Cagle, the governor’s race, and Sunday sales of beer and wine

As the state Senate’s presiding officer, Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle has been viewed as one of those standing in the way of legislation that would allow Sunday beer and wine sales at grocery and liquor stores.

Cagle denies any opposition to the measure, but he has tremendous influence over what the Senate considers, and the Sunday sales bill has never made it to the Senate floor for a vote. Proponents of Sunday sales say they’ll try again this year — and earlier this week, Cagle promised neutrality on the matter.

Now Cagle is running for governor. My AJC colleague James Salzer took a look at Cagle’s first campaign fund-raising report, through Dec. 31, and found that he has received plenty of money from the alcoholic beverage industry.

Beer-maker Anheuser-Busch, for instance, contributed $10,000. Various families and businesses in the booze/wine/liquor wholesale and distributing industry chipped in another $56,000. But in the fight over Sunday sales, wholesalers and distributors have been largely neutral.

However, Cagle has received $10,000 from Board of Regents member Richard Tucker. The Gwinnett County businessman owns the biggest liquor store in the state. Tucker is a close ally of Cagle and Senate Regulated Industries Chairman David Shafer (R-Duluth), who happens to be running for lieutenant governor to replace Cagle.

And Tucker opposes Sunday sales. He and some other liquor store owners say opening another day probably would cost them more in payroll and overhead than they would bring in at the cash register. Meanwhile, other retailers already open on Sundays would just rack up more revenue, they say.

Grocery and convenience stores are the driving force behind the Sunday sales push. The Georgia Association of Convenience Stores has given Cagle the grand sum of $500.