Senate Democrats voted Monday to keep intact their leadership slate for the upcoming legislative session, reelecting Sen. Steve Henson (D-Tucker) as minority leader, Sen. Vincent Fort (D-Atlanta) as minority whip, and Sen. Horacena Tate (D-Atlanta) as caucus chair.
The Democrats voted unanimously for Sen. Valencia Seay (D-Riverdale) to stay on as vice chair of the caucus, Sen. Gloria Butler (D-Stone Mountain) as vice chair for campaigns and fundraising, and Sen. Nan Orrock (D-Atlanta) as caucus secretary.
The Democrats did the same thing that the House Republican caucus did earlier Monday, reelecting the current leadership team with no opposition coming from other caucus members.
Henson, who’s served a total of 10 terms during two separate stints in the Senate, was first elected minority leader in June 2011 when the late Robert Brown left the Senate to run unsuccessfully for mayor of Macon.
In the General Assembly session that convenes in January, Democrats will continue to hold slightly fewer than one-third of the seats in the Georgia Senate, 18 out of 56.
“We’re going to be a cohesive caucus, making sure our agenda issues are out there,” Seay said. “We still are viable lawmakers for this state, working for the best interests of all Georgians.”
Fort said Senate Democrats will play the role of “the loyal opposition, scrutinizing the policy proposals of the opposition without being obnoxious.”
“We’ll always be doing what’s best for the state, particularly on the economy, where we’re still 50th or 51st in unemployment,” Fort added.
© 2014 by The Georgia Report