Nathan Deal

Nathan Deal
82nd Governor of Georgia
Incumbent
Assumed office January 10, 2011
Lieutenant	Casey Cagle
Preceded by	Sonny Perdue
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Georgia's 9th district
In office January 3, 2007 – March 21, 2010
Preceded by	Charlie Norwood
Succeeded by	Tom Graves
In office January 3, 1993 – January 3, 2003
Preceded by	Ed Jenkins
Succeeded by	Charlie Norwood
Member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Georgia's 10th district
In office January 3, 2003 – January 3, 2007
Preceded by	Charlie Norwood
Succeeded by	Charlie Norwood
Member of the Georgia Senate from the 49th District
In office January 3, 1981 – January 3, 1993
Succeeded by	Jane R. Hemmer
Personal details
Born	(1942-08-25) August 25, 1942 Millen, Georgia, United States
Political party	Republican Party (1995–present)
Other political affiliations	Democratic Party (Before 1995)
Spouse	Sandra Dunagan
Residence	Governor's Mansion
Alma mater	Mercer University Walter F. George School of Law
Profession	Attorney
Military service
Branch/service	United States Army
Years of service	1966–1968

John Nathan Deal (born August 25, 1942) is a United States politician, the 82nd and current Governor of Georgia. He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives as a Democrat in 1992 but switched to the Republican Party in 1995. On March 1, 2010, Deal announced his resignation from Congress to run for governor of Georgia.

Deal faced a crowded field of candidates in the July Republican primary but ultimately faced former Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel in a tightly contested August 10, 2010, primary runoff election, and won by fewer than 2500 votes. The following day Handel declined to pursue a recount and conceded. On November 2, Democratic opponent Roy Barnes called to concede the race for governor of Georgia, making Deal the governor-elect to succeed term-limited Sonny Perdue in 2011.

Early life, education, and early career

Deal was born in Millen in 1942 and grew up in Sandersville. Both of his parents were teachers. He attended Mercer University in Macon, where he earned his bachelor and law degrees with honors. After he earned his Juris Doctor degree in 1966, he went into the United States Army, where he earned the rank of captain.

Deal spent 23 years in private law practice. He was also a criminal prosecutor, a Northeastern Judicial Circuit judge, and a Hall County juvenile court judge. In 1980, he was elected to the Georgia Senate as a conservative Democrat. In November 1990, he was elected by his party to be the President Pro Tempore, the second highest ranking position in the chamber. Democrat Jane R. Hemmer replaced him, but was defeated by Republican Casey Cagle.

U.S. Congress

Elections

Deal was first elected to Congress in November 1992 as a Democrat, succeeding eight-term incumbent Ed Jenkins in Georgia's 9th congressional district. He was re-elected as a Democrat in 1994. However, on April 11, 1995, shortly after Republicans assumed control of the US House of Representatives for the first time in 40 years, Deal joined the Republican Party, which was led by then-Speaker Newt Gingrich, a fellow Georgian. Years later, Gingrich said that Deal became a Republican because he liked what he saw in the Contract With America.

Deal was handily reelected in his first election as a Republican in the 1996 General Election, even though Jenkins endorsed his Democratic opponent, attorney McCracken "Ken" Poston. This was the first time his district had elected a Republican for a full term since Reconstruction. Deal was unopposed for re-election in 1998, 2002 and 2004 and defeated an underfunded Democratic candidate in 2000. His district was renumbered the 10th District in 2003, but became the 9th again after a mid-decade redistricting in 2006.

In November 2006, Deal was re-elected 77%-23%. His Democratic opponent was John Bradbury, a former elementary school teacher turned truck driver. His district, already heavily Republican, became even more Republican after the mid-decade redistricting pushed it further into the Atlanta suburbs.

Tenure

Deal's voting record was relatively moderate in his first term, getting ratings in the 60s from the American Conservative Union (ACU). He moved sharply to the right after his party switch and voted for all four articles of impeachment against Bill Clinton. From 1996 onward, he garnered ratings of 90 or higher from the ACU.

Nathan Deal introduced H.R. 698, THE HUNTER DANFORTH LOL Act, HAPPY B DAY which would eliminate birthright citizenship for illegal aliens in the U.S. The 14th Amendment begins "All persons born or naturalized in the United States, and subject to the jurisdiction thereof, are citizens of the United States...." Deal's argument is that illegal aliens (and their children) are not subject to U.S. jurisdiction.

Recovery Services, Inc. controversy

According to The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, Deal has "personally intervened with Georgia leaders to preserve an obscure state program that earns his company nearly $300,000 a year".

Since 1982 this program has "required any vehicle that is wrecked and rebuilt to pass a safety inspection before the state will issue a title allowing the car to be sold or driven. Inspectors originally traveled to where the vehicle was, making for a slow, inefficient process. In 1989 the state, in a pilot program, authorized a station in Athens to become a site for inspections. The program was expanded in 1990. On February 2, 1990, Recovery Services Inc. was incorporated, with Deal and Cronan listed as officers. Their business became one of the first eight regional state inspection stations, according to the Department of Revenue... The stations are private businesses whose owners agree to provide little more than a garage bay with a hydraulic lift, and an employee to help move cars. The state provides the inspectors. The station owners charge vehicle owners a fee. Deal and Cronan charge $100 per vehicle, the highest of any of the stations operating today. Most charge $60 or $75 per vehicle, state records show. Recovery Services, on Athens Highway in Gainesville, hosted more than 2,800 inspections in 2008."

The Office of Congressional Ethics released a report on March 29, 2010 that concluded Deal appeared to have improperly used his office staff to pressure Georgia officials to continue the state vehicle inspection program that generated hundreds of thousands of dollars a year for his family’s auto salvage business. Deal stated: “I have done nothing wrong and am not going to let this tarnish my (..) record of public service”.

The Office of Congressional Ethics, OCE, released their investigative report (Review No. 09-1022) on March 29, 2010. The report stipulates that "[t]he OCE does not take a position on Representative Deal's motivations for inserting himself into discussions of potential modifications to a state vehicle inspection program... The OCE reviews the facts as presented at the time of review and does not take a position on whether Representative Deal's income from GSD was mistakenly reported as earned income since 2006 on his federal income taxes... [F]or all the reasons stated above, the OCE Board recommends further review by the Committee on Standards of Official Conduct". (Note: Report was submitted on January 28, 2010.) The Committee on Standards of Official Conduct, otherwise known as the House Ethics Committee, never reported or commented on any investigation of Representative Deal, as his resignation, announced March 1, 2010, excluded him from the Office of Congressional Ethics' jurisdiction. Although this seemed too coincidental for some, Deal maintained in a speech to supporters that the resignation was so that he could "devote [his] full energies" to the gubernatorial campaign.

Committee assignments

• Committee on Energy and Commerce
  • Subcommittee on Communications, Technology and the Internet
  • Subcommittee on Health (Ranking Member)
  • Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations

Resignation

On March 1, 2010, Congressman Deal announced his intention to resign in order to focus on his campaign for Governor of Georgia. He submitted his resignation to the United States Congress on March 21, 2010 while under investigation for ethics violations by a Federal Grand Jury, who issued a subpoena in within a short span of months thereafter. The Congressional Ethics investigation resolved that violations were made but Nathan Deal had resigned from the U.S. House before formal accusations were written. Investigation continues.

Governor of Georgia

Deal took office as governor on January 10, the second Monday of 2011, as required by the constitution of Georgia. He became the first Georgia governor to be inaugurated inside the Georgia State Capitol since Herman Talmadge in 1956, due to a major winter storm, the South's worst in years. A daily-record 3.7 inches (9.4 cm) of snow fell the prior evening (nearly three times the monthly average), followed by freezing rain in the morning. Most inaugural events were cancelled, except the Wild Hog Supper, which took place before the storm. Most guests were unable to attend the normally outdoor inauguration, as the chambers are only large enough to house the Georgia General Assembly, which must meet in joint session for the ceremony. Overflow for guests that were able to attend was across the street at the Georgia Freight Depot, where the supper also takes place each year. Almost all state legislators arrived in time, assisted by the Georgia State Patrol, Georgia Bureau of Investigation, and Georgia Department of Natural Resources officers. The previous day, Governor Perdue declared a state of emergency due to the storm, as had governors of other neighboring states to the west.

Southern Magnolia Capital controversy

Dale Russell from WAGA-TV investigated a fund-raising company named Southern Magnolia Capital, since they were paid a sum of $90,000 during Nathan Deal's gubernatorial campaign. A thorough investigation revealed that the company is linked to Nathan Deal's daughter-in-law, Denise Deal, raising the question of whether ethics laws were violated. As a response, WAGA was denied access to a public event at Governor Nathan Deal’s office--the signing of a controversial immigration bill.

Delta tax break controversy

After Governor Deal signed a 30 million dollar tax break for Delta Air Lines, the airline upgraded Deal and his wife to “Diamond” medallion status, which provides them perks such as "free upgrades when seats are available, Sky Club membership, bonus miles, priority check-in and boarding, fee waivers and more". Deal's spokesperson said Delta airlines' gift had no connection with the tax break, describing the gift granted by the airline to Gov. Nathan Deal and his wife as a “contribution to the state of Georgia.”

Electoral history

Georgia's 9th congressional district: Results 1992–2000, 2006–2008;
Georgia's 10th congressional district: Results 2002–2004

Year	District		Democrat	Votes	Pct		Republican	Votes	Pct
1992	9th		Nathan Deal	113,024	59%		Daniel Becker	77,919	41%
1994	9th		Nathan Deal	79,145	58%		Robert L. Castello	57,568	42%
1996	9th		McCracken "Ken" Poston	69,662	34%		Nathan Deal	132,532	66%
1998	9th		(no candidate)				Nathan Deal	122,713	100%
2000	9th		James Harrington	60,360	25%		Nathan Deal	183,171	75%
2002	10th		(no candidate)				Nathan Deal	129,242	100%
2004	10th		(no candidate)				Nathan Deal	219,136	100%
2006	9th		John D. Bradbury	39,240	23%		Nathan Deal	128,685	77%
2008	9th		Jeff Scott	70,401	25%		Nathan Deal	216,925	75%

See also

Georgia gubernatorial election, 2010

References

3b http://articles.sfgate.com/1995-04-11/news/17801241_1_change-parties-democrats-gop

External links

• Georgia Governor Nathan Deal official state site
• Nathan Deal for Governor official campaign site
• Template:GovLinks
• Biography at the Biographical Directory of the United States Congress
• Financial information (federal office) at the Federal Election Commission
• Profile at SourceWatch

Articles

• NYT Article on effects of his anti-illegal immigration legislation March 12, 2007
• News investigation