Governor Perdue Announces Executive Appointments

Governor Perdue Announces Executive Appointments

ATLANTA - Governor Sonny Perdue announced today eleven appointments to the Independent Redistricting Task Force. The task force was created by the Governor through an executive order to study and consider the creation of an independent commission for the purpose of legislative and congressional redistricting. Members include representatives from cities thought Georgia, including Albany, Athens, Augusta, Columbus, Macon and metro Atlanta. The Governor’s eleven appointees include representatives from the legal, academic and business community.

“I look forward to the Commission’s recommendations on the viability of an independent body to draw district lines,” said Governor Sonny Perdue. “I’m enthusiastic about the variety of members we’ve chosen for the Independent Redistricting Task Force and the challenging work that they are undertaking.”

The Commission will study and make recommendations on the possibility of an independent redistricting commission to ensure balanced, fairly drawn districts and improve public faith in the elective process. The task force will make recommendations by December 31, 2006 regarding their findings.

State Redistricting Task Force
Harold G. Clarke, Forsyth, GA, CHAIRMAN – Clarke heads the alternative dispute resolution practice group at the law firm Troutman Sanders. He is a former chief justice of the Georgia Supreme Court and a former member of the Georgia General Assembly. Clarke serves as honorary co-chair of the minority counsel committee of the State Bar of Georgia, member of the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under Law and is a fellow of the American Bar Foundation and the American College of Trial Lawyers. He served as president of the State Bar of Georgia, president of the Flint Circuit Bar Association and chairman of the Judicial Council of Georgia. He earned his law degree from the University of Georgia.

J. Veronica Biggins, Atlanta, GA – Biggins is a consultant and managing partner of Heidrick and Struggles. Prior to joining Heidrick and Struggles, she served as the director of presidential personnel for President Bill Clinton. Biggins background includes twenty years of experience with NationsBank. She serves on the boards of trustees of the Georgia Research Alliance, the Woodruff Arts Center and the Downtown Atlanta Rotary Club. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Spelman College and a master’s degree from Georgia State University.

Walter M. “Sonny” Deriso, Jr., Albany, GA – Deriso is the chairman of the board of Security Bank and Trust Company of Albany and is a board member of Post Properties. He has served as vice-chairman of the board of Synovus Financial Corporation and managing partner of Divine, Wilkin, Deriso, Raulerson and Fields. Deriso is the chairman of the board of directors of the Georgia Regional Transportation Authority and a member of the board of directors of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce, the board of trustees of Emory University and the board of trustees of the South Georgia Methodist Home for Children and Youth. He earned a bachelor’s degree and law degree from Emory University and completed an Advanced Management Program at the Fuqua School of Business of Duke University.

Frank C. Jones, Macon, GA – Jones retired as an active partner of King and Spalding, LLP in 2001. He now serves as council to Jones, Cork and Miller, LLP, where he was a member from 1950 to 1977. Jones is the president of the U.S. Supreme Court Historical Society, member of the Commission for a New Georgia and the chair of the Committee to Evaluate Qualifications of Prospective Appointees to Federal Bench. He served as the president of the American College of Trial Lawyers, president of the State Bar of Georgia and chairman of the board of Georgia Public Telecommunications Commission. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Emory University and a law degree from Mercer University.

James Randal “Randy” Hall, Augusta, GA – Hall is a partner at Warlick, Tritt, Stebbins & Hall, LLP and served as a corporate vice president and legal counsel for Bankers First Corporation. Hall is the chairman of the Georgia Medical Center Authority, a member of the board of directors of the Augusta Southern Nationals and a member of the Augusta Symphony League. He is a former Georgia State Senator, a past president for the Augusta Coalition for Children and Youth and a past president of the Augusta Lions Club. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Augusta College and a law degree from the University of Georgia.

Dink NeSmith, Athens, GA – NeSmith is co-owner and president of Community Newspapers, Inc., which publishes dozens of newspapers in Georgia, Florida and the Carolinas. He serves on the boards of directors of Athens First Bank and Trust Company, Southern Mutual Insurance Company and Pattillo Construction Company. NeSmith is a member of the Commission for a New Georgia. He is past president of the Georgia Press Association, Leadership Georgia, and the University of Georgia Alumni Association and past chairman of the Georgia Public Telecommunications Commission. He earned a bachelor’s degree from the University of Georgia.

Steve Smith, Atlanta, GA – Smith is vice president of corporate responsibility for Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. He worked as the director of administrative services for Georgia Public Broadcasting and as a principal in the Fulton County School System. Smith is a member of the Committee for Better Atlanta, the Central Atlanta Progress Executive Marketing Roundtable Committee, the board of directors of the Georgia Partnership for Excellence in Education and the board of directors of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce. He earned a bachelor’s degree and a master’s degree from the University of Georgia and an education degree from Troy State University.

John D. Sours, Atlanta, GA – Sours is a founder and partner of the law firm Wasson, Sours and Harris, LLP. He previously practiced law with the firm Smith, Currie and Hancock, LLP, served as an instructor in dispute resolution at Southern Polytechnic State University and taught as an adjunct professor at the Georgia Institute of Technology. Sours is state vice chair of Common Cause Georgia, a member of the American Bar Association and the State Bars of Georgia and Virginia. He serves as legislative advisor to the Georgia branch of the Associated General Contractors of America. Sours is a former member of the State Election Board and past president of the Atlanta Chapter of the Federal Bar Association. He earned a bachelor’s degree from the College of William and Mary and a law degree from the Marshall-Wythe School of Law.

Frank B. Strickland, Atlanta, GA – Strickland is a partner in the law firm Strickland, Brockington and Lewis, LLP. He served as a director of the Atlanta Legal Aid Society and the Federal Defender Program, Inc. He is a board member of the Legal Services Corporation in Washington, D.C., a member of the Fulton County Board of Registration and Elections and a member of the Georgia Judicial Nominating Commission. He is a former chairman of the State Ethics Commission and a former trustee for the Institute for Continuing Legal Education in Georgia. He earned a bachelor’s degree from Vanderbilt University and a law degree from Emory University.

Kerwin Swint, Ph.D., Marietta, GA – Swint is a professor of political science at Kennesaw State University and the president of Southeast Political Group, Inc., a political consulting and research firm. Swint is an author and frequent political analyst for TV news programs, including CNN. He has been quoted in newspapers and magazines across the country, including The Los Angeles Times, National Journal, Roll Call, George magazine, The Hotline, The Atlanta Journal/Constitution, and other regional publications in the southeast. Swint is a recipient of Georgia Trend magazine's "40 Under 40" award. He earned a bachelor’ degree and a master’s degree from the University of Georgia and a doctorate from Georgia State University.

William B. Turner, Columbus, GA – Turner is director emeritus of the W.C. Bradley Company, following 35 years as chairman. He is the treasurer of the Bradley-Turner Foundation, chair of the boards of trustees of the W.B. and Sue T. Turner Foundation and chairman of the Pastoral Institute. He is the former chairman of Synovus Financial Corporation, former board chairman of Columbus Bank and Trust, and former director of the Coca-Cola Company, Georgia Power and Bibb Manufacturing Company. He served on the Georgia Board of Regents for nine years and is a former trustee of the Georgia Tech Research Institute. He earned a bachelor’s degree from the Georgia Institute of Technology.

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