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Floyd Griffin

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Floyd Griffin
Mayor of Milledgeville, Georgia
In office
2001–2005
Succeeded byRichard Bentley
Member of the Georgia State Senate
from the 25th district
In office
1995–1999
Preceded byWilbur Baugh
Succeeded byFaye Smith
Personal details
Born (1944-05-24) May 24, 1944 (age 80)
Political partyDemocratic
SpouseNathalie
Children2
Education
Military service
Branch/service United States Army
Years of service1967–1990
RankColonel
Battles/warsVietnam War

Floyd L. Griffin Jr. (born May 24, 1944) is an American politician who served as the mayor of Milledgeville, Georgia, from 2001 to 2005, and in the Georgia State Senate representing the 25th district from 1995 to 1999, as a member of the Democratic Party. He sought the Democratic Party's nomination for Lieutenant Governor of Georgia in 1998 and Georgia Secretary of State in 2022.

Early life and career

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Floyd L. Griffin Jr. earned an Associate of Science in funeral service from Gupton-Jones College, a Bachelor of Science from the Tuskegee Institute in building construction, and a master's degree from the Florida Institute of Technology in contract procurement and management. He served in the United States Army and graduated from the Army Command and General Staff College and the National War College. Griffin flew combat helicopters missions during the Vietnam War.[1] As an officer, Griffin taught military science at Wake Forest University and Winston-Salem State University. He also coached the offensive backfield for the Winston-Salem State Rams college football team.[2]

Griffin retired from the Army in 1990 at the rank of colonel.[3] He took over the family business, Slater's Funeral Home.[1]

Political career

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In the 1994 elections, Griffin ran against Wilbur Baugh for the 25th district in the Georgia State Senate. Griffin defeated Baugh in a runoff election and was elected to the state senate without Republican opposition.[4][5] He became the first African American to win a majority Caucasian district in the Georgia State Senate since the end of the Reconstruction era.[2] In 1998, Griffin ran for lieutenant governor of Georgia.[6] Griffin finished the primary election in fifth place.[7] He ran to reclaim his seat in the Georgia Senate in the 2000 elections, but lost.[8] He was elected mayor of Milledgeville in the 2001 election, and was sworn in on January 1, 2002.[9] He served as mayor until 2006;[3] Griffin lost reelection to Richard Bentley in the 2005 election.[10]

Griffin published an autobiography, Legacy to Legend: Winners: Make it Happen, in 2009.[11] He ran for the 25th district seat in the Georgia Senate in 2010,[12] and lost to Johnny Grant. Griffin ran for mayor of Milledgeville in the 2015 election, but lost to Gary Thrower by 35 votes.[13][14] He ran for the 145th district of the Georgia House of Representatives in the 2016 elections, and faced Rick Williams, who is also a funeral director.[15] Griffin lost the election to Williams.[16]

Griffin served as an at-large delegate at the 2020 Democratic National Convention.[17] In May 2021, the city of Milledgeville dedicated a street in Griffin's honor.[1] Griffin announced his candidacy for Georgia Secretary of State in the 2022 elections.[3] Griffin was eliminated in the primary election, with Bee Nguyen and Dee Dawkins-Haigler advancing to a runoff election.[18]

Griffin has filed to run for Georgia’s newly reconfigured State House District 149 in 2024. The district was reconfigured as a result of a federal judge’s ruling that some current state house districts in Georgia deprive African-American communities of the chance to elect a candidate amongst themselves due to gerrymandering by the state’s Republican majority legislature. The 149th district is projected to favor the Democratic Party, and contains portions of Baldwin, Jones & Bibb Counties.[19]

Personal life

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Griffin and his wife, Nathalie, have two children.[6]

References

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  1. ^ a b c Hobbs, Billy (March 2021). "Milledgeville's first Black state senator, mayor honored". The Union-Recorder. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
  2. ^ a b "Griffin inducted into Wiston-Salem State Athletic Hall of Fame". The Union-Recorder. November 26, 2013.
  3. ^ a b c "Former Milledgeville Mayor Griffin runs for Georgia Secretary of State". September 15, 2021. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
  4. ^ Pendered, David (August 10, 1994). "Incumbents from both parties are the singing runoff blues". The Atlanta Constitution. p. B4. Retrieved May 18, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  5. ^ Baxter, Tom (January 17, 1995). "Blacks see progress in numbers, not power". The Atlanta Constitution. p. C3. Retrieved May 18, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  6. ^ a b Helton, Charmagne (July 7, 1998). "Floyd Griffin: Milledgeville Democrat focusing on education". The Atlanta Constitution. p. B4. Retrieved May 18, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  7. ^ Helton, Charmagne (July 23, 1998). "Contenders for lieutenant governor put gloves back on". The Atlanta Constitution. p. E6. Retrieved May 18, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  8. ^ Stewart, H.D. (July 22, 2000). "Jones, Davis in DeKalb CEO Run-Off". The Atlanta Voice. p. 1A. Retrieved May 18, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  9. ^ Segal, Cheryl (January 3, 2002). "Another mayoral 'first'". The Atlanta Constitution. p. C2. Retrieved May 18, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  10. ^ "Milledgeville mayor out on medical leave". Macon Telegraph. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
  11. ^ "6 Jun 2009, B5". The Macon Telegraph. June 6, 2009. Retrieved May 18, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  12. ^ "28 Oct 2010, B5". The Macon Telegraph. October 28, 2010. Retrieved May 18, 2022 – via Newspapers.com.
  13. ^ "Gary Thrower narrowly wins Milledgeville mayoral run off". The Telegraph. July 15, 2015. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
  14. ^ "Judge: No recount for Griffin in Milledgeville mayoral race". The Telegraph. July 15, 2015. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
  15. ^ "Who will bury whom? Georgia House race features two rival funeral home directors". Ajc.com. August 12, 2016. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
  16. ^ "Democrats win Georgia Senate seat, House largely a wash Tuesday". Ajc.com. November 9, 2016. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
  17. ^ Hobbs, Billy (July 6, 2020). "Floyd L. Griffin Jr. participating in his first DNC event". The Union-Recorder. Retrieved May 18, 2022.
  18. ^ "Bee Nguyen, Dee Dawkins-Haigler in Democratic SoS runoff". Associated Press. May 26, 2022. Retrieved May 26, 2022.
  19. ^ McKearney, Christian (January 27, 2024). "Floyd Griffin announces run for General Assembly". Baldwin2K News. Retrieved February 3, 2024.
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