Michael Gargiulo, the former Chief of Staff for State Senator Colton Moore, wants to spice things up in Georgia politics. In the last five years, as Moore’s Chief of Staff and the CEO at VPN.com, Gargiulo has witnessed firsthand how challenging Georgia politics can be.

For his part, Moore is viewed as the most pro-liberty elected official in the Georgia General Assembly. 

After much prayer and inspiration from current and former elected officials, Gargiulo took it upon himself to enter the political ring by running in Georgia’s 9th Senate District. In a phone conversation with Big League Politics, Gargiulo revealed that he has always loved freedom.

However, his experience working in the political process has shown him that the fight for freedom is challenging. Gargiulo noted that younger Senators are constantly on an island when addressing the key issues affecting Georgians. He believes that “shiny objects” and political pandering limit Republicans and Democrats from addressing critical issues on the hearts of Georgia families.

At Gargiulo’s core, Georgia’s 9th district Senate candidate wants to tackle illegal immigration, traffic, lowering taxes, and increasing school security head-on, which he believes both parties have largely neglected. 

To combat inflation and promote a better environment for Georgia families, Gargiulo also wants to eliminate the state income tax, which stands at a flat rate of roughly 5.5%. This would allow Georgians to keep their hard-earned money from the state’s pocketbook. This year, the State of Georgia had the largest tax surplus in history, and many have concluded that we are being overtaxed when inflation is at an all-time high.

Gwinnett jail had some of the highest counts of illegal immigrants in the country before the 287(g) program was removed from the county, according to the AJC. He wants to restore U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)’s 287(g) Program and will work with the Governor and Sheriff to make this happen. 

According to ICE, “The 287(g) Program enhances the safety and security of our nation’s communities by allowing ICE Enforcement and Removal Operations (ERO) to partner with state and local law enforcement agencies to identify and remove incarcerated criminal noncitizens who are amenable to removal” from the United States. The program has played a key role in identifying many criminal aliens who are in jail due to previously being arrested by local law enforcement officials. 

However, Cobb County Sheriff Craig Owens and Gwinnett County Sheriff Keybo Taylor notoriously ended the 287(g) program back in 2021, which has fueled the state’s growing problem with illegal immigration. According to figures from Pew Research, well over 350,000 illegal aliens were residing in the Peach State at that time. Now, some estimate the number is north of 1 million.  

Similarly, the candidate for Georgia’s 9th Senate District wants to restore confidence in law enforcement in our communities and our schools to ensure they receive strong support from the state to promote law and order.  

Gargiulo conceded that the road to victory wouldn’t be easy even though he aims to work for all Gwinnetians, Republicans, Democrats, and Independents alike. He even highlighted how the state Republican Party is fractured, with a notable division between establishment Republicans and grassroots types. Nevertheless, he is confident that his work ethic, his focus on expanding freedoms, lowering taxes, and grassroots voters’ desire across all parties for change will be enough to put him over the top in the 2024 election cycle.