Meet the Candidates: Porter Deal

This is the seventh in a series profiling all candidates of local political offices on Lilburn-Mountain Park Patch.

Halloween is looming and Thanksgiving will be on its heels, but it’s Christmas that Porter Deal has on his mind on a recent October afternoon. Specifically, the Dec. 3 Lilburn Christmas parade, which he helps organize.

“It’s the only one in Gwinnett County,” Deal says, with something that sounds like pride and wonderment in his voice, as he shares a few details (the Chick-fil-A cow will be dressed as Santa).

But regardless of the time of year, Deal seems to have a lot on his mind, all the time. And right now, at the forefront are, of course, the elections on Nov. 8, since Deal is one of four candidates for Post 2 on Lilburn’s city council.

A real estate broker and owner of Lilburn Realty, Deal said he was bitten by the political bug after running for the state house of representatives about 20 months ago. He got “massacred” in that race, he says, but he’s been drawn to public service since.

So when neighbors suggested he run for city council, it just seemed like the right thing to do.

“New is what the city needs,” he said. “Qualified people who are not attached to government now.”  With the recent bad press Lilburn has had, “A fresh start is in order. Clearly people are grumbling for a change.”

To hear him talk, it’s reasonable to assume that Deal has been a businessman since he could spell the word. Chomping at the bit to get started, he eschewed a four-year college degree to go into business after attending what is now Perimeter College, and he has started a number of businesses from scratch -- and sold some of them -- since.

"How do you make a living and how do you pay your bills?" was a focus inherited from his dad, Deal said.

And that's a plan Lilburn needs, he says, a business plan, at one point stopping the conversation to wonder aloud how many of the more than 6,000 cars that pass Main Street daily park and shop there.

“If you want to attract business to Lilburn, you’ve got to get out and talk to businesses,” he said.

One idea Porter has is to send a Lilburn contingent to a franchise show in Atlanta that he says is one of the largest in the nation.

And still it’s his children, now 8 and 5 years old, Deal says, who taught him virtues that have paid off beyond the boundaries of his home and hearth.

“My kids taught me patience. That’s something I’ve been able to use in business and in civic life,” he said. “If you can negotiate with your 18-month-old toddler to eat bland, pureed peas, you can manage a $10 million real estate deal,” he says. “The same sort of principles apply.”

Deal has been a Realtor since 2002, and comes from a real-estate family. Is he related to Governor Nathan Deal?

"No comment," the candidate says, then adds "if your name is spelled D E A L, you're related," around here, he says, although he's not on a first-name basis with the governor and says Nathan Deal wouldn't "know me from Adam."

Having lived in the Lilburn area since 1993, Deal moved into the city limits three years ago in a deliberate move to be in the city.

"I like the fact we have a police force. I thought the cost was worth it," he said, "Now, I'm not so sure."

Lilburn's assets, Deal says, are that it's quiet, safe, and has good schools.

"I can keep it quiet, and I can keep it safe," he says.

Articles published in this series so far: