Matthew Gambill has a title that sounds a lot fancier than the job actually pays. As the state representative for Georgia's District 15, he spends part of every year at the Gold Dome writing tax and workforce legislation, then drives back home to Cartersville to clock in at Parrish Construction Group and coach his kids' Sunday school class. He sat down with Logan Lewis at 216 Coworking to talk about growing up as the nephew of former Governor Joe Frank Harris, learning what real work looks like from a grandfather who never quite felt like a local, and getting a crash course in crisis leadership during his very first year in office.
The Grandfather Who Taught Him to Serve
Gambill's family roots in Cartersville run deep, but not quite as deep as people assume. His grandfather, Frank Harris, moved to the area from Gilmer County in the 1920s at age 11 and lived there until he died in 1999 at 87. "Even to the end of my grandfather's life, he still did not consider himself to be born and from Cartersville," Gambill said, laughing at the irony of a man who'd spent nearly eight decades in one town and still felt like the new guy. The family had come for work, and Frank landed a job at the Goodyear Mill in Atco. Realizing he'd never get promoted without more education, he took vocational masonry classes through Georgia Tech — before Georgia even had a technical college system — and used that skill to start Harris Cement, a concrete business that served the region for decades. Gambill's political science degree came from Lee University, but he says his real education came later: "Riding around in the pickup truck with my grandfather all over Bartow County," listening to stories about the Great Depression and both World Wars. "That is probably the real education that I got on loving people and serving people." His uncle, Joe Frank Harris, held the same House seat decades before becoming governor, and having a governor in the family made for good stories — kids assumed Gambill was rich because his uncle lived in the Governor's Mansion, prompting Gambill to explain that the mansion is, technically, public housing.
A Rookie Year That Became a Crash Course in Crisis
Gambill won his House seat in 2018 and took the oath of office in January 2019. Fourteen months later, COVID hit. "None of us were ever trained and prepared how to handle that," he said of the pandemic, the unemployment spike, and the unrest that followed. With Georgia's Department of Labor overwhelmed, his office became a default call center for constituents trying to file unemployment claims — roughly 1,500 individual requests for help. "There were some days during 2020 I told my wife, I don't know if I signed up for this," he admitted. He credits Governor Brian Kemp for helping the state reopen early and rebound into an eight-year streak as the top state to do business, but he's candid that the job came with a workload nobody warns you about: "They don't teach a class on that. There's no handbook. You've got to roll your sleeves up."
A "Part-Time" Job That Never Clocks Out
On paper, a Georgia state representative earns about $20,000 a year for work classified as part-time — which is why Gambill also works full-time in business development for Parrish Construction Group, chasing industrial and higher-education projects across the state. In practice, the two jobs blend into one relentless schedule. "It's 24/7," he said of the calls and texts that never stop, even outside the legislative session. As a floor leader for Governor Kemp, he carried this year's state income tax rebate bill — the one behind that $500 check a lot of Bartow County households recently found in the mailbox — along with legislation capping annual homestead property tax assessment increases at 3% and lowering the state income tax rate to 4.99%. For Gambill, the paycheck was never the point. "The real pay is seeing somebody's life change because you helped them with something," he said, describing the role in almost ministerial terms.
Why He Tells His Own Son to Consider a Trade
Gambill's push for career and technical education traces straight back to his grandfather's masonry classes and an uncle who told him, "I made more money in business because I knew how to weld than anything else I did." As a floor leader, Gambill has carried Georgia's High Demand Career Initiative legislation aimed at steering students toward in-demand skilled trades instead of assuming a four-year degree is the only path. He's practiced what he preaches at home, telling his son David, a Cartersville High freshman, that if he'd rather attend Chattahoochee Technical College to become an electrician or plumber, "I will help you start a business." As Gambill put it, the most expensive form of career exploration is sending undecided 18-year-olds to a four-year school to figure out what they actually want to do.
A Personal Mission Rooted in a Friend's Request
Gambill's work on addiction and recovery policy didn't start as a campaign platform — it started with a conversation. Barbara Hoffman, a family friend whose son had battled addiction, approached him during his first run in 2018 and told him plainly he needed to make it a priority. He followed through, eventually helping form a bipartisan, bicameral working group with the Georgia Council on Recovery focused on reducing stigma and helping people re-enter jobs, families, and church life after recovery. The work has connected him locally with Kevin Harris and Recovery Bartow; the day before this recording, Gambill visited the Bartow County Jail with Kevin to spend time with participants in an intensive recovery program. "They're doing God's work," he said, "and we ought to be there standing there cheering everybody on."
Listen to the Full Conversation
This recap only scratches the surface. Gambill also opens up about his lightning-round side — he's a die-hard Roger Moore James Bond fan, considers Shawshank Redemption the best movie he's ever seen, and won't apologize for his yacht-rock playlist. He talks through his go-to Cartersville spots (Doug's Place, Appalachian Grill, Eight Track) and his Saturday morning run club at Sam Smith Park. Catch the full episode below.
Listen to Episode #511
Catch the full conversation with Matthew Gambill on Your Morning Drive, wherever you listen.
