An Interview with David Shafer: His Vision for Georgia

“People behave themselves for one of two reasons: love of God, or fear of punishment. There’s not much that politicians can do about the former, but the latter is in our wheelhouse.”

State Sen. David Shafer, a Republican from Duluth, Georgia, is currently seeking the office of Lieutenant Governor of Georgia. During his tenure in the Georgia State Senate, he gained attention for his work on the issue of adoption, having been adopted himself as a child, and for his zero-based budgeting law. Sen. Shafer will face former state Rep. Geoff Duncan and former state Sen. Rick Jeffares in the May 22, 2018 primary. In this May 9th interview, State Sen. Shafer discusses with Erich Prince his outlook for Georgia, including the issues of crime and gang violence, along with promoting a pro-business agenda in the state.

Senator Shafer, good afternoon. Thank you for joining us today at Merion West. I’d like to begin by discussing the powerful television commercial you have out now that talks about your adoption and how it impacted your childhood. You mention some of the efforts you made to make adoptions easier while in office, and I’m wondering if you can elaborate a bit more on your plans to continue these initiatives.

I was born fifty-three years ago in a home for unwed mothers run by the Sisters of Charity. I was adopted by Jim and Sarah Shafer when I was an infant. I’m forever grateful to them for loving me and bringing me up, and that experience is the root of my conservatism. As a state senator, I’ve worked to make adoptions more affordable and less burdensome to parents like my own and to make sure that adoptive homes are safe for the infants and the children who grow up there.