GA Senate Dem leader Butler to retire, opening key post
Butler becomes latest Gold Dome power player to call it a career
The leader of the Georgia Senate Democrats says she will retire at the end of the year, becoming the latest power player at the Gold Dome to call it a career.
Senate minority leader Gloria Butler, 82, has been in the chamber since 1999 representing Stone Mountain, a suburban community some 20 miles east of Atlanta that shares its name with the vast granite formation that sits atop the town.
Butler ascended to the top spot in her caucus in 2021, becoming the first Black woman to hold a party leadership post in the chamber.
“I’ve had an extraordinary journey at this Capitol,” an emotional Sen. Butler said Tuesday during brief remarks from the well. “I didn’t have a clue that I would stay more than the designated 10 years I gave myself. Understand that I’m working on 26.”
“Thank you for putting up with me for all these years,” she concluded. “I’ve appreciated working with all of you. And maybe on Sine Die, I’ll say a little bit more to you.”
Butler’s retirement will leave some of her caucus’ most ambitious members to duke it out for her post. Two names you can immediately expect to hear are minority whip Harold Jones of Augusta and caucus chair Elena Parent of Atlanta.
Other names to watch include caucus vice chair Sonya Halpern, also of Atlanta, and state Sen. Emanuel Jones of Decatur (no relation to Harold).
Butler is the latest key legislative leader to announce that she will not be returning after the 2024 election. Over in the House, longtime state Rep. Penny Houston (R-Berrien County), who leads a powerful Appropriations subcommittee, says she will step down at the end of the year. Public Safety Committee chair J. Collins (R-Villa Rica) has also announced his retirement.
Expect a lot more lawmakers to announce their 2024 plans in the coming days with qualifying week, the week when they must sign up to put their name on the ballot, set to kick off next Monday.