Office of Lieutenant Governor Casey Cagle

Author

Justin Mullis

Date of Award

Summer 2009

Degree Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Public Administration (MPA)

Department

Political Science

Abstract

During the spring semester of 2009 I was fortunate to receive an internship at the office of Lieutenant Governor Casey Cagle, splitting time between his legislative office, and campaign office. The majority of my time however was spent at his campaign office as a policy advisor to the campaign as well as constituent liaison. It was decided that in order for my previous work experience to be used most effectively that I would be better suited in this compasity. My previous work experience consists of previously serving as a legislative aide with the Georgia House of Representatives majority caucus office tracking legislation, conducting policy research, and constituent work as well. While the legislature is in session, information is vital and part of my job was to insure that the Lieutenant Governor’s legislative and campaign staffs were all on the same page and well informed. Every legislative session has its specific areas of concern or otherwise issues that dominate the discussion and this legislative session was no different. In my past experiences these issues have generally surrounded health care and judicial matters, but during the 2009 session the discussion shifted to budgetary and transportation concerns facing the state. Budgetary issues impact all aspects of government; therefore more discussion was spent on this particular matter than all others during the past legislative session. Public Administration attempts to teach us how to be responsible managers of human and financial resources, as well as students of people and organizations. During my internship with the General Assembly in Georgia I was exposed to a wide range of concepts that public servants deal with every day of their lives; budgetary constraints, policy shifts, and public sentiment being among a few.