Jason Carter Selects Campaign Committee

Prominent state Democrats are on the list including Ambassador Andrew Young, former U.S. Senator Max Cleland, state Rep. Scott Holcomb, and Atlanta City Council President Ceasar Mitchell.

One person not on that list is arguably the state’s most powerful Democrat – Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed.

Political writer Edward Hula of Peach Pundit says it’s another indication of Carter and Reed’s frosty relationship and shows Reed probably won’t be too active in the campaign.

“Mayor Reed has made working with Gov. Deal a top priority on the Savannah Port Project and also Mayor Reed does have higher ambitions so there’s probably some aspect of maybe the mayor wanted Jason Carter to wait his turn a little bit longer. Politicians do have fairly big egos so they would certainly not be appreciative of someone getting a shot before they do at higher office.”

Hula also points to the selection of two Jewish civic leaders – businessman Michael Coles and philanthropist Lois Frank – as an effort to differentiate Jason Carter from his famous grandfather, former President Jimmy Carter, on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.

The members of the commitee are as follows:

• Michael Coles – Committee chairman, co-founder of Great American Cookie Company and former chairman and CEO of Caribou Coffee Company
• B.J. Blackwood – Accounting lecturer at Georgia Regents University
• Ken Britt – Retired executive director the law firm of Alston & Bird and former lobbyist for Georgia Equality
• Debbie Buckner – State rep. out of Talbot County
• Max Cleland – Former U.S. senator
• Monique Davis-Smith – Family medicine residency program director at the Mercer University School of Medicine
• Stacey Evans – State rep. out of Cobb County
• Lois Frank – National board member of the American Jewish Committee
• Alfreda Goldwire – President of the Savannah Federation of Teachers/Paraprofessionals and School Related Personnel
• Scott Holcomb – State rep. out of Atlanta
• Pedro Marin – State rep. out of Gwinnett County
• Lee May – DeKalb County CEO
• Ceasar Mitchell – Atlanta City Council President
• Richard Oden – First African-American chairman of the Rockdale County Commission
• Barbara Massey Reece – Former state rep. of Chattooga County
• Freddie Powell Sims – State senator out of Albany
• Jeff Turner – chairman of the Clayton County Commission
• Raphael Warnock – Senior pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church in Atlanta
• Andrew Young – Former Atlanta mayor and U.S. ambassador
• Carolyn Young – Former teacher