American politician
Joe Frank Harris
(born February 16, 1936) is an American businessman and
Democratic
politician
who served as the 78th
governor of Georgia
from 1983 to 1991.
Early life and career
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Harris was born in the
Atco Mill Village
of
Cartersville, Georgia
, to Frank and Frances Harris. Harris was the second of three children with brother Fred Harris and sister Glenda Harris Gambill. Harris went on to graduate from the
University of Georgia
in 1958 with a degree in business administration. While attending Georgia, he also became a member of
Lambda Chi Alpha
fraternity. Upon graduation, Harris returned to his native Cartersville, Georgia to join his father Frank and brother Fred in the family run cement business. Harris Cement Products, Inc. operated from 1940 to 1980, and during the late 1970s furnished all the cement for the bridges and overpasses constructed on
Interstate 75
from Cobb County to Gordon County. Harris was persuaded to run for the
Georgia House of Representatives
in 1964 and served nine terms.
[1]
Harris became the chairman of the Appropriations Committee in 1974.
Gubernatorial campaign
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When he ran for governor in 1982, Harris was seen as a long-shot candidate, but with the support of the Speaker of the Georgia House
Tom Murphy
, he was able to win the
primary
over
U.S. Representative
Bo Ginn
.
Deloss Walker
, a political campaign consultant based in Memphis, Tennessee, played a key role in his campaign.
Gubernatorial accomplishments
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Harris called himself the education governor as he raised the state salaries for teachers.
[2]
and implemented the Quality Basic Education Act (QBE), built the
Georgia Dome
, created the Technical College System of Georgia formerly known as the Department of Adult & Technical Education, and lured the
1996 Summer Olympics
to
Atlanta
. Harris is also credited with building more libraries during his term than any other governor in Georgia's history. Also during his term, Harris created the Growth Strategies Commission chaired by Cartersville native and prominent developer Joel Cowan.
Board of regents
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After two terms as governor, Harris was appointed to the
Board of Regents
for the
University System of Georgia
serving for seven years, two years as chairman.
[3]
Georgia State University
[
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]
From 1995 through 2009 Harris served at
Georgia State University
as an executive fellow and lecturer in the School of Policy Studies. He is chairman of the board of Harris Georgia Corporation, an industrial development firm that was established in 1980 in Cartersville, Georgia. He also served on the board of directors for
Aflac
.
[
when?
]
Legacy
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The portion of
U.S. Route 41
through
Bartow County
is named in his honor (Joe Frank Harris Parkway), as well as the Joe Frank Harris Commons that houses The Village Summit Dining Commons at the
University of Georgia
, the main entrance to the Georgia Ports Authority in Brunswick, Georgia (Joe Frank Harris Blvd.), and the main entrance to the Georgia State Fairgrounds in Perry (Governor Joe Frank and Mrs. Elizabeth Harris Blvd.).
References
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See also
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