irrespective of whether it’s at the state or federal level. Now days it’s just harder and harder to find people across the aisle. Compromise has become a four-letter word, and it’s not happening the way it used to be from the standpoint of governing.”

The former senator then focused on the southwest Georgia region’s economic plight, which is laid bare by the region’s seemingly ingrained poverty.

“Southwest Georgia has always struggled economically. The poverty rate in this part of the state has always been the highest of any other geographic area of Georgia and always has been,” Chambliss said. “What we tried to do by working with local officials was to try to make sure we are doing everything possible to train people to get jobs. But if you train them to get jobs you have to have jobs here that are available to them. Albany has gone through some very tough times over the last 20 to 25 years.

“With the state’s economy on a rapid upward path, I’m just very hopeful that will filter down here to southwest Georgia, but training these people for the jobs that are available is critical.”

Chambliss noted the upcoming mid-term elections will be keenly watched by not only Georgians, but all across the nation.

“It’s going to be a very interesting election season this year,” he said. “(The year) 2016 brought a lot of surprises to us, starting at the top. I think (in) 2018 we’ve already seen some surprises around the country, and Georgia is not likely to be immune from that.”