Name	Sonny Perdue
Order	81st
Office	Governor of Georgia
Lieutenant	Mark TaylorCasey Cagle
Term start	January 13, 2003
Term end	January 10, 2011
Predecessor	Roy Barnes
Successor	Nathan Deal
Birth date	December 20, 1946
Birth place	Perry, Georgia, United States
Party	Republican Party (1998–present)
Otherparty	Democratic Party (1992–1998)
Spouse	Mary Ruff
Alma mater	University of Georgia
Profession	AgribusinessVeterinarian
Religion	Baptist
Signature	Sonny Perdue signature.svg
Branch	United States Air Force
Rank	Captain }}

George Ervin "Sonny" Perdue III, (born December 20, 1946) was the 81st Governor of the U.S. state of Georgia. Upon his inauguration in January 2003, he became the first Republican governor of Georgia since Benjamin F. Conley served during Reconstruction in the 1870s.

Personal life and education

Perdue was born in Perry, Georgia. He currently lives in Bonaire, an unincorporated area between Perry and Warner Robins. His father was a farmer and his mother was a teacher. Perdue has been known as Sonny since childhood and prefers to be called by that name (he was sworn in and signs official documents as "Sonny Perdue").

Perdue played quarterback at Warner Robins High School and was a walk-on at the University of Georgia, where he was also a member of the Kappa Sigma Fraternity (''Beta-Lambda'' chapter).

Perdue served in the Air Force, rising to the rank of Captain before his discharge.

In 1971 he earned his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (D.V.M.) from the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine and worked as a veterinarian before becoming a small business owner, eventually starting three small businesses.

Perdue and his wife, Mary, were married in 1972. They have four children (two boys and two girls) and ten grandchildren (five boys and five girls, the most recent granddaughter was born on June 18, 2008 and the Governor made an announcement via official press release), and have also been foster parents for eight children.

In addition to flying, Perdue is also an avid sportsman.

Perdue made a cameo appearance as an East Carolina football coach in the movie ''We Are Marshall'', large portions of which were filmed in Georgia.

Political career

State Senator

After serving as a member of the Houston County Planning & Zoning Commission in the 1980s, Perdue ran for a seat in the Georgia General Assembly. He defeated Republican candidate Ned Sanders in 1990 and succeeded Democratic incumbent Ed Barker as the Senator representing the 18^th district.

Perdue was elected in 1991, 1994.and 1996, serving as his party's leader in the Senate, from 1994 to 1997, and as president pro tempore.

His committee assignments included Ethics, Finance & Public Utilities, Health & Human Services, Reapportionment and Economic Development, Tourism & Cultural Affairs.

He switched party affiliation from Democratic to Republican in 1998 and was re-elected to the Senate as a Republican. He also won re-election in 2000.

Governor of Georgia

Perdue resigned in December 2001 and devoted himself entirely to running for the office of Governor. He was elected Governor of Georgia in November 2002, defeating Democratic incumbent Roy Barnes, 52% to 46% (a Libertarian candidate took 2% of the vote). He became the first Republican governor of Georgia in over 130 years.

Perdue was re-elected to a second term in the 2006 general election. His Democratic opponent was Lieutenant Governor Mark Taylor. Libertarian Garrett Michael Hayes was also on the ballot. Perdue won handily, with nearly 58% of the vote. Perdue is constitutionally ineligible to seek a third consecutive term as Governor in 2010.

Actions as governor

Perdue's main focus in office has been on reforming state government, and improving education. Perdue has advocated reforms designed to cut waste in government, most notably the sale of surplus vehicles and real estate. (Prior to Perdue's becoming governor, no state agency had even compiled an inventory of what assets the state owned, much less managed them.

In education, Perdue has focused on returning decision-making to the local level. Since Perdue took office, Georgia briefly moved out of last place in SAT scores; though it returned to last place in 2005, in 2006 Georgia rose to 46^th place. The high school class of 2006 recorded the sharpest drop in SAT scores in 31 years.

Having won office after promising to let the citizens of Georgia vote to determine their flag, Perdue signed legislation for a flag referendum in 2004. The choices given to Georgia voters were a modified version of the 1879 Georgia flag that had been used as the state's official banner since 2003 or the version of the flag created in 2001 by the Roy Barnes administration. (The nickname of this flag was the Barnes flag or Barnes rag). Perdue angered some Georgians when the 1956 flag was not a choice on the ballot after promising throughout his campaign that the '56 flag design would appear in any referendum. However, Perdue was faced with a Democratic House that would not consider having the 1956 flag on the referendum and he needed support for the new tobacco tax he wanted to pass.

According to a March 5, 2008, proclamation by Governor Perdue, "Among those who served the Confederacy were many African-Americans, both free and slave, who saw action in the Confederate armed forces in many combat roles. According to the Georgia government's website on Confederate History Month, they also participated in the manufacture of products for the war effort, built naval ships, and provided military assistance and relief efforts..."

Governor Perdue's tenure included the most severe floods in Georgia's recorded history, which resulted in Perdue declaring a state of emergency in 17 counties. Disaster preparedness has been a focus of the administration, with Governor Purdue having worked with the Georgia Emergency Management Agency to implement Ready Georgia, a campaign launched in 2008 to increase disaster preparedness throughout the state.

As of September 2007, Governor Perdue remained relatively popular. Perdue had a 56% approval rating, while 35% disapproved, according to Strategic Vision.

Controversies

Land ownership

In mid-2003, Perdue purchased of land next to his Houston County home, for $303,000, after negotiating directly with the owner. The purchase was done using a limited liability company named Maryson LLC, a corporation formed on July 23, 2003. Maryson's registered agent was Stephan Holcomb, a Houston County dentist. Perdue appointed Holcomb, a neighbor of the governor's sister in Houston County, to the state Board of Dentistry in 2003. The lawyer who organized Maryson LLC was state representative Larry O'Neal (R-Warner Robins), the chairman of the Ways & Means committee of the House. Perdue paid the 2003 tax bill on the property after it was acquired by Maryson, Houston County tax records show. In May 2004, the land was transferred from Maryson to Perdue's own name. The transfer price was recorded at $305,000. Maryson was dissolved on July 9, 2005, a year after the sale. Perdue did not disclose the property or any interest on his financial disclosure forms for calendar years 2003 and 2004, as required by Georgia law. Five days after Maryson was incorporated in 2003, O'Neal also incorporated a partnership for Perdue and his wife, Mary, called Perdue Plantation LLC, according to the Secretary of State's Office. This partnership also was not listed on Perdue's 2004 financial disclosure report. The Secretary of State's Office said an official is required to report ownership or a fiduciary position in a company.

Praying for rain

In November 2007, while Georgia suffered from one of the worst droughts in several decades, Perdue, along with lawmakers and local ministers, prayed for rain on the steps of the state Capitol. This came shortly after Alabama Governor Bob Riley issued a proclamation declaring a week in July as "Days of Prayer for Rain" to "humbly ask for His blessings and to hold us steady in times of difficulty." The Atlanta Freethought Society opposed the rain prayer saying in a statement, "The governor can pray when he wants to. What he can't do is lead prayers in the name of the people of Georgia."

Electoral history

References

External links

Georgia Heritage Council

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Category:1946 births Category:Georgia (U.S. state) Republicans Category:Georgia (U.S. state) State Senators Category:Governors of Georgia (U.S. state) Category:Living people Category:People from Perry, Georgia Category:Republican Party state governors of the United States Category:Southern Baptists Category:United States Air Force officers Category:University of Georgia alumni

ar:سوني بيردو da:Sonny Perdue de:Sonny Perdue fr:Sonny Perdue it:Sonny Perdue he:סאני פרדו nl:Sonny Perdue no:Sonny Perdue pt:Sonny Perdue ru:Пердью, Санни fi:Sonny Perdue sv:Sonny Perdue

James Nicholas (Nick) Ayers (born 1982) is a political strategist and the former campaign manager for Tim Pawlenty's 2012 Presidential Campaign. Previously, he served as executive director of the Republican Governors Association from January 2007 to January 2011.

In November 2010, Ayers was identified as a potential replacement for Michael Steele's position as chair of the Republican National Committee. However, he declined to run, and in January 2011 was named to head the transition team for newly elected RNC Chair Reince Priebus, together with former RNC Chair Ed Gillespie.

A native of the U.S. state of Georgia (he grew up in Austell and Mableton, in southern Cobb County), Ayers was raised by parents who voted for Bill Clinton and H. Ross Perot in 1992. Ayers told ''The New Republic'' that back then, he was "high on" Clinton and then-Gov. Zell Miller, a Democrat. Later, he worked at a bank owned by the family of a more liberal Democratic Governor, Roy Barnes.

Ayers graduated from South Cobb High School in 2000. At Kennesaw State University, Ayers plunged into politics with the College Republicans, soon helping organize CR rallies that drew crowds of 3,000 or more. Ayers quickly rose to president of the Kennesaw State chapter, and he met State Senator Sonny Perdue, soon joining his campaign, and (at age 19) leaving Kennesaw State in 2002 to help him become the first Republican Governor of Georgia since Reconstruction.

In 2004, at age 22, he was named manager of Perdue's re-election committee. He was cited as one of the Republican Party's five "fastest rising stars in the nation" by the ''Atlanta Journal Constitution'' along with the likes of then-Louisiana Congressman Bobby Jindal. Two years later, the Governor was re-elected by a 20-point margin in an otherwise Democratic year, with Ayers having served as manager for the entire campaign.

In 2007, he was named to head the RGA. At this point, Perdue was serving a one-year stint as RGA Chairman. Ayers and his longtime Georgia associate, Paul Bennecke (just named RGA's Political Director) proposed an unprecedented four-year plan to professionalize the committee's operation and implement a long-range strategy, leading up to the 2010 midterm elections, when 37 Governors would be elected. Ayers's plan was accepted by the Governors, and he and Bennecke served through four gubernatorial cycles encompassing all 50 states. When Ayers began at RGA, Republicans were reeling from a terrible 2006 cycle, and held only 22 statehouses. When Ayers left in early 2011, the GOP held 29 Governorships, a net gain of seven (including Ohio, Michigan, New Jersey, Wisconsin and Virginia).

Ayers lives in Atlanta with his wife Jamie (Floyd), from Houston County, Ga. They were married in May 2005; Mrs. Ayers, herself a political fundraiser and CEO of The Jamieson Group, Inc., is a second cousin of Gov. Perdue. He earned his college degree from Kennesaw in 2009. Ayers also studied International and Government Affairs at the University of Surrey at Roehampton in London.

References

External links

Staff bios, RGA.org

Category:Living people Category:Kennesaw State University people Category:Georgia (U.S. state) Republicans Category:People from Cobb County, Georgia