So let's go into November with me as your nominee.". [46] The land was adjacent to the 20,000 acres (81km2) Oaky Woods preserve being sold by Weyerhaeuser. And then also, you know, maybe among some who might be interested in working for the university system. So those are some of the things that have concerned a lot of state leaders or particularly on the Republican side. And so, you know, I think he was one of those, you know, members who, you know, was part of that faction were against it. 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. A former two-term governor of Georgia, George Ervin Perdue III, known throughout his life as Sonny, served as Agriculture Secretary from 2017 to 2021. What Is Sonny Perdue Doing Now? Eric Stirgus: For now, we have not heard any discussion about, you know, where Sonny Perdue will ultimately fall on the governor's race. The Board of Regents is expected to confirm Perdue's appointment in the next two weeks. There's been a lot of different issues that colleges are facing regarding social issues and political issues. A Big Ag corporation sold it to Sonny Perdue's company for $250,000", "Agriculture secretary pick Perdue led big political change in Georgia", "Official: Perdue flew copter without license", "Governor Perdue Makes Acting Debut in "We Are Marshall", Secretary of Housing and Urban Development, Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, Director of the Office of Management and Budget, Director of the Central Intelligence Agency, Administrator of the Small Business Administration, https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sonny_Perdue&oldid=1142223043, Democratic Party Georgia (U.S. state) state senators, Republican Party Georgia (U.S. state) state senators, Presidents pro tempore of the Georgia State Senate, Republican Party governors of Georgia (U.S. state), Military personnel from Georgia (U.S. state), Short description is different from Wikidata, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, This page was last edited on 1 March 2023, at 05:05. [News tape] FOX5: The choice of Perdue has already drawn criticism from student groups and university professors who describe Perdue as a career politician with no experience in higher education. They have to be in charge of making sure that the schools comply with federal education policies and procedures, state education rules and regulations. The association has publicly condemned how the university system selected Mr. Perdue, a process that largely occurred in meetings without faculty input and closed to the public. (David Perdue is now locked in a tight runoff election that could decide which party controls the Senate in the next Congress.). He's a two-term former governor, Secretary of Agriculture. Sonny Perdue Sworn in as 31st U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Perdue has long been Trumps most effective advocate among rural voters, visiting all 50 states to spread the presidents message and spearheading massive taxpayer aid programs that kept farmers afloat through Trumps trade war and the pandemic. If you value what you get from Mother Jones, please join us with a tax-deductible donation today so we can keep on doing the type of journalism 2023 demands. Sign up to receive GPB Event announcements via Email. Not satisfied with fighting to take food off the tables of poor families, Perdue also set his sights on farm workers. I'm Steve Fennessy. We're a nonprofit (so it's tax-deductible), and reader support makes up about two-thirds of our budget. Conley. Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio, who like Grassley is up for reelection in 2022, said he hasn't "paid a lot of attention" to Georgia's governor race, saying "we got our hands full . I cant imagine Sonny Perdue doing that.. Citing export losses from Trumps trade war with China, the USDA lavished mainly huge soybean, hog, and cotton farmers with $28 billion in 2018 and 2019more than double the price tag of President Barack Obamas 2009 auto bailout. Sonny Perdue age, height, net worth 2023, wife, girlfriend, kids Brian Kemp thinks so, and it looks like he's getting his way. The Perdue USDA also insisted that federally funded grocery boxes distributed by food banks contain a letter signed by Trump, touting the administrations coronavirus response. Sonny Perdue Is Sole Finalist to Lead Georgias Public Universities, https://www.nytimes.com/2022/02/15/us/sonny-perdue-georgia-chancellor.html. Born George Ervin Perdue III, Perdue has been known as Sonny since childhood, and prefers to be called by that name; he was sworn in and signs official documents as "Sonny Perdue". Eric Stirgus: Georgia's top elected officials constantly talk about, you know, we need workers who are college and career ready, people who can just step into jobs. By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from Mother Jones and our partners. Your support makes this possible. USDA said the reorganization of Perdues finances was cleared by career ethics staff, pointing to the secretarys 2019 financial disclosure that was signed by ethics officials. 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. [12], In education, Perdue promoted the return of most decision-making to the local level. 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. You know, he's a strong conservative, you know, and he's David Perdue's cousin. 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." . [42] The floods resulted in Perdue declaring a state of emergency in 17 counties. Eric Stirgus: Correct. He stated that legitimate, measurable carbon trading could spur so-called carbon sequestration by giving farmers an incentive to innovate. In this 2017 post, I recount some of the port-related shenanigans the cousins Perdue got up to together, including launching a port-reliant export business. Sonny Perdue and Brian Kemp have a longstanding relationship politically, and then you have Sonny Perdue's cousin who is running against the governor now in the GOP primary. [7] Eric Stirgus: I think, you know, his critics have a couple of reasons that they're concerned. [24], Late in the evening of March 29, 2005, the penultimate day of the legislative session, Representative Larry O'Neal, who also worked part-time as Perdue's personal lawyer, introduced legislation making capital gains tax owed on Georgia land sales deferrable if the income goes to purchase out-of-state land, also, unusually, making the tax break retroactive. Secretary Perdue did nothing wrong when he complied with his ethics agreement and followed the advice of career ethics officers at USDA (at considerable personal expense) to restructure his trusts.. The secretarys 2019 filing also shows nearly $140,000 in income from Soque River Conservation LLC, which holds land along the Soque River in northern Georgia and is held by a separate trust that Perdue first reported last year. Let's go into November and be against Stacey Abrams together.". They range from Georgia State University, which has the most students in the system, like about 53,000 students; Georgia Tech, Kennesaw State both of those schools have about 40,000 students each and then University of Georgia. A longtime Atlanta-based journalist, he is a former editor-in-chief of Atlanta magazine. So you have 14 members who serve each congressional district in Georgia, and then there are five at-large positions. It is no surprise that these made up accusations are coming out in the final weeks of October. He won his first term in 2014 by fewer than 8 percentage points. Senate Republicans aghast at Perdue's false election claims in - CNN GPB is committedto bringing you comprehensive news coverage from Georgia, across the country and around the world. In July, with the economic fallout from the pandemic generating a massive hunger crisis, Perdue alighted on North Carolina, a key swing state, to stage a rally promoting congressionally mandated food aid as an example of the personal benevolence of Donald Trump. And besides the national prominence afforded any state governor, Perdue garnered widespread attention for his actions in 2007 during the worst drought in Georgia's history. Brian Kemp: Obviously, this is huge for our campaign. Perdue is poised within . [News tape] WSB: After what the board's chairman described as a nationwide search with, quote, "numerous highly qualified candidates," in the end, the board voted to pick Perdue as the sole finalist for the job. Steve Fennessy: When did we first hear that Sonny Perdue who was the outgoing Secretary of Agriculture in the Trump administration, of course a two-term former governor of Georgia was interested in the job of chancellor? [News tape] FOX5: Students against Sonny have collected more than a thousand signatures on a petition on Change.org. How Trump's Food Box Initiative Overpaid And Underdelivered Yes. Undeterred by the pandemic-led spike in hunger, Perdue also doubled- and tripled-down on a long-held goal: boosting work requirements for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program that would eliminate food aid forat least 1.2 million peopleabout a third of them households containing senior citizens, nearly a quarter with children, and 11 percent with a disabled person, according tononpartisan think tank Mathematica. 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. "The. He later served as U.S. Secretary of Agriculture and was named chancellor of the University System of Georgia in 2022.. Background and Education The Washington Post detailed several wish-list items that ADM achieved: loosening of regulations on pork production, fewer inspections, helping lobby against proposed government bans on glyphosate by Thailand and Vietnam, and promoting ethanol and biodiesel. 11/08/2018 02:42 PM EST. Sonny Perdue Facts - Who Is Sonny Perdue, Trump's Agriculture Secretary Subscribe today and get a full year of Mother Jones for just $14.95. Saeger, of Accountable.US, said the inspector general still needs to review that claim. The Board of Regents named Dr. Sonny Perdue the 14th chancellor of the University System of Georgia effective April 1, 2022. [News tape] Alex Ames, student activist, FOX5: And as governor, he chose to defund billions of dollars and begin, you know, a decades-long spree of defunding from our teachers and, you know, students and parent schools that we attend every day. The harangue, which ended with the ag secretary leading a chant of four more years, earned Perdue a knuckle-rap from the Office of Special Counsel for violating the Hatch Act, which forbids government employees from campaigning while on the job. In the podcasts final episode before the election, released Oct. 29, Perdue hosted another MAGA loyalist, the high-living former Wall Street man and TV personality Larry Kudlow, the non-economist who Trump improbably chose to lead the National Economic Council. The terms of two of those members expired at the beginning of January, and Gov. American Oversight and another watchdog group, Accountable.US, claim that violates Perdues 2017 agreement with ethics officials that he would restructure his original family trust and transfer all of its stock in Perdue Business Holdings to a new, irrevocable trust that wouldnt be overseen by or benefit the secretary. But then prior to him, you had Errol Davis, who was a utilities company executive and he had no administrative experience in higher education. He also won reelection in 2000. 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. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. [News tape] WSB: He called being named a finalist a quote wonderful capstone to a career in public service. "[37], According to a March 5, 2008, proclamation by Perdue, "Among those who served the Confederacy were many African-Americans, both free and slave, who saw action in the Confederate armed forces in many combat roles. She says a lot of things. Steve Fennessy: Welcome back to Georgia Today. So, you know, it'll be interesting to see. [News tape] 11Alive: Critical race theory about whites, blacks and U.S. history, parents saying that CRT is now indoctrinating students disguised in the school system's initiatives on diversity, equity and inclusion. [7] His appointment was approved by an 8711 vote by the Senate on April 24. Kemp and Perdue are also close political allies, and Kemp recently replaced four members on the board before the vote. Steve Fennessy: The last full-time permanent chancellor, why did they leave? George Ervin "Sonny" Perdue III[1] (born December 20, 1946) is an American veterinarian, businessman, politician, and university administrator who served as the 31st United States Secretary of Agriculture from 2017 to 2021. 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. As expected, the board named former governor and U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue as its sole finalist to head the University System of Georgia. Presumably, some political appointees who served in the Trump administration did so with earnest intentions, hoping to bring dignity and professionalism to the task of advancing the Republican agenda of deregulation, austerity (for non-cronies), and upward wealth redistribution. The income stemmed partly from the sale of conservation credits under a federal wetlands protection program. The staff of Mother Jones is highlighting the years heroes and monsters. Caught in the middle of a Republican overhaul of education, teachers feel under attack, Senate bill cracks down on local school boards' ability to eject disruptive parents from meetings. That's next. Entitled President Trumps Affection for American Farmers, the episode featured the host and former White House press secretary competing to see who could lavish the most praise on Trump. 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. Sonny Perdue is cousins with David Perdue, who is now engaged in a bitter primary battle against Brian Kemp Brian Kemp, who, of course, is backing Sonny Perdue. Perdue will begin his duties as the 14th chancellor on April 1, according to a press release from USG. Chancellor | University System of Georgia - USG [51], Perdue was the designated survivor on January 30, 2018, for President Trump's first State of the Union address. Atlanta, GA 30318 after feeling punished under Trump, "Economists flee Agriculture Dept. Sonny Perdue faces ethics questions over his business holdings Why Brian Kemp wants Sonny Perdue to lead Georgia's higher ed system Not that Perdue lacks national stature - he was the governor of Georgia, a heavily agricultural state, from 2003 to 2011. Lance Cheung/USDA; Mother Jones Illustration. Eric Stirgus: And then there's been issues that a lot of Republican lawmakers have been bringing up to in the Georgia Legislature in recent years about campus speech issues that they feel that, you know, students and groups cannot speak freely on college campuses, particularly conservatives. Brian Kemp is not. Raphael Warnock. Sonny Perdue had campaigned on his cousins behalf during David Perdues 2020 re-election campaign, which he narrowly lost to Senator Jon Ossoff. Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights. [55], In July 2019, Perdue ordered two USDA agenciesthe Economic Research Service (ERS) and the National Institute of Food and Agricultureto move from the USDA's headquarters in Washington, D.C. to the Kansas City metropolitan area. Or are they sometimes coming from outside it? [25] Perdue signed the legislation into law on April 12, 2005, three days before tax day. On January 18, 2017, President-elect Donald Trump announced that he would nominate Perdue to be Secretary of Agriculture. He was the first Republican chosen by Georgians to occupy the governor's mansion since the Reconstruction-era election of Rufus Bullock in 1868. Eric Stirgus: Yeah it's an important issue because, you know, colleges and universities that do not have accreditation, they can their students cannot get federal financial aid that helps pay for tuition for a lot of college students. [13], In 1971, Perdue earned his Doctor of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) from the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine, and worked as a veterinarian before becoming a small business owner, eventually starting three small businesses. Sonny Perdue Named Chancellor of the University System of Georgia - USG Can you pitch in a few bucks to help fund Mother Jones' investigative journalism? [33] Georgia voters chose the flag resembling the Confederate flag. Perdue is a kind of an easy-going Southern version of the president he served so zealously. We noticed you have an ad blocker on. Eric Stirgus: You know, and then there have been other instances where, you know, Sonny has supported now-Gov. He left in June. Mr. Perdue, a graduate of the University of Georgia, said he considered the opportunity to lead the university system, which has more than 340,000 students, as the capstone to a career of public service. (Washington, D.C., April 28, 2020) - U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue released the following statement after President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order to keep meat and poultry processing facilities open during the COVID-19 national emergency. This is diversity and inclusion. As governor, Perdue mastered the Trumpian strategy of using know-nothing bigotry as a beard for brazen self-dealing, sometimes involving his own family. [45], During his governorship, the Georgia State Ethics Commission received thirteen complaints against Perdue. earned Perdue a knuckle-rap from the Office of Special Counsel, publicly for a way to cut federally mandated wages, lavished mainly huge soybean, hog, and cotton farmers, more than double the price tag of President Barack Obamas 2009 auto bailout, join us with a tax-deductible donation today. Launched in October 2019, a week after the House of Representatives announced an impeachment inquiry against Trump, the show began with an appearance from Sarah Huckabee Sanders. Mother Jones was founded as a nonprofit in 1976 because we knew corporations and billionaires wouldn't fund the type of hard-hitting journalism we set out to do. 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. Earlier this week, Georgia's Board of Regents announced that Sonny Perdue was the sole finalist for the job. I'm joined by Eric Stirgus, who covers higher education for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Steve Fennessy: Well, let's unpack a little bit more this rather awkward political relationship going on. All Rights Reserved. In 2018, while Perdue was secretary, Soque River Conservation asked the Army Corps to modify the credits held by the company in a way that could boost its value by nearly $3 million, the groups estimate. Has he said, "I'm supporting the guy who's pushing my candidacy for chancellor" or "I'm supporting my cousin who's running against him"? Copyright 2023 Mother Jones and the Foundation for National Progress. Mr. Perdue served two terms as governor from 2003 to 2011, and later became Secretary of Agriculture under President Donald J. Trump. Although it returned to last place in 2005,[26] Georgia rose to 49th place in 2006 in the combined math and reading mean score, including the writing portion added to the test that year. Republican Sen. David Perdue, a former Fortune 500 CEO, will face off against Democrat Jon Ossoff, a 33-year-old media executive, again in a runoff election Jan. 5. Steve Fennessy: Initial discussion about the possible candidacy of Sonny Perdue for chancellor for next chancellor of the University of Georgia System, the president of SACS, the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools, Belle Whelan, sends a letter to the chair of the Board of Regents of Georgia.