ATLANTA – Gov. Nathan Deal’s alter ego in the media, Brian Robinson, left the governor’s office Friday to pursue a career in private industry, signaling a change in tone and style for the remainder of the term.
Augusta-native Robinson, one of Deal’s deputy chiefs of staff, is a one-time Peach State journalist and editorial writer who was credited as a wunderkind when he worked for U.S. Rep. Lynn Westmoreland, R-Ga.
When then-Congressman Deal’s campaign for governor in 2010 was sputtering, Robinson was drafted to fix it in a sort of player trade within the state’s collegial Republican delegation. The talented Robinson had both the big-league political experience, knowledge of Georgia and familiarity with Deal. Plus, he has a knack for turning a memorable phrase.
The result, of course, was Deal’s victory and Robinson’s permanent job as media spokesman and message strategist.
“I don’t have to say much to tell you how important Brian Robinson has been to me. We brought him on board during the early stages of my campaign for governor, and he was phenomenal then. He has remained soldiering through the years since,” Deal said.
Robinson is equally complementary of the governor.
“It’s been the honor of my life two ways,” Robinson said. “One, it’s the thing that I love. It is home. And two, I love the amount of attention that the governor has given to Augusta.”
Deal, who grew up in Sandersville, down the road from Robinson’s hometown, has visited the Garden City more than any governor since Augusta-native Carl Sanders was in office in the early 1960s. And he pumped $100 million in his first term into research and construction at Georgia Regents University, setting it on a path to become one of the top academic medical centers in the country.
“That’s going to be a revolutionary investment in the health community in Augusta,” Robinson said.
Deal also has worked to leverage the U.S. Army’s decision to locate its cyber command at Augusta’s Fort Gordon. He convinced an Israeli security company to locate its North American headquarters in Augusta.
Robinson has been to Augusta often, himself, to visit his parents where his father is a pastor and to speak to civic groups like Pride and Progress in South Augusta. His former assistant, Stephanie Mayfield, now lives in Summerville with her husband and growing family.
His visits allow him to gauge the impact of Deal’s economic policies, such as counting the residential building sites from the air during a trip to sign legislation in Columbia County.
“It’s been great to see the economic progress when the governor came into office at a time of dire economic distress,” he said. “I’ve had a front-row seat with the governor seeing the state recover and seeing his policies work.”
Robinson plans to start his own communications-consulting business. While he’s happy working for Deal, he concluded that now is the best time to leave for the new venture, six years into the governor’s tenure.
“We hope that we have given him the opportunity to prove himself to the private world, to which he is now venturing,” Deal said, wishing his aide luck.
From Robinson’s perspective, he feels lucky to have had the chance to be part of “the Deal family” because he isn’t a policy expert, a lawyer, a budget writer or the manager of a state agency.
“I am a man of severely limited skills,” he quipped. “I do very few things well, and putting together sentences that make sense to people is the one skill that God gave me.”
And he adds, “Part of the blessing is that not everyone else has that same gift, so hopefully there’s a need for people to pay me.”
Follow Walter Jones on Twitter @MorrisNews and Facebook or contact him at walter.jones@morris.com.
