GEORGIA HOUSE ELECTS NEW SPEAKER

By R. A. Pearson

On Monday January 11, 2009, the Georgia House of Representatives elected David Ralston its new speaker. The election ends a somewhat turbulent scandal that brought down former speaker Glenn Richardson, one of the state's most powerful politicians, , who stepped down as following allegations of an affair with and a lobbyist a suicide attempt. Ralston's supporters said the Blue Ridge Republican would offer a steady hand in the wake of the drama surrounding the GOP scandal.

Richardson resigned as Speaker of the House at the beginning of the year, and resigned his House seat representing Paulding County in a letter to the governor later in January 2010. State Rep. Mark Burkhalter briefly ran the House on Monday, capping off an 11-day tenure as speaker. Burkhalter, who had been speaker pro tem, automatically took over when Richardson stepped down on January 1. After Ralston's election, Burkhalter handed over the gavel and embraced his party's new leader.

The House also elected Jan Jones, a Republican from Milton, as speaker pro tem. The vote made her the highest ranking woman in Georgia legislative history.

Ralston, the 72nd speaker of the Georgia House of Representatives, indicated the state budget will be his top priority. While they have already made $3 billion in cuts, state revenues have continued to decline. This year state lawmakers are predicting a shortfall of $1.5 billion. The lawmakers point out thousands of teachers and state workers already have been furloughed and the State parks have scaled back their hours. Prisons have grown more crowded. In the courts there is a growing backlog in civil cases and delays in thousands of criminal cases.

Ralston says public education is a core mission of state government, but with the budget shortfall in evidence everywhere, teachers in Georgia are already bracing for more cuts as Georgia’s budget continues to shrink.

Ralston has offered an olive branch to minority Democrats who have complained for years about Richardson's sometimes bullying style. He immediately sought to strike a tone of firm reassurance saying, “Sometimes renewal is born by adversity,” as the chamber recovers from scandal and moves forward into a session of brutal budget cuts which will impact all Georgians.

Today the Georgia GOP holds a 105-74 advantage in the House.