Butch Miller, leading state senator, campaigns for lieutenant governor

Senator Butch Miller, President pro tempore of the Georgia Senate, was elected to this role by Senators from both Georgia State parties. But the Republican blames the controversial “electoral integrity” bill passed after the Democrats led Georgia in major federal races.

His role in passing this bill as Senate Bill 202 was to get the final version “across the finish line” after incorporating ideas from a separate bill he tabled. But it was also Miller who, along with other Republican lawmakers, first called for an ongoing “audit” of Fulton County’s electoral practice under the terms of the new law.

Miller was due to speak outside the Statesboro Rotary Club on Monday. But after the Rotary meeting was canceled, he spoke to an informal group of two dozen or more people over packed lunches at Bulloch Fertilizer headquarters. In a brief pre-lunch interview, his stance on elections wasn’t the first topic he mentioned, but it did follow shortly after economic development and law and order.

“We want to make sure that we have an economic development. We want to make sure we have quality jobs, ”Miller said. “I want Georgia to continue to be the state where young people can raise families and thrive, rather than coming home on Christmas and Thanksgiving to see their grandparents and parents. I want Georgia to be the leading state. “

Company ranking

Miller mentioned his role in passing the “largest tax cut … in Georgian history” and Senate Law 202 among his references.

He advertised Georgia as “eight consecutive years … number one for business in the United States.” This annual state business climate ranking, often quoted by Governor Brian Kemp and former Governor Nathan Deal, comes from an online magazine called Site Selection. In fact, the publication’s polls and scoring system placed Georgia in first place after seven years alone and ranked first with North Carolina in 2020. See https://siteselection.com.

“I want it to be the number one place to have a family too, and it is today, and I want to make sure we have order, and from there, if you have order in your society then … can make and enforce your laws and maintain law and order, ”Miller said. “The lawlessness that you have seen in your cities in recent years will be seen in your small towns in the future if we don’t stand up and fight.”

In the interview he was given by a campaign worker, which was limited in time, he did not name any specific cities, but Miller referred to Atlanta in his remarks to the luncheon group.

“Election Integrity”

“One of the big problems in this whole country, in this whole state I’ve heard of, is the electoral integrity law,” he said during the interview. “Again, I was the person who got this over the finish line, I was the person who initiated Fulton County’s proficiency testing; 26 of my colleagues have signed it; I initiated this letter, so I’m the one driving this investigation. “

The Statesboro Herald asked him if this step would not result in the Georgia General Assembly interfering with the local electoral administration.

“That’s a great question, and the answer to that is no,” Miller said. “The reason is this: we have counties, we have jurisdictions that usually fail. Just like a school board that habitually abandons its students, we have electoral boards that habitually abandon voters.

“That’s why we requested the Fulton County performance audit first,” he continued. “It is the greatest and most egregious perpetrator. How can Florida count the entire state of Florida before Fulton County can count? That’s ridiculous. We should have a higher bar. We should perform better, and that’s exactly what we’re aiming for with this performance test. “

who he is

Miller, 64, of Gainesville, was first elected to the Georgia Senate in 2010 and represents the 49th district that encompasses most of Hall County. In his third year he became chairman of the majority parliamentary group and later served as chairman of the governor’s agreement. Then Miller was elected

Re-elected as president pro tem by his Senate colleagues in January 2018 and two years later, both times unanimously by all other Senators, Republicans and Democrats, he said.

Previously chairman of the board of directors of the Georgia Automobile Dealers Association, Miller owns Milton Martin Honda in Gainesville. He bought it in 1997 after working for Martin in 1993.

Miller and his wife Teresa had three sons, Cole, Cary and Charlie. The firstborn, Cole, who suffered from cerebral palsy, died in 2001. Cary and Charlie are now adults.

“When I found out how severely disabled my oldest child was, I was mentally, emotionally, and spiritually a broken man and really didn’t know how to get back on my feet, so I’m running for lieutenant governor,” Butch said Miller. “I want to do the same for the people in this whole state, to help the people in this whole state.”

The Millers attend Lakewood Baptist Church, where he served as a deacon and Sunday school teacher.