CRI Endorses Candidate for Governor of Georgia

Dalton, GA, June 19, 2009–The Carpet and Rug Institute board has endorsed the candidacy of U.S. Rep. Nathan Deal, R-Gainesville for governor of Georgia, according to the Dalton Daily Citizen.

“I’ve been working with him since 2000, and he has gone to bat for us a number of times,” Werner Braun, president of the Carpet and Rug Institute, told the newspaper.

He pointed, for instance, to Deal’s help in securing a $1.2 million grant for Emory University in Atlanta to do a study of how children with asthma or allergies are affected by being in a carpeted environment compared to a noncarpeted environment.

Braun said there are several issues facing the state government that could affect the carpet industry. One important issue, he said, is a possible east-west corridor that would allow traffic to move to I-85 without going through Atlanta.

“The carpet industry has a huge trucking fleet, and right now a substantial amount of its traffic has to move through Atlanta,” he said.

An east-west corridor would help reduce traffic congestion, and it would also help the carpet industry cut costs and reduce its carbon emissions.