Democrats to Lookout for in the Near Future

1. Brandon Braddy (D-Mt. Vernon) Montgomery County.

Braddy is a life long resident of Montgomery County. After graduating from Montgomery County High School in 1991, he attended Brewton Parker College for two years then transferred to Georgia Southern University where he majored in Accounting. He received his Bachelors of Business Administration from GSU in 1995. Currently, Mr. Braddy is employed as a community banker with Montgomery Bank & Trust in Ailey, Georgia.

Mr. Braddy was elected to the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners in 1996, and is currently serving his fourth term. Mr. Braddy has served as Vice-Chairman for the past six years and now currently serves as Chairman. Mr. Braddy chairs the Commission’s Public Safety, Jail and Finance/Budget Committees. As an extension of his service as a county commissioner, he has represented Montgomery County on the Heart of Georgia – Altamaha Regional Development Center’s Board of Directors. Mr. Braddy also served on the Audit Committee for the RDC. In addition to serving on the Montgomery County Board of Commissioners, Mr. Braddy serves as a director for the Altamaha Electric Membership Corporation.

Mr. Braddy has participated in various leadership development programs including Leadership Georgia’s Class of 2000, Leadership Toombs-Montgomery’s Class of 2000, and Georgia Academy for Economic Development’s Class of 2003.

2. Patty James- Bentley (D-Reynolds) Taylor County

Patty James-Bentley was elected to the board in 2004 at the age of 34. She enjoys her position as a public servant. Patty is currently serving as Vice Chairman of the Board for 2011. She has also served as Chairman for the Economic Development Committee for the Association of County Commissioners (ACCG). She received her advanced certification as a County Commissioner immediately after becoming a Certified Commissioner.

Mrs. James-Bentley is a proud member of the 2007 class of Leadership Georgia and 2006 class of Leadership Taylor. She completed the Georgia Academy for Economic Development in 2006 and completed the Basic Course for Economic Development at Georgia Tech in March 2008. She is also one of the founding members of the Taylor County Chamber of Commerce

Commissioner Bentley was featured in Georgia Trend magazine in October 2006 for the "40 Under 40" Rising Stars in Georgia. She is also a member of the Young Elected Officials Network (YEO). Commissioner James-Bentley is married to Darryl Bentley and they are the owners of Bentley-Montford Mortuary in Butler. She and Mr. Bentley are the host of two talk shows, "Straight Talk With the Bentleys" Flint Cable Channel 14 and "Let's Talk With Patty and Darryl" 94.3 FM Radio Station. They are the proud parents to five children.

3. Maurice Draines (D-Thomaston) Upson County.

Currently the Chairman of the Upson County Commission, Draines is one of the rising stars in the Democratic Party. Draines was the Vice-Chairman of the Thomaston-Upson County Industrial Development Authority and serve on the Flint River Technical College Board of Directors.

He is a 1987 graduate of the Robert E. Lee Institute. I attended Columbus State University in both 1995 and 2007, having achieved a PMP Certificate in Budgeting, Personnel, Legal Liability, and Decision Making. I also graduated from the Georgia Police Academy in 1989, the Georgia Correctional Academy in 1991, Officer Orientation School in Quantico, Virginia, in 1992, and Field Officer Training School in 1997

In 2003 he was appointed by Judge Gary Hamby to serve as Interim Chairman of the Upson County Board of Commissioners for eight months until a special election could be held. Earlier that year, he also served as Chairman of the Thomaston-Upson County Recreation Commission, a group he was a board member of for over four years. He have also served on the boards of numerous other groups, including the Red Cross and Habitat for Human.

Prior to being commisisoner, Draines was a Sergeant with the Georgia State Patrol in LaGrange. Some of his experience and accomplishments with the State Patrol include:

-Presidential Inauguration in Washington, D.C., 2005
-G-8 Summit Security Detail at St. Simons Island
-Governor-elect Sonny Perdue’s Transition Team
-Governor Perdue’s Inauguration Ceremony in 2003
-Lieutenant Governor Casey Cagle’s Web Page Photo Gallery
-Receiving more than a dozen praise letters, including one from Colonel Sid Miles for assisting the GBI in the arrest of a murder suspect in Pike County.

4. Carlos Nelson (D-Waycross) Ware County.

Carlos Nelson began his first term as District 1 representative on the Ware County Board of Commissioners on January 1, 1999.A lifelong resident of Ware County and a 1983 graduate of Waycross High School, Commissioner Nelson served honorably in the United States Air Force for six years.

Currently, Commissioner Nelson serves Ware County as Executive Director of the Waycross Operation Weed and Seed Initiative. He serves on many local and State Boards. In 2009, he was elected to the Board of Managers for the Association County Commissioners of Georgia (ACCG).Commissioner Nelson is owner and operator of Viddie-O's Professional Video and Photography, a local photography and videography business

5. Bill McGowan (D-Americus) Sumter County.

McGowan who was a firefighter before becoming mayor of Americus, is now serving as Tax Commissioner for Sumter County. McGowan challenged Mike Cheokas for HD 134 back in 2006 during the democratic primary.

6. James Davenport (D-Fort Gaines) Clay County.

Davenport serves on the Clay County Board of Commissioners

James Davenport is the son of Sam and Mary Davenport. He attended Clay County High School and graduated in 1973. He later attended Albany Technical School. Commissioner Davenport is a Deacon at the Midway Baptist Church of Morris, GA. He also serves as the Adult Sunday School Teacher. Commissioner Davenport has always lived in Clay County. He married to Linda and has three children, Aundrek, Jermaine and Farrah.

7. Jack Lance (D-Blairsville) Union County

Lance ran for the state legislature in 2010 only to come up short in what would be described as a once-in-a-lifetime election. Once a former aide to then-senator Zell Miller, Lance then attended Mercer University Walter F. George School of Law in Macon, Georgia, where he earned his Juris Doctorate in 2008. He and his wife, Carmen Smith Lance then returned to Jack’s hometown of Blairsville to practice law with his sister Kenya L. Patton.

At 30 years of age, he is the future of the Bluedog Democrats here in Georgia

Honrable mention:

Jowan Johnson (Wilcox County) County Commissioner

Alphonso Andrews (Burke County) County Commisisoner

Shela Holland (Evans County) County Commisisoner

More names will be added to this list down the road, but each of these individuals could be future candidates for another office in the near future.