Michael Mills Officially Kickoff his campaign to become Georgia's Next Secretary of State

November 19, 2009 (Atlanta, GA) - Michael Mills officially launches his campaign for Georgia Secretary of State with a series of events demonstrating his commitment to "a new way forward" on jobs. Mills has deep experience in politics, elections and public policy, which he is leveraging to bring a new attitude of action over administration to the office.

"I'm excited to officially launch our campaign today after spending several months listening to Georgians in every corner of the state," said Mills. "They helped to solidify our mission for 'a new way forward,' which isn't just a campaign slogan, it's a vision for inspiring and empowering people to participate in our government and creating a government that works for people," he said.

Mills decided to enter the race because Georgia has been a place of tremendous prosperity and opportunity - the engine of the "new south." But the bills of this growth and success have now come due. And new leadership is needed to tackle these tough issues, delivered in a manner based on inspiration and vision to usher in a brighter future for all Georgians.

Georgians need a state government that helps them dream about a brighter future, while providing the basic resources to make those aspirations possible. That's why as secretary of state Mills will focus on:
Building a Georgia that allows citizens to have a voice, become prosperous and is a place we can all be proud to call home
Ensuring the security of Georgia's election system while limiting unnecessary barriers to voting for all eligible citizens
Creating a "small business administration" within the Corporations Division to grow jobs and revenue by supporting small businesses, non-profits and entrepreneurs
Protecting citizens against financial ruin and fraud through the professional Licensing and Securities Divisions

Mills' professional and civic experience fall into three areas of service that uniquely position him to lead the office in a new, people-focused direction:

Political: legislative aide to Secretary of State Lewis Massey and press secretary for Mark Taylor
Elections: launched a non-profit to improve educated civic participation, especially voting. The community organizing work activated citizens but also identified the problems with our election systems - he wrote a book about it called "Battling Democracy's Decline"
Business and public policy: worked for small businesses and one of the world's largest companies, tackling tough public policy issues - the environment, health care and job creation: Today's schedule includes:

8:00 to 9:00 am, Atlanta Business Roundtable: growing jobs in Georgia
10:00 to 11:00 am, Atlanta Non-Profit Roundtable: ensuring non-profit longevity
2:00 p.m., Ringgold Corporate sustainability announcement: press conference by OSA, Inc. to announce its Collaborative Integrated Resource Planning Study, examining the regions energy needs and solutions, and the likely jobs created in the process

And later tonight he wil hold a fundraiser in Atlanta.