This is all too typical, alas, of your legislature in action. On a cold Friday morning in February, the House of Representatives devoted most of its time debating and then passing HR 1034, a meaningless resolution that urges the NCAA…
Help for vets: Georgia’s military veterans got a well-deserved boost from Congress with the passage of legislation that will bring $20.5 million in federal funding for improvements to the VA Medical Center in Decatur. The money will be used to…
It’s growing: Enrollment in Georgia’s public colleges increased by more than 10,000 students this academic year to an all-time high of 270,022. That’s a 3.9 percent increase over the enrollment for fall 2006. “Our new strategic plan indicates we should…
When Sonny Perdue won his improbable victory in the 2002 governor’s race he called his campaign “Perdue for a New Georgia,” and he followed up in office by appointing a “Commission for a New Georgia” to revise state government’s business…
You could forgive Gov. Sonny Perdue for feeling a little like a badly battered heavyweight boxer in 2007. Coming off a smashing reelection victory the previous November, Perdue was preparing for a major role on the national political scene as…
Revenge is sweet? House Speaker Glenn Richardson may have lost out in his attempt to secure the DOT commissioner’s job for Rep. Vance Smith, but he could have the last laugh on some of the Transportation Board members who voted…
It’s been a long run, but it’s time we sat back and took a break. Few states have experienced quite as much booming prosperity as Georgia did during the 1990s, when development in the Metro Atlanta area exploded and the…
Thompson backer: Another Republican presidential candidate, Fred Thompson, has named state Sen. Chip Rogers (R-Woodstock) executive director and communications director for his campaign efforts in Georgia. Steve Croy, head of Croy Realty Group, is finance chairman in Georgia for the…
A couple of years ago state Sen. Eric Johnson (R-Savannah) was able to put a constitutional amendment on the ballot to protect the right to hunt and fish in perpetuity. Johnson said it was necessary to make this change in…
If you pay attention to Georgia politics at all, you’ve probably heard an earful by now about House Speaker Glenn Richardson’s proposal to radically revise the state’s tax system (and if you haven’t heard about it, Richardson will be more…
If political leaders in Fulton and DeKalb won’t make the governance changes that Grady Memorial Hospital needs, then the General Assembly should put it under control of a state authority.
Help for Davis: Southern Poly-technic President Lisa Rossbacher was named interim chief academic officer for the University System until a permanent choice can be selected. She replaced Beheruz Sethna, who returned to his fulltime job as president of the University…
Some Georgia political figures who were on top of the world mere months ago – including Saxby Chambliss, Shirley Franklin and Sonny Perdue – are finding that things have changed.
New tourism chief: Charlie Gatlin, deputy commissioner and a longtime employee of the Department of Economic Development, will also take over the department’s tourism division, replacing former tourism director Dan Rowe. Gatlin, who joined the department in 1990, will continue…
After 130 years in the wilderness as the state’s minority political party, Georgia Republicans were obviously ready to enjoy being on top as they gained control of state government. But who would have thought they’d enjoy it so much? Consider…
The governor and his legislative colleagues have had the power to cut the budget to any level they chose. All they had to do was cast their votes for it. They chose not to. They are acknowledging how the real world works.
The 10th District election becomes a crucial barometer of how high support remains for Bush in areas that have always backed him strongly. National pundits will be watching on June 19.
Agriculture Commissioner Tommy Irvin was first elected to public office in the 1950s. He stresses his conservative values, but has some surprisingly progressive ideas.
Ticked off teachers, the Republicans' revolving door, more Reps for Georgia?
Ed Holcombe was once a Georgia Power lobbyist who helped then-governor Roy Barnes change the state flag; now he's Gov. Perdue's new chief of staff.
Now that the GOP has consolidated its control of state government, how far to the right is it willing to go?
When President George W. Bush finally signed a bill authorizing the construction of a fortified fence along 700 miles of the U.S.-Mexican border, several Georgia congressmen were cheering him on.
Do we want to put ourselves in the company of progressive Southern states like Virginia and North Carolina or are we satisfied to keep company with states like South Carolina, Alabama and Mississippi?
A slender Reed: Ralph Reed was effectively banished from the state's political scene with his crushing defeat by Casey Cagle in the GOP primary for lieutenant governor, but his influence here will live on after he is gone. An anti-tax…
Does Governor Perdue's smashing re-election victory set the stage for a triumphant second term, or is it a high point from which he, like other second-termers, slides slowly into lame duck status?
If you have the opportunity between now and election day, you should try to attend a speech or political event hosted by Gov. Sonny Perdue or Lt. Gov. Mark Taylor. You'll be seeing a bit of political history not likely to be repeated in our lifetimes
Families first, High-energy move, Probation and incarceration
He nailed it, An ethical guy, Missing in action, Don't make me mad
Ever since Georgia voters messed up and began allowing governors to run for another four years, second terms have tended to be snoozefests in which nothing much happens.
One to watch, Ethics appointee, Helping hand, Over the Hill?
The governor wants to attract biotech and biomedical firms to create well-paying jobs for Georgians, but the Christian Right, an important part of Perdue's Republican base, says "no way" to major areas of research for fundamentalist reasons.
Thinking outside the box: During the recently completed General Assembly session, Rep. Carl Rogers (R-Gainesville) came up with an innovative way to help out a bill that would have rolled back environmental protections on Georgia's waterways. Although the bill was…
The pipeline bill easily passed in the House, but came to a halt in the Senate as Republicans started to get nervous about raising gas rates in an election year.
Not high enough in the rankings, No politico left behind, A fitting memorial?, A good replacement
Ralph Reed is making a lot of Republicans very nervous. They fear he could harm Gov. Sonny Perdue's re-election chances.
History is made, Giving 'em Zell, Mitigating factors, Not over the Hill yet
Whoever wins the Democratic primary will have to go head-to-head with an incumbent who will have far more money to spend.
By the numbers, An academic question, Cathy's on board, They like seat belts
What if Gov. Perdue had begun making a real effort to attack transportation and traffic issues when he first came into office?
Beating about the Bush, Back from Baghdad, Calling all cars, Sickout?
The latest session of the General Assembly is upon us. If you blink, you might miss it. In an election year, lawmakers are likely to keep it short.
Some say lobbying is influence peddling, pure and simple. Lobbyists themselves say they provide helpful information to legislators. No matter how you view the process, the real beneficiaries are the state's business interests.
With no presidential or U.S. Senate race to distract voters in 2006, the media will focus on the top-of-the-ticket races for governor and lieutenant governor. The fight will be vicious.
Moving on, Retiring, Not feeling well, Let them be schooled
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