. Sonny Perdue Is Sole Finalist to Lead Georgias Public Universities, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/15/us/sonny-perdue-georgia-chancellor.html. Or are they sometimes coming from outside it? Georgia Today is a production of Georgia Public Broadcasting. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue said today that he did not plan to step down from his Cabinet duties, amid reports that the president is getting ready to make several . Eric Stirgus: Well, he didn't go into specifics that day. Very few Republican elected officials, operatives, donors and activists in Georgia have. This is Georgia Today. The office directed the USDA chief to reimburse the government for travel expenses and other costs of the event. Revoking accreditation to schools including the University of Georgia, Fort Valley State and Georgia Southern would be a monumental step. [News tape] WSB: Gov. There are probably about 48,000 employees in the university system, and they range from professors, assistant professors, you know, associate professors, guest lecturers, you know, everything from electricians to people who work in the cafeterias. Atlanta Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms shocked manyby announcing last week she will not be running for reelection. [48], During meetings with Georgia state port officials, then-Governor Perdue discussed his family business's use of a terminal, then started a new export company in Savannah soon after leaving office. We'll be back next week. Subscribe today and get a full year of Mother Jones for just $14.95. [24] During his governorship, Perdue collected at least $25,000 in gifts, including sporting event tickets and airplane flights. So I think there is some concern out there among some of them. The state's Board of Regents on Wednesday named a veteran finance official as the acting chancellor of Georgia's public university system, stalling former Gov. So that's a little strange, isn't it? Eric Stirgus: Publicly, I don't think he's said one way or another right now. He praised the tax cuts and the program of deregulation, which, he claimed, benefitted the people who needed it most, those in the middle, and the lower rungs. Its little wonder that Trump would train his benevolence on the little people, because hes a blue-collar guy who worked for years in the construction yards, with all kinds of folks, all colors, Kudlow informed Perdues listeners. [14] He defeated Republican candidate Ned Sanders in 1990 and succeeded Democratic incumbent Ed Barker as the senator representing the 18th district. You know, he also backed Brian Kemp to fill the position of Secretary of State. [23], In January 2003, Perdue signed an executive order prohibiting himself and all other state employees from receiving any gift worth more than $25. He shortly thereafter became a committee chairman, then climbed the leadership ladder to majority leader and to Senate president pro tempore. Lance Cheung/USDA; Mother Jones Illustration. At least he is out of the gate. Steve Fennessy: Matthew Boedy, a University of North Georgia professor and president of the Georgia conference of the American Association of University Professors, told the New York Times that, quote, "a chancellor's job is to defend the system against such bills. Kemp continues to be grateful for that support, and he feels some, you know, some loyalty, from what we've been hearing from our sources towards Sonny Perdue. Each of those firms is owned by Perdue Business Holdings Inc., and Secretary Perdues newly created FALF Management Trust of which the secretary is a co-trustee owns 100 percent of the voting stock in Perdue Business Holdings, according to his 2019 disclosure. June 23, 2021. Brian Kemp: Obviously, this is huge for our campaign. Brian Kemp in Mays Republican primary. But should it go to a politician? Sonny Perdue issues state of emergency for 17 Georgia counties", "Perdue fails to disclose '04 purchase of land", "Trump to announce Sonny Perdue for Agriculture", "Sonny Perdue Sworn in as 31st U.S. Secretary of Agriculture", "Trump hires campaign workers instead of farmworkers at USDA", "Sonny Perdue is Trump's 'designated survivor' for State of the Union 2018", "Perdue tells second Iowa Ag Summit he wants to support new farmers", "Trump administration to return refined grains to school lunches", Many USDA workers to quit as research agencies move to Kansas City: 'The brain drain we all feared', ERS union predicts mass exodus ahead of relocation, 'Cut, Relocate, Eviscerate': Moving a USDA Research Agency Will Have Lasting Consequences, Employees Say, Economists flee Agriculture Dept. 260 14th St. NW Perdue restructured his original family trust into a new fund that he did not oversee, and the fund then sold off two of his businesses directly involved in agriculture the only assets that posed potential conflicts, according to a USDA spokesperson. What's the implication there? [71], In 2006, while still governor, Perdue made a cameo appearance as the coach of the East Carolina Pirates football team in the movie We Are Marshall, large portions of which were filmed in Georgia. [47], Perdue was constitutionally ineligible to seek a third consecutive term as governor in the 2010 Georgia gubernatorial election. Former US Secretary of Agriculture and former Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue were named chancellor of the University System of Georgia by the Board of Regents today (USG). This week, officials on the Board of Regents announced Perdue is the sole finalist for the top job of chancellor. The income stemmed partly from the sale of conservation credits under a federal wetlands protection program. Your support makes this possible. Janet Napolitano of Arizona, a Democrat, later ran the University of California system, and former Gov. Eric Stirgus: You know, and then there have been other instances where, you know, Sonny has supported now-Gov. [50], In September 2017, Politico reported that, according to 42 reviewed resumes, the department hired 22 former Trump campaign workers, many of which had no significant agricultural knowledge or experience with federal policies. Steve Fennessy: Eric, you've covered higher education in Georgia for a lot of years. But last year,. Eric Stirgus: You know, it's a pretty important job in the state of Georgia. He was there at the end. The COVID-19 crisis served as yet another opportunity to promote the political fortunes of his boss, without impeding his pursuit of a pro-agribusiness, anti-worker agenda. It pays pretty well. So we have not had a chancellor at least, a non-interim chancellor for at least seven or eight months, right? Steve Fennessy: The governor appoints the regents on the Board of Regents; there's 19 of them. [7] His appointment was approved by an 8711 vote by the Senate on April 24. And I'm curious about why it's elicited such a ferocious response on the side of those who are for the idea, but also those who are against it. Some farmers ended up destroying perfectly good food. [53] In August 2017, he announced a mentoring program for new farmers. Mitch Daniels of Indiana has led Purdue University since 2012. After Perdue took office, in 2003 and 2004, Georgia moved up from last place in the country in SAT scores. Here to help us make sense of the implications of all this is Eric Stirgis, who covers higher education at the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. While Perdue puffed up the generosity of his boss, the USDA was busy botching the food-relief effort, awarding fat contracts to distributors ill-equipped to handle them, with the result that some parts of the country got a lot of food, while others got very little, NPR reported. Steve Fennessy: Politics makes strange bedfellows. The staff of Mother Jones is highlighting the years heroes and monsters. He enjoys flying and, in a 2003 incident, was accused of flying a state helicopter without a license. Today, reader support makes up about two-thirds of our budget, allows us to dig deep on stories that matter, and lets us keep our reporting free for everyone. All Rights Reserved. His nomination was transmitted to the U.S. Senate on March 9, 2017. In 2005, Georgia state Rep. Larry ONealPerdues personal lawyermanaged to pass what the Atlanta Journal-Constitution called a seemingly mundane tax bill thatincluded a a last-minute change that saved the governor an estimated $100,000 in state taxes. Secretary Perdue was just chastised for his abuse of tax dollars for political purposes by ethics authorities, so we cannot take these claims at face value, he said. [News tape] WSB: He called being named a finalist a quote wonderful capstone to a career in public service. Governor Pierre Howard asking for more responsibilities, and Howard obliged. On March 1, 2022, the Board of Regents of University System of Georgia appointed Perdue as the system's 14th chancellor, effective April 1, 2022. [6] His nomination was approved by the Senate Agriculture Committee by a 19-1 voice vote on March 30. Across the state, teachers have found themselves caught in a conservative battle to ban divisive topics from classrooms, which Republican lawmakers define as a various list of ideas regarding race. [News tape] 11Alive: He tweeted, "Brian Kemp is running for governor of the Great State of Georgia. Purdue merged the voter-fraud myth with another racist fantasy, also fervently indulged by Trump, that undocumented immigrants burden taxpayers by siphoning welfare benefits. Brian Kemp: That's why I'm looking forward to working with the members of the General Assembly this legislative session to protect our students from the divisive ideologies like critical race theory. Steve Fennessy: How Gov. Perdue is a kind of an easy-going Southern version of the president he served so zealously. I'm Steve Fennessy. The terms of two of those members expired at the beginning of January, and Gov. Along with the recent Hatch Act violation, Perdue is facing blowback from Democrats and food banks for requiring all contractors under a $4 billion coronavirus relief program to stuff promotional letters signed by Trump into millions of food boxes delivered to hungry families. The administration began acquiring bond money for the Go Fish Education Center near his home in Perry, GA. So let's go into November with me as your nominee.". [23] Prior to Perdue's becoming governor, no state agency had compiled an inventory of what assets were owned by the state. But her critics have said thatwhat she calls a COVID Crime Wave and her handling of the firing of Atlanta police officer Garrett Rolfe, who shot Rayshard Brooks last summer, made her vulnerable if she had chosen to run. When you go this long without having a permanent chancellor on board, what signal does that send or how does that affect the operations of our schools? Secretary Perdue has visibility into and control over the trusts and their underlying assets, and he continues to benefit from them despite the plain terms of his 2017 ethics agreement, Evers wrote to the inspector general. You know, he provided the money for the budget for the university system, and he understands how the system, you know, to a certain degree, you know, how the system works. Sanders: one of the the most fun, engaging, charming, and charismatic people Ive ever been around. Perdue: he has an amazing instinctive ability to make decisions.. Perdue, a former US senator, has so far raised a fraction of what Kemp has in his campaign war chest. Then there were the full-on MAGA-bots like Sonny Perdue, the Georgia politician and agribusiness entrepreneur who became agriculture secretary. Ethics authorities have already issued warnings to a dozen Trump administration officials for violating the Hatch Act, but Perdues straightforward appeal to reelect Trump was seen as especially flagrant. [69] Perdue lives in Bonaire, Georgia. Kemp replaced them with two additional members. Why is accreditation important for a university system like Georgia's? Sign up to receive GPB Event announcements via Email. There may be that short list that some of these members of the Board of Regents have, but they're not allowed to discuss it publicly. The former two-term Georgia governor has kept his cabinet post until the end, maintaining a close relationship with . He stated that legitimate, measurable carbon trading could spur so-called carbon sequestration by giving farmers an incentive to innovate. That decision and the selection of Mr. Perdue are both intrusions on academic freedom, Mr. Boedy, the University of North Georgia professor, said. [46] The land was adjacent to the 20,000 acres (81km2) Oaky Woods preserve being sold by Weyerhaeuser. From the year 2017 to 2021, George has served as the 31st United States Secretary Of Agriculture. [67], Perdue's assets during his time as Secretary were placed in blind trusts, as is common to prevent financial conflicts of interest. He would not be the first governor to move into academia: Former Gov. He spent his 2020 like he spent the other years of his Washington stint: flattering his boss at every opportunity, and lavishing largesse on political allies while undercutting poor people and food-system workers. Higher education is where I wanted to have a real impact as governor, only to be stymied by twin recessions, he said in the board-issued statement. Perdue addressed the crowd, saying "We've come together here simply for one reason and one reason only: to very reverently and respectfully pray up a storm" and "God, we need you; we need rain." They have to be in charge of making sure that the schools comply with federal education policies and procedures, state education rules and regulations. SteveFennessyis host of Georgia Today,a weekly radio show and podcast on Georgia Public Broadcasting thatexplains stories of interest to Georgians through the experience and perspective of the reporters covering those stories. [40], In 2008, Perdue worked with the Georgia Emergency Management Agency to implement Ready Georgia, a campaign to increase disaster preparedness throughout the state. [54] In December 2018, he changed the nutrition standards for school lunches to allow more refined grains, allow milk with added sugar, and increased sodium. [News tape] FOX5: The Board of Regents has made its choice for the state's next chancellor. Eric Stirgus: I think it's been a mix of both. "[45], The project overall has been scrutinized as a waste of taxpayer money due to mismanagement of bond money and extremely low visitors. He was confirmed by the Senate on April 24,[49] with Bernie Sanders and nine Democrats voting against him. His nomination was transmitted to the U.S. Senate on March 9, 2017. Chris Saeger, a spokesperson for Accountable.US, said the reorganization of Perdues assets from one trust to another appears to be nothing more than a shell game and a maze of technicalities and denials.. In 2011, he founded Perdue Partners, which facilitated the export of U.S. goods and services. In December 2001, Perdue resigned as state senator and devoted himself entirely to running for the office of Governor of Georgia. We're a nonprofit (so it's tax-deductible), and reader support makes up about two-thirds of our budget. Steve Fennessy: When you look at past chancellors in the university system of Georgia, is that a position where the person who gets the job is typically coming from a higher educational background? | J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo. Libertarian Garrett Michael Hayes was also on the ballot. Two-thirds of the reassigned USDA employees chose to quit rather than accept relocation. Atlanta, GA 30318 [News tape] FOX5: Critics have questioned Perdue's experience, pointing out his lack of experience in the higher education setting. Eric Stirgus: There was some support on the regents, but not enough support to get him across the finish line to be named as chancellor. He served as his party's leader in the Senate from 1994 to 1997 and as president pro tempore. Kemp can use that to the Republican base and say, "Hey, you know, I have one of the most loyal Trump guys you know, and, you know, if I appointed him to a very important position here in state government and we know we've had a long-standing relationship. Sonny Perdue was its sole finalist to become chancellor, a choice that has outraged some professors and led a regional agency to threaten the accreditation of the 26-school system. [32] Perdue disappointed some Georgians by not making the 1956 flag one of the choices on the ballot, despite a campaign promise to do so. But then prior to him, you had Errol Davis, who was a utilities company executive and he had no administrative experience in higher education. The commitments entailed moving his holdings into a new trust and agreeing not to serve as a trustee or beneficiary of the fund.

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