Jim Martin (Georgia politician)

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For other persons named Jim Martin, see Jim Martin (disambiguation).

Jim Martin is an American politician, a member of the Democratic Party, and a former member of the General Assembly in the U.S. state of Georgia. Martin was the Democratic nominee for Lieutenant Governor of Georgia, but was defeated by Republican candidate Casey Cagle in the 2006 general election. He announced his candidacy for US Senate on March 19, 2008 ^[1].

1 Biography
2 Political career
3 External links
4 References

[edit] Biography

Martin was born August 22, 1945 in Atlanta, Georgia. He attended Atlanta public schools and received a B.A. in 1967 from the University of Georgia in Athens. He continued his studies at Georgia and received a J.D. in 1969.

Martin served as a Lieutenant in the U.S. Army in Vietnam from 1969 to 1971.

After his military service, he returned to the University of Georgia and earned an L.L.M in 1972. He also received a Master of Business Administration in Management from Georgia State University in 1980.

Martin has been married to Joan since 1970 and has four children and three grandchildren.

He is an elder in the Presbyterian Church.

[edit] Political career

Main article: Georgia statewide elections, 2006

Martin was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives in 1983 and served there for 18 years. During his tenure in the House, Martin served as Chairman of several committees, including the Judiciary Committee and the Human Services Subcommittee of the Appropriations Committee. He also served as an active member of the Industrial Relations, Special Judiciary and Children and Youth Committees.

He served as Commissioner of Human Resources under governors Roy Barnes and Sonny Perdue. From 2004 to 2005, he was the Chief Legal Officer of the Georgia Public Defender Standards Council. From 2007 to 2008, he was an Executive Fellow at the Georgia State University Andrew Young School of Policy Studies.

On March 19, 2008, Martin launched his campaign for U.S. Senate against incumbent Senator Saxby Chambliss.