Democrats better have a backup plan of Thurmond declines the Lt. Governor's race!

Michael Meyer von Bremen (D-Albany)

Born August 19, 1957, Sen. Meyer von Bremen attended public schools in Albany and graduated from Mercer University in Macon in 1979 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Political Science. He earned his law degree from Mercer in 1983.

Sen. Meyer von Bremen is a partner in the law firm of Hall, Booth, Smith and Slover, PC, and he manages their Albany office. He is a member of the State Bar of Georgia. He is a member and past president of the Dougherty Circuit Bar Association and the Albany Sertoma Club. He is a past president of the Alumni Association for Mercer University. He is also an arbitrator and mediator on the panel of South Georgia ADR. He has served for years on the Agriculture, Environment and Energy Committee of the National Council of State Legislators.

An Eagle Scout, Sen. Meyer von Bremen is active in community and civic affairs.

He is married to the former Peggy Hicks, and they have two children, Meg and Welsley. They are members of the Porterfield Memorial United Methodist Church in Albany, where Sen. Meyer von Bremen has served on the Administrative Board and chaired the Board of Trustees. He is also a member of the Chancel Choir.

Floyd Griffin, Jr. (D-Milledgeville)

Floyd Griffin, retired U.S. Army colonel, former Georgia state senator and current mayor of Milledgeville, Georgia, was born May 24, 1944, in Milledgeville. Griffin holds an A.S. in funeral service from Grupton Jones College, a B.S. in building construction from Tuskegee Institute and a master's degree in contract procurement and management from the Florida Institute of Technology. He is also a graduate of the Army Command and General Staff College and the National War College.

Griffin's twenty-three-year career in the military began in 1967 when he served as a helicopter pilot and flight instructor in Vietnam. He also served a tour of duty in Germany, where he was a logistics officer, battalion chief, and director of engineering and housing. From 1984 to 1986, Griffin commanded an engineering battalion at Fort Stewart, Georgia, and from 1986 to 1990 he was assigned to the Pentagon. Retiring from the military as a colonel in 1990, Griffin taught military science at Wake Forest University and Winston-Salem State University, where he also was the offensive backfield coach for a football team that enjoyed two undefeated seasons and won back-to-back championships.

In 1994, running as a Democrat, Griffin was elected state senator from the 25th District of Georgia and was reelected in 1996. He sacrificed his Senate seat in 1998 to run for lieutenant governor but lost. Griffin tried again for his old Senate seat in 2000, and was narrowly defeated by the incumbent in the primary election. Not discouraged, Griffin ran for mayor of Milledgeville, his hometown, and won in 2001. An accomplished businessman, Griffin is vice president of Slater Funeral Home in Milledgeville, a Griffin family-owned business.

Bobby Saxon (D-Nicholson)

Bobby was born and raised in the greater Athens area of Northeast Georgia. He honed his leadership skills early on as a member of FFA and President of both the 4-H club and Oconee County High School’s class of 1981.

After graduation Bobby attended North Georgia College and State University, where he was the freshman representative of the student government and was selected as a Freshman of the Month in the ROTC program. He then transferred to Georgia Southern University where he worked full-time and graduated as a Distinguished Military Graduate with a BBA in Management in 1987.

While in college, Bobby enlisted in the Georgia Army National Guard as a Private First Class and attended the Army’s Airborne School. Bobby was commissioned as a Second Lieutenant in the Army while attending Georgia Southern.

Tim Golden (D-Valdosta)

Senator Tim Golden, a South Georgia Democrat from Valdosta, is serving his sixth

term in the State Senate representing the 8th District, including Brooks and Lowndes

counties and portions of Cook and Thomas counties.

Known as a strong advocate for Georgia business, Golden was honored with a 2008 Legislative

Achievement Award by the Georgia Retail Association. He was recognized by the Georgia State

Chamber of Commerce as “Legislator of the Year” for 2007, and the group called it a “Lifetime

Achievement” award for his long time advocacy of business interests in the General Assembly. That

same year, the Georgia Industry Association made Golden their “Champion of Industry” for his efforts

to promote manufacturing issues in Georgia.

During the 2008 session, Golden introduced and passed legislation creating the “Made in Georgia”

initiative, a campaign to promote the sale of products manufactured in this state. Working with his

Senate colleagues, he helped secure approximately $18 million in the state budget for fiscal year 2009

in direct appropriations for the communities of the 8th District.

In previous sessions, Senator Golden introduced and passed legislation that authorizes employers to

conduct preemployment,

onsite,

oral testing for substance abuse strengthening

Georgia's "Drugs

Don't Work" drugfree

workplace program. Golden has been a champion of the Drugs Don't Work

Program having passed legislation through the years to expand and strengthen this program. It allows

companies to save 7.5% on their workers compensation policy by maintaining a drug free work

environment for their employees.

Anyone have any suggestions on who should go for Lt. Gov if Thurmond doesn't?