The policy, according to the American Association of University Professors, is the only one of its kind in the country. 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. 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. Why is Sonny Perdue is such a polarizing figure? He stated that legitimate, measurable carbon trading could spur so-called carbon sequestration by giving farmers an incentive to innovate. 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. Very few Republican elected officials, operatives, donors and activists in Georgia have. Why are we still talking about this, then? Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue pledged in 2017 to separate himself from his multimillion dollar business holdings that could pose conflicts of interest in his public duties. Who hires the chancellor? Georgia Public Radio GPTV, Oversight group isnt reviewing Georgia regents choice of Sonny Perdue. Kemp and Perdue are also close political allies, and Kemp recently replaced four members on the board before the vote. The latest scrutiny stems from the agriculture secretary's wealth of current and former interests in agriculture, trucking and land development. You know, there was a faction of regents members who were not supportive of him at all. That relationship famously has gone has gone south. Steve Fennessy: And when Wrigley said he was going to retire, was there kind of a shortlist floated around of possible successors? Georgias public university system said on Tuesday that former Gov. It's us but for your ears. And I understand that he wasn't the biggest supporter of the idea of Sonny Perdue as chancellor. 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. Steve Fennessy: This has been percolating for a while now, Eric: this this idea of Sonny Perdue as the next chancellor of the University of Georgia system. The staff of Mother Jones is highlighting the years heroes and monsters. A chancellors job is to defend the system against such bills, said Matthew Boedy, a rhetoric and composition professor at the University of North Georgia and the president of the Georgia conference of the American Association of University Professors. There's been a lot of different issues that colleges are facing regarding social issues and political issues. One is looking at his record, as you know, the governor of Georgia. They have to be in charge of making sure that the schools comply with federal education policies and procedures, state education rules and regulations. Since joining the Trump administration, Secretary of Agriculture Sonny Perdue's complicated network of ties to Georgia-based entities including his family's company, Perdue Partners raised questions about potential conflicts of interest as well as his working relationship with his cousin, Georgia Sen. David Perdue. She currently produces the Georgia Today and Battleground: Ballot Box shows. And then also, you know, maybe among some who might be interested in working for the university system. A department spokesperson claims the 2017 agreement had to refer to the holding company at large, rather than those two firms in particular, because it was the legal entity that owned the businesses. Steve Fennessy: Sonny Perdue is a Republican, so when he uses an expression like Cultural Revolution, what is he referring to? Steve Fennessy: The last full-time permanent chancellor, why did they leave? 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." 11/08/2018 02:42 PM EST. [67], Perdue's assets during his time as Secretary were placed in blind trusts, as is common to prevent financial conflicts of interest. [45], During his governorship, the Georgia State Ethics Commission received thirteen complaints against Perdue. The first two companies are managed by Perdues children, according to Georgia records. 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. The business holdings were a source of concern during his confirmation process, as well as during his time as Georgia governor from 2003-11, when he faced more than a dozen ethics complaints and was found to have funneled illegal amounts of money from his businesses to his campaign in 2002. [46] The land was eventually sold to developers; however, the state was evaluating bidding on the property and keeping it as a reserve. [25] Perdue signed the legislation into law on April 12, 2005, three days before tax day. Kemp. Alec Poitevint, long a pivotal player in the Perdue network, is now backing Kemp over David Perdue. 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. Chris Saeger, a spokesperson for Accountable.US, said the reorganization of Perdues assets from one trust to another appears to be nothing more than a shell game and a maze of technicalities and denials.. 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. [24], On January 18, 2017, President Donald Trump announced that he would nominate Perdue to be United States secretary of agriculture. 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. The office directed the USDA chief to reimburse the government for travel expenses and other costs of the event. 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. [News tape] parent at recent school board meeting, 11Alive: "This isn't critical race theory. According to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, it was a plum post for the political novice, which he used as a springboard that helped propel him to a US Senate seat in 2014. 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. So you have 14 members who serve each congressional district in Georgia, and then there are five at-large positions. Perdue made his acting debut in "We Are Marshall," a 2006 film about the 1970 plane crash that claimed the lives of 75 Marshall University football players, coaches, supporters and staff.. Today, reader support makes up about two-thirds of our budget, allows us to dig deep on stories that matter, and lets us keep our reporting free for everyone. Steve Fennessy: So what happened then? "There is one thing we know for sure: Sen. David Perdue will be . We're a nonprofit (so it's tax-deductible), and reader support makes up about two-thirds of our budget. He enjoys flying and, in a 2003 incident, was accused of flying a state helicopter without a license. The USDA's press office rejected CNN's request to interview Ziska, but not Politico's, where he went on to describe the department as internally fearful of Perdue's open skepticism towards climate change, which, according to Ziska, has led officials to "go to extremes to obscure their work to avoid political blowback". Senator David Perdue (R-GA) abstained, as they are first cousins. Mr. Perdues appointment as chancellor would also limit his contributions to the campaign of David Perdue, his cousin and a former senator who is running against Gov. Along with the recent Hatch Act violation, Perdue is facing blowback from Democrats and food banks for requiring all contractors under a $4 billion coronavirus relief program to stuff promotional letters signed by Trump into millions of food boxes delivered to hungry families. Eric Stirgus: His name is Steve Wrigley and he retired. 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. "[36], 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 prayer on the steps of the state Capitol. 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. Gov. Not that Perdue lacks national stature - he was the governor of Georgia, a heavily agricultural state, from 2003 to 2011. Then the pandemic hit, ripping through migrant farm worker communities, who toiled on with little in the way of protective gear or opportunities for social distancing. [News tape] 11Alive: This is where angry parents are accusing the school board of trying to indoctrinate students with controversial curriculum on race and American history. [News tape] FOX5: The Board of Regents has made its choice for the state's next chancellor. Sonny Perdue served two terms as the governor of Georgia, from 2003 to 2011. It's called critical race theory, but other parents and some students said that's not what's going on in the classrooms at all. Perdue and the department have argued that the move will lower living costs, save . In research shared with POLITICO, Accountable.US alleges that farm policies backed by the secretary could potentially have benefited his own or his familys interests beyond the two agribusinesses that were sold. [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. Charles S. Bullock, III, The Georgia Political Almanac, The General Assembly 199394. Eric Stirgus: Sonny Perdue, you know, encouraged then-President Trump to endorse Brian Kemp in the Republican primary back in 2018. The former Georgia governor has a background in agriculture. Steve Fennessy: As you said, Sonny Perdue persuaded Donald Trump when he was president to endorse Brian Kemp. You can keep up with Georgia today by subscribing to the show at GPB.org. Let's go into November and be against Stacey Abrams together.". Conley. 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. (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. David Perdue is running against Democrat Jon Ossoff in one of two runoff elections in the state that will determine control of the U.S. Senate in the next Congress. Then there were the full-on MAGA-bots like Sonny Perdue, the Georgia politician and agribusiness entrepreneur who became agriculture secretary. He was there at the end. So, you know, we've been hearing that this from faculty members who have been upset about, you know, some of his credentials in that space. Subscribe today and get a full year of Mother Jones for just $14.95. (Washington, D.C., April 25, 2017) - Sonny Perdue was sworn in as the 31st U.S. Secretary of Agriculture by fellow Georgian and Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court Clarence Thomas in a brief ceremony today at the Supreme Court building. Yes. [51], Perdue was the designated survivor on January 30, 2018, for President Trump's first State of the Union address. [72], 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.[73]. The commitments entailed moving his holdings into a new trust and agreeing not to serve as a trustee or beneficiary of the fund. Eric Stirgus: Yes, definitely. The sole vote against him came from Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY). A longtime Atlanta-based journalist, he is a former editor-in-chief of Atlanta magazine. But should it go to a politician? Perdue and a partner purchased the agricultural land in 2009 and later earned so-called mitigation bank credits for converting the tract for wetland conservation purposes, according to the watchdog organizations. Steve Fennessy: Yeah. Eric Stirgus: You know, he's never spoken publicly about it. Is that right? [7] 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. The income stemmed partly from the sale of conservation credits under a federal wetlands protection program. So without that accreditation, it could severely impact, you know, enrollment. By signing up, you agree to our privacy policy and terms of use, and to receive messages from Mother Jones and our partners. Am I being naive to think that that that would be the case? 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. USDA argues that the reorganization Perdue laid out in his 2017 ethics agreement was intended to separate the secretary from two agribusinesses in particular: grain merchandiser AGrowStar LLC and grain marketer Pro Ag Products, both of which were also owned by Perdue Business Holdings before they were sold to outside buyers. Perdue is a cousin to Trump Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue. Thanks for listening. It is simply unacceptable for people to sneak into this country illegally on Thursday, obtain a government-issued ID on Friday, head for the welfare office on Monday, and cast a vote on Tuesday, he declared, backing up his rancid lies with a crackdown on undocumented people. It generated $102,077 in revenue or about 11 cents for every dollar it cost to run the center in years past. At least he is out of the gate. He switched party affiliation from Democrat to Republican in 1998 and was re-elected to the State Senate as a Republican. An investigationby the Food and Environment Reporting Networks Leah Douglas found that at least 40 percent of chicken plants operating at the higher speeds experienced COVID outbreaks, versus 14 percent for the overall meat sector. Steve Fennessy: What form has that opposition taken on college campuses or in academic circles? The other election pits Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler against the Rev. She said that this is coming from a place of strength and not weakness. Later, FALF Management Trust was created. What does it mean to be a chancellor? Two-thirds of the reassigned USDA employees chose to quit rather than accept relocation. In July, as the general election heated up, the department tapped a Depression-era funding mechanism called the Commodity Credit Corporation to come up with $14 billionwithout having to consult Congressto hand to producers of commodities like corn, soybeans and wheat, ostensibly for losses due to the coronavirus. 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. 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. What Is Sonny Perdue Doing Now? AGrowStar (including the assets acquired as part of the Estill deal) was sold by Perdue's trusts in 2018 for 12 million dollars, but due to the secretive nature of the trusts, this was not widely disclosed. [11], Perdue played quarterback at Warner Robins High School and was a walk-on at the University of Georgia,[12] where he was also a member of the Beta-Lambda chapter of Kappa Sigma fraternity. Sonny Perdue, aka George Ervin "Sonny" Perdue III, is known to be a veterinarian, businessman, and politician of the United States of America. He praised the tax cuts and the program of deregulation, which, he claimed, benefitted the people who needed it most, those in the middle, and the lower rungs. Its little wonder that Trump would train his benevolence on the little people, because hes a blue-collar guy who worked for years in the construction yards, with all kinds of folks, all colors, Kudlow informed Perdues listeners. [News tape] CNN: The former president recruited the former Sen. David Perdue to mount a primary challenge to Gov. And you know, in saying, you know, this is why we, you know, we are concerned about Sonny Perdue becoming chancellor. The secretarys numerous and labyrinthine financial interests in agribusiness and land development makes it essential that his ethical commitments be rigorously enforced so as not to create a conflict of interest, Austin Evers, the groups executive director, wrote last week in a letter to the IGs office. Please consider making a gift today to support this vital public service. Trump said Friday that he has directed Perdue to provide at least $16 billion in relief. [6] His nomination was approved by the Senate Agriculture Committee by a 191 voice vote on March 30. In 2011, he founded Perdue Partners, which facilitated the export of U.S. goods and services. DECATUR The Washington Post on Tuesday published a story that Archer Daniels Midland Co. sold a grain storage plant valued at millions of dollars to Sonny Perdue for $250,000 weeks after he . [6] His nomination was approved by the Senate Agriculture Committee by a 19-1 voice vote on March 30. [57] Current and former employees of the ERS were strongly critical of the relocation to Kansas City, saying the resulting exodus of scientific and economic talent caused disruption to federal research, especially on climate change and food security. Ethics authorities have already issued warnings to a dozen Trump administration officials for violating the Hatch Act, but Perdues straightforward appeal to reelect Trump was seen as especially flagrant. He was the only member of the Trump administration to endorse such a plan. This week on Georgia Today, we look at some issues Bottoms faced during her tenure as mayor with CNN national correspondentRyan Young. Eric Stirgus: Well, there's been a few ways. I give him my full and total endorsement.". Perdue is a kind of an easy-going Southern version of the president he served so zealously. [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. Georgia Today is a production of Georgia Public Broadcasting. Steve Fennessy: Well, let's unpack a little bit more this rather awkward political relationship going on. I can't imagine Sonny Perdue doing that." @SecretarySonny (to use his folksy Twitter handle) stayed the course that characterized his entire time at UDSA. In 2010, at the tail end of his second term as governor, Perdue named his cousin, David Perduewho had just stepped down as chief executive of Dollar General discount storesto the board of the Georgia Ports Authority. The Georgia Department of Natural Resources figures showed 21,101 people visited the Perry facility in fiscal 2015, which ended June 30. Kemp replaced them with two additional members. At the beginning of 2020, Perdue yearned publicly for a way to cut federally mandated wages for migrant farm workers on guest visas. So tell us, what does the job of chancellor of Georgia universities and colleges entail? On March 1, 2022, the Board of Regents of University System of Georgia appointed Perdue as the system's 14th chancellor, effective April 1, 2022. Kemp is sort of paying back a favor. Not satisfied with fighting to take food off the tables of poor families, Perdue also set his sights on farm workers. Secretary Perdue complied with his ethics agreement and followed the advice of ethics officers at USDA when he restructured the Perdue Family Revocable Management Trust into a new family management trust, in which the secretary and his wife had no ownership interest and were not trustees, the spokesperson said in a statement. Brian Kemp in Mays Republican primary. His name is Sonny Perdue. Donald Trump's agriculture secretary, Sonny Perdue, was confirmed April 24, 2017, and he will have a wide reach in his role. Students and faculty members around the state are reacting to news that Republican former Gov. Faster kill lines boost packer profits even as they put already pandemic-stressed workers under greater strain, while also making proper social distancing even more difficult. Save big on a full year of investigations, ideas, and insights. [News tape] FOX5: Students against Sonny have collected more than a thousand signatures on a petition on Change.org. But ethics questions have piled up in recent months about the secretarys mixing of USDA duties and his political promotion of the president. Eric Stirgus: Last March, we started hearing talk you know that Perdue was interested in the job or that some board members on the Board of Regents were interested in him becoming chancellor. We'll be back next week. The Georgia Board of Regents on Tuesday named former governor and U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue as the sole finalist to lead the state's University System. As a subscriber, you have 10 gift articles to give each month. Other 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. [19] After his first year in office, Senator Perdue wrote then Lt. Kemp continues to be grateful for that support, and he feels some, you know, some loyalty, from what we've been hearing from our sources towards Sonny Perdue. And you know, for a lot of critics, you know, it did raise their concerns about all of this. I'm joined by Eric Stirgus, who covers higher education for the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Steve Fennessy: Politics makes strange bedfellows. Eric Stirgus: I think, you know, there's just some uncertainty among many faculty members about, you know, who will eventually serve in the position and you know what role they may take on, you know, on this, you know, systems operations. [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. The new questions surrounding Perdues 2017 agreement follow his rebuke last week by the Office of Special Counsel for using a taxpayer-funded event to promote President Donald Trumps reelection, in violation of the Hatch Act. | J. Scott Applewhite/AP Photo. This is the golden rule do unto others.". He would not be the first governor to move into academia: Former Gov. Sign up for the free Mother Jones Daily newsletter and follow the news that matters. [18], Perdue was elected as a Democrat in 1991, 1994, and 1996. 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. You know, I guess at the time, they sort of came to an impasse and there was a search firm that was hired to help with the process, but pulled out of the process. [29] Perdue also created additional opportunities for charter schools and private schools. We noticed you have an ad blocker on. In fact, for the next two weeks after the prayer, the state's epic dry streak grew worse. So those are some of the things that have concerned a lot of state leaders or particularly on the Republican side. The Board of Regents announced that the former Republican governor is its choice to become chancellor. So very excited to have the president standing with us and I'm a lot like him. The design of the 2001 Georgian flag was widely unpopular, being derisively named the "Barnes flag". The Board of Regents is expected to confirm Perdue's appointment in the next two weeks. Higher education is where I wanted to have a real impact as governor, only to be stymied by twin recessions, he said in the board-issued statement. [69] Perdue lives in Bonaire, Georgia. Sign up to receive GPB Event announcements via Email. Opponents of the choice say Perdue's appointment would jeopardize academic freedom across the systems 26 campuses. Eric Stirgus: Correct. June 23, 2021. [56] The attrition rate was particularly high in the Resource and Rural Economics Division (90%) and in the Food Economics Division (up to 89%). Eric Stirgus: I think it's been a mix of both. Perdue, Trump's first and only agriculture secretary, is a notable exception. 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. [12], In education, Perdue promoted the return of most decision-making to the local level. I'm Steve Fennessy. The crux of the watchdog complaint comes down to a handful of Perdues businesses the secretary reported as sources of income, at least a half-million dollars, on his 2019 filing. Last month, the U.S. State Department said it will start processing more applicants seeking H-2A temporary. [31] The choices 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 flag created in 2001 by the Roy Barnes administration. 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.. Brian Kemp and thought Trump thought his endorsement would spell immediate trouble for the incumbent. His nomination was transmitted to the U.S. Senate on March 9, 2017. He continued his effort to cut their wages, ultimately teaming with the Department of Labor on a rule change that will result in an aggregate wage cut worth at least $170.68 million annually over the next ten yearsa transfer of money from low-wage workers to relatively wealthy farm owners.
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