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Brian Kemp
| Brian Kemp | ||
 | ||
| Georgia Secretary of State | ||
| Incumbent | ||
| In office | ||
| 2010 - Present | ||
| Term ends | ||
| January 12, 2015 | ||
| Years in position | 3 | |
| Party | Republican | |
| Predecessor | Karen Handel (R) | |
| Compensation | ||
| Base salary | $123,636 | |
| Elections and appointments | ||
| First elected | November 2, 2010 | |
| Appointed | January 2010 | |
| Appointed by | Gov. Sonny Perdue | |
| Term limits | N/A | |
| Prior offices | ||
| Georgia State Senate | ||
| 2002-2006 | ||
| Education | ||
| High school | Clark Central High School | |
| Bachelor's | University of Georgia | |
| Personal | ||
| Place of birth | Athens, Georgia | |
| Religion | Episcopal | |
| Websites | ||
| Office website | ||
| Campaign website | ||
Contents |
Biography
Kemp was born and raised in Athens, Georgia. He graduated from Clark Central High School and received his B.S. in Agriculture from the University of Georgia. Apart from his political career, he is the owner of Kemp Properties, a small business specializing in real estate investments and property management, a member of Habitat for Humanity, a Committee Chair for a Sexual Assault Center, and the past President of Athens Area Homebuilders Association.[3]
Education
- Clark Central High School
- Bachelor's of Science degree, University of Georgia in agriculture
Political career
Georgia Secretary of State (2010-present)
Issues
Licensing reform
- See also: Duties of the Georgia Secretary of State
One of Kemp's responsibilities as Secretary of State is to oversee the services of state licensing boards, which set "policies and standards, determine how much education and experience is needed and which exams applicants must pass."[4]
Kemp sought to change the licensing system through a proposal, contained in Senate Bill 445, which would transfer licensing authority from Georgia's 43 licensing boards and about 300 board members to Kemp's staff and a new board of seven people appointed by the governor. Kemp believed this would make reduce application processing and license issuing time, and increase overall efficiency of the system. Kemp cited Texas as an example of a state which has successfully consolidated its licensing fleet, cutting major costs that would normally go toward travel and conferencing expenses for the various board members.
The reform stood to affect about half-million Georgians who rely on licenses to work, with nurses representing the largest fraction of licensed professionals (111,149 as of February 2012) and the chief critics of the proposal. Kemp's staff shrunk substantially following the recession, raising doubts as to whether the small staff could do the job thoroughly in the same amount of time (or less time, as Kemp claimed), than the board responsible for issuing nursing licenses. "If a barber gives you a bad haircut, it's a bad haircut. If a nurse messes up, it may kill you," said Barry Cranfill, a member of the state Board of Nursing.[4]
House Bill 454
In 2012, the Georgia General Assembly passed House Bill 454, which called for the state legislature to give away its responsibility for setting the presidential preference primary date to the Secretary of State. Georgia law previously required the state to hold the presidential preference primary on the first Tuesday in February of a presidential election year, when, according to Kemp, powerhouse states like New York and California also set their dates.
Leaving it up to the Georgia state legislature meant forgoing the opportunity for Georgia to be a battleground state for Presidential primary races. Georgia's legislature adjourns earlier than some other states, resulting in it naming the same date as several other states. Kemp believed that if the Secretary of State assumed the responsibility, he/she would give Georgia a strategic advantage insofar as having the ability to name a date which will falls right before the cutoff, thereby gaining "influence and overriding the importance of other primaries," Kemp said. [5]
“We’re seeing something that hasn’t been the case in Georgia in as long as I can remember, and that’s that the candidates are actually coming and campaigning here and they’re going to try to make a play to win our state.”
Kemp pledged, despite the apparent riskiness of waiting till the last minute to set the date, to act in good faith, and to abide by the Republican National Committee so Georgia would not suffer a loss of delegates.[6]
Controversies
Voting record accusation
At a Cobb County GOP breakfast in early June 2010, incumbent Secretary of State Kemp accused his Republican primary opponent, Doug MacGinnitie, of having not voted "in a Republican primary for almost 20 years until 2008." [7] [8] Voting records, however, suggest otherwise. Since 1988, MacGinnitie has voter a total of twenty-three times in the state; six of these were in Republican primary contests. In response, Kemp's campaign spokesman argued that in almost of those instances, they were for presidential elections; when it came to state Republican primaries, MacGinnitie was largely absent until 2008. And while MacGinnitie's campaign admitted that their candidate's consistency in voting was far from perfect, critics contended that Kemp has repeatedly failed to distinguish between his opponent's state and national voting records.
Georgia State Senate (2002-2006)
Kemp was elected to the Georgia State Senate representing District 46 (all of Oconee County and parts of Walton and Clarke counties) after narrowly defeating Democratic incumbent Doug Haines in November 2002. [9] During his four-year tenure, he served in a number of capacities, including as chairman of the Public Safety and Homeland Security Committee, vice chairman of the Higher Education Committee, secretary of the Agriculture and Consumer Affairs Committee, and member of the Appropriations Committee. He ran for State Agriculture Commissioner in 2006, but lost in the Republican primary contest. [10]
Elections
2010
- Primary
| 2010 Race for Secretary of State - Republican Primary [11] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote Percentage | |
| Republican Party |  Brian Kemp
|
59.2% | |
| Republican Party | Doug MacGinnitie | 40.8% | |
| Total Votes | 609,478 | ||
- General
| 2010 Race for Secretary of State - General Election [12] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote Percentage | |
| Republican Party | Brian Kemp
|
56.4% | |
| Democratic Party | Georganna Sinkfield | 39.4% | |
| Libertarian Party | David Chastain | 4.2% | |
| Total Votes | 2,552,722 | ||
2006
| 2006 Race for Commissioner of Agriculture - Republican Primary Election [10] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote Percentage | |
| Republican Party | Black
|
42.3% | |
| Republican Party | Brian Kemp | 26.8% | |
| Republican Party | Greer | 15.9% | |
| Republican Party | Strickland | 15.0% | |
| Total Votes | 362,812 | ||
2002
- 2002 Race for State Senate, District 46 - Republican Primary [13]
- Brian Kemp ran unopposed in this contest
- General
| 2002 Race for State Senate, District 46 - General Election [9] | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Party | Candidate | Vote Percentage | |
| Republican Party | Brian Kemp
|
50.7% | |
| Democratic Party | Doug Haines | 49.3% | |
| Total Votes | 34,519 | ||
Campaign donors
Ballotpedia collects information on campaign donors for each year in which a candidate or incumbent is running for election. The following table offers a breakdown of Brian Kemp's donors each year.[14] Click [show] for more information.
| Brian Kemp's Campaign Contributions | |||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2010 Georgia Secretary of State | 2006 Georgia Agriculture Commissioner | 2004 Georgia State Senate | 2002 Georgia State Senate | ||||||||||||||||
| Total Raised | $896,518 | $872,237 | $295,412 | $210,824 | |||||||||||||||
| Total Raised by General Election Opponent | $796,305 (Dem.) $24,387 (Lib.) | - | $179,100 (Dem.) | $182,998 (Dem.) | |||||||||||||||
| Top 5 contributors | Donald M. Leebern, Jr. | $12,200 | Brian Kemp | $35,472 | Johnson for Senate | $4,000 | Johnson for Senate | $4,000 | |||||||||||
| Judy Newman | $12,200 | Donald M Leebern III | $8,000 | Stephens for Senate | $4,000 | National Federation of Independent Business | $3,908 | ||||||||||||
| Stacey Van Allen Leebern | $12,200 | Yancey Brothers | $8,000 | Georgia Republican Party | $4,000 | G8 PAC of Georgia | $3,000 | ||||||||||||
| Integrated Power Solutions | $12,200 | Dan A. Moody | $7,500 | MoodyVictory.com | $4,000 | Georgias Best PAC | $3,000 | ||||||||||||
| Donald M. Leebern III | $12,200 | Roddy S. Sturdivant | $7,000 | Home Builders Association of Georgia | $4,000 | Pecos | $3,000 | ||||||||||||
| Individuals | $508,840 | $496,242 | $98,772 | $95,867 | |||||||||||||||
| Institutions | $214,748 | $195,431 | $122,172 | $76,104 | |||||||||||||||
| In-state donations | $879,818 | $862,177 | $279,162 | $202,766 | |||||||||||||||
| Out-of-state donations | $16,700 | $9,525 | $16,250 | $8,058 | |||||||||||||||
Personal
Kemp currently resides in Athens, Georgia with his wife, Marty Argo, and their three children - Jarrett, Lucy, and Amy Porter. He is also a practicing member of the Athens Emmanuel Episcopal Church.
Recent news
 |
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This section displays the most recent stories in a Google news search for the term "Brian + Kemp + Georgia + Secretary"
- All stories may not be relevant to this page due to the nature of the search engine.
Brian Kemp News Feed
- BRIAN KEMP: What community newspapers mean to me - jacksonprogress-argus
- Athenian new chairman of Georgia GOP - Online Athens
- Cautious charity advised by state officials - WFXL FOX 31
- Republicans cite scandals to slam Obama in day one of GOP convention in Athens - Online Athens
- Athens-Clarke County GOP meeting draws candidates for variety of offices - Online Athens
- Kemp: Ga. needs uniform way to pay wrongly convicted - Rome News Tribune
- Deal green lights Georgia Archives move - News-Daily.com
- Georgia GOP to convene on Athens - Online Athens
- What's going on today? - Online Athens
- Georgia elections officals gather in Savannah to discuss voting - Savannah Morning News
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Contact information
Capitol Address:
214 State Capitol
Atlanta, Georgia 30334
Telephone: (404) 656-2881
Fax: (404) 656-0513
Campaign Address:
Post Office Box 5187
Athens, GA 30604
Phone: (706) 850-0570
E-mail: brain@votebriankemp.com
See also
External links
- Official Georgia Secretary of State website
- Georgia State Senate - Senator Brian Kemp (R-46) biography
- Brian Kemp's Facebook profile
- Brian Kemp's Twitter account
- Kemp for Secretary of State Campaign website
- Project Vote Smart - Brian Kemp biography
- Campaign contributions: 2012, 2010, 2006, 2004, 2002
References
- ↑ Athens Banner-Herald "Brian Kemp appointed Georgia secretary of state" 4 Jan. 2010
- ↑ Red State "Karen Handel Aims to Win the GOP Gubernatorial Nomination in Georgia" 22 Dec. 2009
- ↑ Kemp Secretary of State, "Kemp Bio", accessed February 21, 2012
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 Atlanta Journal-Constitution, "Changes to licensing proposed for half-million Georgians," February 21, 2012
- ↑ The Huffington Post, "Secretary of State: Ga. Progressing as Primary Battleground," Febuary 22, 2012
- ↑ Secretary of State News, "Secretary of State Kemp Announces Georgia’s Presidential Preference Primary Date," September 28, 2011
- ↑ YouTube "Kemp Sets Record Straight About Doug's Hypocrisy" 9 June, 2010
- ↑ PolitiFact Georgia "Says his GOP challenger, Doug MacGinnitie, "hadn’t voted in a Republican primary for almost 20 years until 2008" 5 July, 2010
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 Georgia Secretary of State - 2002 General Election Results
- ↑ 10.0 10.1 Georgia Secretary of State - 2006 Commissioner of Agriculture Republican Primary Results
- ↑ Georgia Secretary of State - 2010 Primary Election Results
- ↑ Georgia Secretary of State - 2010 General Election Results
- ↑ Georgia Secretary of State - 2002 Primary Election Results
- ↑ Follow the Money.org
| Political offices | ||
|---|---|---|
| Preceded by Karen Handel (R) |
Georgia Secretary of State 2010–present |
Succeeded by NA |
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