Ups, Downs and In-betweens

Name Recognition: Primary ballots got longer in August as more candidates entered statewide races. On the Democratic side, Michael Thurmond announced his run for governor. His extensive resume includes serving as CEO of DeKalb County for two terms and as state labor commissioner for three terms; he ran for U.S. Senate in 2010 and lost to incumbent Republican Johnny Isakson.

On the Republican side, Derek Dooley is running for the U.S. Senate seat currently held by Democrat Jon Ossoff. Dooley has never held elective office but is famous among many Georgians as the son of longtime University of Georgia head football coach Vince Dooley and also as the former coach of UGA rival University of Tennessee Volunteers. Dooley has the backing of his childhood friend Gov. Brian Kemp and is counting on Kemp’s powerful political organization to raise money and offer strategy. Also in the Senate race are Republican U.S. Reps. Buddy Carter and Mike Collins.

Party Switch: Geoff Duncan, the former lieutenant governor (2019-2023), made it official – he’s now a Democrat. Duncan, who was elected as a Republican to serve as the state’s second in command and prior to that as a state representative (2013-2017), was kicked out of the Georgia GOP in January because he endorsed former Vice President Kamala Harris for president in 2024. Duncan, who announced the switch in an opinion piece in the Atlanta Journal-Constitution titled “Loving my neighbor is easier now,” hasn’t ruled out a run for governor as a Democrat.

Tightening Belts: In the wake of federal funding cuts, Kemp told state agencies to prepare for flat budgets for amended Fiscal Year 2026 and for FY 2027. The only exceptions are enrollment-based programs like K-12 schools and healthcare services. Any federal money lost will not be made up by state funds. In the July 11 memo from the Office of Planning and Budget, agencies were also instructed to “internally prepare thoughtful plans for a state funds holdback contingency as we continue to monitor economic trends and policy changes at the national level.” Agencies will submit budgets this month, and the legislature will take them up in January. The state ended FY 2025 with a budget surplus, as it has for the last five years.

MARTA Moves: Following the surprise retirement of CEO Collie Greenwood in July, MARTA named a member of its staff as the interim general manager and CEO. Jonathan Hunt has worked in the transit agency’s legal department for 12 years and was named chief legal counsel in 2024. The change in leadership comes as MARTA faces a big test – and an international spotlight – with next year’s FIFA World Cup games in Atlanta.

Greenwood took early retirement unexpectedly due to “immigration and personal matters,” according to MARTA. Greenwood, a Canadian citizen, stopped work in June after his work permit expired. A statement from MARTA said, “Mr. Greenwood’s Canadian visa is valid, and he remains in this country legally awaiting imminent delivery of his Green Card.”

New Justice: The Georgia Supreme Court has a new member – Benjamin A. Land, appointed by Kemp to fill the vacancy created when former Chief Justice Michael P. Boggs stepped down in March. Land was appointed as a judge for the Superior Court for the Chattahoochee Judicial Circuit in 2018 and was appointed to serve on the Court of Appeals by Kemp in 2022. The announcement by the Supreme Court noted that Land is a “Double Dawg,” earning his undergraduate degree from the University of Georgia and then graduating summa cum laude from the UGA School of Law in 1992, finishing second in his class.

The late Tom Cousins: developer, civic leader and philanthropist. Photo credit: Jennifer Stalcup

In Memoriam: Tom Cousins was as iconic as his buildings that helped define the Atlanta skyline. The developer of the Omni Coliseum, CNN Center, 191 Peachtree and the Bank of America Plaza died July 29 at the age of 93. Cousins was almost as well known for his civic involvement and philanthropy as his buildings, serving as chair of the High Museum and acting as a driving force behind the creation of the Georgia Research Alliance. His renovation of East Lake Golf Club transformed it into the now-permanent home of the PGA TOUR Championship and spurred the redevelopment of East Lake Meadows public housing project into a mixed-use, mixed-income community supported by the nonprofit East Lake Foundation. The foundation turns 30 this year. Along with Warren Buffet and Julian Robinson, Cousins launched the nonprofit Purpose Built Communities in 2009 to spread the East Lake model across the country.