Sonny Perdue

Sonny Perdue
31st United States Secretary of Agriculture
81st Governor of Georgia

George Ervin "Sonny" Perdue III1 (born December 20, 1946) is an American veterinarian, businessman, and politician currently serving as the 31st United States Secretary of Agriculture since 2017.2 He previously served as the 81st Governor of Georgia from 2003 to 2011. He was the first Republican Governor of Georgia since Reconstruction.3

Founder and partner in an agricultural trading company,4 Perdue served from 2012 to 2017 on the Governors' Council of the Bipartisan Policy Center in Washington, D.C.56 He is the second Secretary of Agriculture from the Deep South; the first was Mike Espy of Mississippi, who served under President Bill Clinton from January 1993 to December 1994.

On January 18, 2017, President-elect Donald Trump announced that he would nominate Perdue to be Secretary of Agriculture. His nomination was transmitted to the U.S. Senate on March 9, 2017.7 His nomination was approved by the United States Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry on March 30 by a 19–1 voice vote,8 and by the entire Senate in a vote of 87–11 on April 24.9

Early life and education

Perdue was born in Perry, Georgia, the son of Ophie Viola (Holt), a teacher, and George Ervin Perdue Jr., a farmer.1011 He grew up and still lives in Bonaire, an unincorporated area between Perry and Warner Robins. 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." Perdue is the first cousin of U.S. Senator David Perdue.12

Perdue played quarterback at Warner Robins High School and was a walk-on at the University of Georgia,13 where he was also a member of the Beta-Lambda chapter of Kappa Sigma Fraternity.14

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.1516

Perdue is not related to the family that owns and operates Perdue Farms (commonly associated with "Perdue Chicken").1718

Career

Perdue and other U.S. state governors with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.

Perdue greeting President George W. Bush and former First Lady Barbara Bush in July 2005

Perdue in 2007

Perdue campaigning for former U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) in 2008

Perdue with U.S. Navy sailors in October 2010.

Perdue served in the U.S. Air Force, rising to the rank of captain before his discharge.

State Senator (1991–2002)

After serving as a member of the Houston County Planning & Zoning Commission in the 1980s, Perdue ran as a Democrat for a seat in the Georgia General Assembly.19 He defeated Republican candidate Ned Sanders in 1990 and succeeded Democratic incumbent Ed Barker as the senator representing the 18th district.20

Perdue was elected as a Democrat in 1991, 1994, and 1996. He served as his party's leader in the Senate from 1994 to 1997 and as president pro tempore.21 After his first year in office Senator Perdue wrote then Lt. Governor Pierre Howard asking for more responsibilities, and Howard obliged. He shortly after became a committee chairman, then climbed the leadership ladder to majority leader, then Senate Pro-Tempore. Many credit Pierre Howard for helping Perdue build the early foundation of what would become his future political career.22

His committee assignments included Ethics, Finance & Public Utilities, Health & Human Services, Reapportionment and Economic Development, Tourism & Cultural Affairs.

He switched party affiliation from Democrat to Republican in 1998 and was reelected to the Senate as a Republican. He also won reelection in 2000.

Governor of Georgia (2003–2011)

Elections

2002

In December 2001, Perdue resigned as state senator and devoted himself entirely to running for the office of Governor of Georgia. He won the 2002 Georgia gubernatorial election, defeating Democratic incumbent Roy Barnes 51% to 46%, with Libertarian candidate Garrett Michael Hayes taking 2% of the vote.23 He became the first Republican governor of Georgia in over 130 years since Benjamin F. Conley.24

2006

In 2006, Perdue was re-elected to a second term in the 2006 Georgia gubernatorial election, winning nearly 58% of the vote. His Democratic opponent was Lieutenant Governor Mark Taylor. Libertarian Garrett Michael Hayes was also on the ballot.25

Policy issues

Economic issues

Perdue advocated reforms designed to cut waste in government, most notably the sale of surplus vehicles and real estate.26 Prior to Perdue's becoming governor, no state agency had even compiled an inventory of what assets the state owned.27

In January 2003, Perdue signed an executive order prohibiting himself and all other state employees from receiving any gift worth more than $25.28 During his governorship, Perdue collected at least $25,000 in gifts, including sporting event tickets and airplane flights.29

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.30 Perdue signed the legislation into law on April 12, 2005, three days before tax day.31 Perdue then used the new law on his 2004 tax return to defer $100,000 in taxable gains from the sale of land.32

In 2007, Perdue convinced a skeptical legislature to approve a $19 million fishing tourism program he called Go Fish Georgia. Perdue then decided that the Go Fish Education Center would be built down the road from his home.33

Education reform

In education, Perdue promoted the return of most decision-making to the local level. After Perdue took office, in 2003 and 2004, Georgia moved up from last place in the country in SAT scores. Although it returned to last place in 2005,34 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.35 In 2007, Georgia moved up to 46th place.36 In 2008, Georgia moved up again, to 45th place.37 Perdue also created additional opportunities for charter schools and private schools.38

Georgia state flag

After Democratic Governor Roy Barnes replaced the 1956 state flag, which was adopted by Georgia to protest integration, because it featured a battle flag emblem of the Confederacy, Perdue promised in his 2002 election campaign that he would let the state's citizens vote to determine the state flag of Georgia.39 The choices given to Georgian voters were a modified version of the First National Flag of the Confederate States of America with the Georgia State Seal prominently displayed inside a circle of 13 stars, or the version of the flag created in 2001 by the Roy Barnes administration. The design of the 2001 Georgian flag was widely unpopular, being derisively named the "Barnes flag", and the North American Vexillological Association deemed it the ugliest U.S. state flag.40 Perdue disappointed some Georgians by not including the 1956 flag as a choice on the ballot despite his campaign promises to do so. However, Perdue was faced with a Democratic House that would not consider having the 1956 flag on the referendum due to its Confederate origins, and he needed support for a tobacco tax he wanted to pass to raise revenue.41 Georgia voters chose the flag resembling the Confederate flag.42

Environmental issues

In 2004, Perdue sued the Environmental Protection Agency to block environmental regulations on reformulated gasoline.43 In a 2014 editorial published by National Review, Perdue criticized attempts by "some on the left or in the mainstream media" to connect climate change to weather events. Perdue wrote that "liberals have lost all credibility when it comes to climate science because their arguments have become so ridiculous and so obviously disconnected from reality."44

Immigration

In 2006, Perdue signed a law that gave Georgia "some of the nation's toughest measures against illegal immigrants".45

Georgia drought

On November 13, 2007, while Georgia suffered from one of the worst droughts in several decades, Perdue led a group of several hundred people in a prayer on the steps of the state Capitol. 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".46

African-Americans in the Confederacy

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. According to the Georgia government's website on Confederate History Month, they also participated in the manufacture of products for the war effort, built naval ships, and provided military assistance and relief efforts..."47 The proclamation was criticized by historians for its historical inaccuracies,48 although there were in fact African-Americans who served the Confederacy, both voluntarily and compulsory.49

Disaster preparedness

In 2008, Perdue worked with the Georgia Emergency Management Agency to implement Ready Georgia, a campaign to increase disaster preparedness throughout the state.50 The next year, Georgia was affected by the 2009 Southeastern United States floods, which were the most severe floods in Georgia's recorded history.51 The floods resulted in Perdue declaring a state of emergency in 17 counties.52

Go Fish Education Center Criticism

Beginning in 2007, Governor Perdue began to pursue the goal of making Georgia the "bass-fishing tourism mecca". The administration began acquiring bond money for the Go Fish Education Center near his home in Perry,GA. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, payments on the Go Fish bonds, approved by Perdue and the General Assembly in 2007, runs through December 2027 with most payments $1 million a year in bond money. 53

Upon the end of Perdue's term as Governor, many in the Georgia General Assembly condemned the project and Perdue after an advisory council (appointed by Perdue) began to funnel additional bond money to the project located in his home county. "To me it was a boondoggle because of the amount of money they were spending and the location," said Rep. Alan Powell, R-Hartwell, a member of the House Appropriations Committee. "You have got to have stuff where there is a lot of traffic. It's a little off the beaten path."54

The project overall has been scrutinized as a waste of taxpayer money due to mismanagement of bond money and extremely low visitors. The Georgia Department of Natural Resources figures show 21,101 people visited the Perry facility in fiscal 2015, which ended June 30. It generated $102,077 in revenue, or about 11 cents for every dollar it cost to run the center in years past.55

Ethics complaints

During his governorship, the Georgia State Ethics Commission received thirteen complaints against Perdue.56 The State Ethics Commission ruled against Perdue twice, finding that Perdue had taken improper campaign contributions from donors including SunTrust Banks, and that he had improperly used one of his family business's airplanes on campaign, for which the Commission, unusually, fined the sitting governor.57

Land purchases

In mid-2003, Perdue purchased 101 acre of land next to his Houston County, Georgia home.58 The land was adjacent to the 20,000-acre Oaky Woods preserve being sold by Weyerhaeuser.59 The land was eventually sold to developers; however, the state was evaluating bidding on the property and keeping it as a reserve.60 After the state dropped out of the bidding and the land was sold to developers, the value of Perdue's property more than doubled.61 Perdue failed to disclose his ownership of the property in required financial disclosure forms.62

In December 2004, Perdue bought $2 million worth of land near Disney World from a developer whom he had previously appointed to the state's economic development board.63

Post-governorship

Perdue was constitutionally ineligible to seek a third consecutive term as governor in the 2010 Georgia gubernatorial election. In 2011, he founded Perdue Partners, which facilitates the export of U.S. goods and services.64

During meetings with Georgia state port officials, then-Governor Perdue discussed his family business's use of a terminal, then started a new export company in Savannah soon after leaving office.65

Secretary of Agriculture (2017–present)

Perdue being sworn in by Justice Clarence Thomas

On January 18, 2017, incoming President Donald Trump announced that he would nominate Perdue to be United States Secretary of Agriculture. The United States Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry overwhelmingly approved his nomination on March 30, with a 19–1 vote. The sole vote against him came from Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY). Senator David Perdue (R-GA) abstained, as he is the nominee's first cousin. He was confirmed by the Senate on April 24,66 and sworn in by Supreme Court Associate Justice Clarence Thomas.67

During his tenure as Secretary of Agriculture, Perdue has focused on helping new farmers get started in agriculture.68 In August 2017, he announced a mentoring program for new farmers. Others issues addressed by Perdue include assisting rural communities, helping farmers operate with less regulation, increasing exports, passing the 2018 Farm Bill, and addressing crop damage caused by dicamba.69 In Dec of 2018, he also changed the nutrition standards for school lunches to allow more refined grains, allow milk with added sugar, and increased sodium.70

Perdue was the designated survivor on January 30, 2018 for President Trump's first State of the Union address.71

Personal life

Perdue and his wife, Mary (née Ruff), were married in 1972 after dating for four years.72 They have four children (Leigh, Lara, Jim, and Dan),73 fourteen grandchildren (six boys and eight girls), and have also been foster parents for many children.74 Perdue lives in Bonaire, Georgia.75

Perdue is an avid sportsman. He enjoys flying and, in a 2003 incident, was accused of flying a state helicopter without a license.76

In 2006, while still governor, Perdue made a cameo appearance as the coach of the East Carolina Pirates football team in the movie We Are Marshall, large portions of which were filmed in Georgia.77

In 2006, Perdue's financial disclosure forms revealed that he had a net worth of approximately $6 million and received compensation of $700,000 that year.78

Electoral history

As State Senator

As Governor of Georgia

See also

• List of Governors of Georgia



References

1,10	Sonny Perdue (b. 1946), at New Georgia Encyclopedia, August 25, 2016, accessed December 29, 2016. LINK
2	7 things to know about Sonny Perdue, 19 January 2017. LINK
3,5,24,42	Former Georgia governor tapped as Trump's agriculture secretary, sources say, January 18, 2017, accessed January 23, 2017. LINK
4	Company Overview of Perdue Partners, LLC, at Bloomberg, accessed December 28, 2018. LINK
6	BPC Congratulates Sec. Sonny Perdue on Confirmation to Lead Dept. of Agriculture, Washington D.C., 25 April 2017. LINK
7	Congressional Record for March 9, 2017
8	Business Meeting Transcript, at U.S. Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition & Forestry. LINK
9	U.S. Senate: U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 115th Congress – 1st Session, Senate.gov, accessed June 13, 2017. LINK
11	Ancestry of Sonny Perdue, at Wargs.com, accessed December 29, 2016. LINK
12	Meet David Perdue—He Might Be Georgia's Next Senator, The Atlantic, May 21, 2014, accessed December 29, 2016. LINK
13,33,63	Trump taps Perdue as agriculture chief, Atlanta Journal Constitution, January 19, 2017. LINK
14	Kappa Sigma Fraternity: Prominent Alumni
15,19	National Governors Association: Sonny Perdue
16	Trump taps former Georgia governor for agriculture secretary, McClatchy, January 18, 2017. LINK
17	Georgia Governor Sonny Perdue – Perdue Farms Plans Major Expansion in Georgia, Sonnyperdue.georgia.gov, July 14, 2005, accessed June 13, 2017. LINK
18	Archived copy, accessed February 23, 2017. LINK
20	Our Campaigns: GA Senate 18
21	Charles S. Bullock, III, The Georgia Political Almanac, The General Assembly 1993–94.
22	Sonny Perdue the Democrat, at AJC. LINK
23	Official Results of the November 5, 2002 General Election, Georgia Secretary of State, accessed June 10, 2011. LINK
25	Georgia Election Results, Georgia Secretary of State, accessed December 2, 2010. LINK
26,27	Bipartisan Policy: Sonny Perdue February 2, 2017. AT THE WAYBACK MACHINE
28,29,56,57,65	Eric Lipton et al. Ethical Lapses Trail Nominee For Agriculture – Conflicts of Interest as Governor of Georgia, March 9, 2017, page A1, accessed March 9, 2017. LINK
30,31,32	Salzer, James. 3 minutes, 1 tax bill, 0,000 for Sonny Perdue, October 1, 2006, accessed March 9, 2017. LINK
34	Georgia SAT scores in the basement, Clayton News Daily, August 30, 2005. LINK
35	Georgia climbs in SAT rankings despite drop in score, AccessWDUN, August 29, 2006. LINK
36	State, local SAT scores slip, Early County News, September 5, 2007. LINK
37	2008 SAT Results Highlight Need for Rigor, Georgia Department of Education, August 26, 2008. LINK
38	Georgia View: Sonny Perdue's Non-Legacy, GeorgiaTrend, January 2011. LINK
39	The Southern Cross, The Atlantic, March 2004. LINK
40	Georgia leaders try to skip controversy in flag vote, USA Today, March 2, 2004. LINK
41	Tom Price, Kasim Reed, Sonny Perdue and the Art of the Georgia Deal, Atlanta Journal Constitution, January 19, 2017. LINK
43	Statement of Governor Sonny Perdue Regarding Court Ruling to Stay Transition to Reformulated Gasoline, State of Georgia, October 20, 2004. LINK
44	The Common Core Blame Game, National Review, May 8, 2014. LINK
45	Georgia Enacts a Tough Law on Immigrants, New York Times, April 18, 2006. LINK
46	That time Sonny Perdue prayed for rain, Atlanta Journal Constitution, January 10, 2017. LINK
47	The Confederate and Neo-Confederate Reader: The "Great Truth"
48	Trump could name Agriculture Secretary whose drought strategy was to pray for rain, Think Progress, January 2, 2017. LINK
49	Yes, There Were Black Confederates. Here's Why, The Root, January 20, 2015. LINK
50	About Us, Ready Georgia, accessed November 10, 2009. LINK
51	USGS Release: Atlanta Flooding Sets New Records, September 24, 2009, accessed September 27, 2009. LINK
52	Gov. Sonny Perdue issues state of emergency for 17 Georgia counties, Savannah Now, September 21, 2009. LINK
53	Go Fish Center, AJC, October 28, 2015. LINK
54,55	Five Years Later Go Fish Center, AJC, October 27, 2015. LINK
58,59,60,61,62	Perdue fails to disclose ’04 purchase of land. LINK
64	Trump to announce Sonny Perdue for Agriculture, Politico, January 18, 2017. LINK
66	U.S. Senate Roll Call Vote PN90, at www.senate.gov, accessed April 24, 2017. LINK
67	Sonny Perdue Sworn in as 31st U.S. Secretary of Agriculture, April 25, 2017. LINK
68	Eller, Donnelle. Perdue tells second Iowa Ag Summit he wants to support new farmers, The Des Moines Register, August 5, 2017, accessed August 15, 2017. LINK
69	McGinnis, Mike. USDA’s Sonny Perdue on a Roll In Iowa, Agriculture.com, August 5, 2017, accessed August 15, 2017. LINK
70	https://thehill.com/homenews/administration/420184-trump-administration-to-return-refined-grains-to-school-lunches
71	Sonny Perdue is Trump's 'designated survivor' for State of the Union 2018, January 30, 2018. LINK
72,73	Memories of the Mansion: The Story of Georgia’s Governor’s Mansion. LINK
74	Perdue's wife takes up cause, Athens Banner-Herald, March 1, 2003. LINK
75	Agriculture secretary pick Perdue led big political change in Georgia, Star Tribune, January 25, 2017. LINK
76	Official: Perdue flew copter without license, Athens Banner-Herald, April 29, 2003. LINK
77	±Governor Perdue Makes Acting Debut in "We Are Marshall", State of Georgia, June 14, 2006. LINK
78	Georgia’s affluent candidates, May 3, 2006. LINK

External links

• Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue
• Official Governor Website
• Biography of Sonny Perdue at the National Governors Association website
• Appearances on C-SPAN