Kemp names new Regents

Gov. Brian Kemp appointed two new members to the powerful Georgia Board of Regents on Tuesday after he used a technical error that Nathan Deal made in his last days as governor to force the vacancies, leading to more control over the state's higher education system.

Kemp used the openings to appoint Sam Holmes, a commercial real estate executive with CBRE; and Jose Perez, the retired head of Target Market Trends and a Gwinnett Republican. He also re-appointed Dean Alford, a veteran regents member with ties to the state's GOP establishment.

They replace Richard Tucker and Don Leebern Jr., who have been mainstays on the board, which oversees 26 institutions including Georgia's largest colleges and universities and is considered one of the most coveted posts in state government. The 12-month total budget for the University System of Georgia, about $9.6 billion, is about one-third the size of the entire state budget.

The appointees will serve seven-year terms.

Leebern, a Columbus liquor magnate and wealthy benefactor, was the board’s second-longest-serving member in state history, and he’s been involved in every major decision involving the college system — particularly those involving his alma mater, the University of Georgia. He was first appointed to the board in 1991.

He also played a central part in the legendary feuds in the early 2000s over finances at UGA, siding with then-UGA president Michael Adams over Vince Dooley, who at the time was the school's long-serving athletics director.

Kemp is a de facto member of Dooley's family, vacationing with the Dooleys as a child and later rooming with the coach's son, Daniel, in college. They remain close, and Kemp supported the May decision to rename the playing field at Sanford Stadium in Dooley's honor.

The governor also made several other appointments to boards, including a decision to tap Kent Fountain, the chief executive of Southeastern Gin & Peanut, to a sought-after post on the Ports Authority board.

The shake-up came after Lt. Gov. Geoff Duncan asserted earlier this year that 64 board appointments made by Deal were not properly submitted, a maneuver that reflected a new power dynamic at the state Capitol.

State law requires the Senate to approve a governor’s appointments to boards, commissions and bureaus — a vote that’s typically approved with little debate or controversy.

When appointments are made in between legislative sessions, the law mandates that the governor must “submit” to the Senate a list of the names. Deal’s office sent that list to Duncan on Jan. 14, the day the lieutenant governor was sworn into office.

In a memo, Duncan attorney Regina Quick said the list wasn’t properly submitted because it was sent to the lieutenant governor before he took the oath of office.