Wednesday, December 2, 2009
News Richardson will be gone, only question is when
Posted by Scott Henry @ScottTheHenry on Wed, Dec 2, 2009 at 8:33 PM
Oh, and the little matter of who'll be replacing him.
First things first: A metro Republican House member who spent much of Tuesday huddled at the Capitol discussing the Richardson problem confirmed to me that the GOP caucus has, indeed, decided to replace the Speaker.
He said Richardson was not directly involved in those discussions, but then, why would he be? The caucus must focus on minimizing political damage to the Georgia Republican Party and ensuring some stability going into next month's General Assembly, which, because of cratering revenue, will be one of the most important in a long time. The well-being of the state trumps the feelings of one politician.
That said, I'm told that Richardson is being afforded some time to go out with some semblance of dignity. But don't look for this to drag into next week. I suspect they'll be some announcement by Friday at the latest.
What form will this take? Apparently, that's being negotiated, or at least discussed. For instance, Richardson could say — not without justification — that he's taking a medical leave of absence from the Speaker's job.
My GOP source did not know whether Richardson had agreed to step down voluntarily, but if the rest of the leadership wants him out, I don't see how he could fight it. The Beacon, a community newspaper covering John's Creek, the home base of of one Mark Burkhalter, cites anonymous sources in saying "Richardson is now coming to realize the inevitable" — namely, that he must step aside.
The paper goes on:
If Richardson resigns his leadership post as House Speaker, the Georgia Constitution mandates that the Speaker Pro-Tem, Burkhalter, would become Speaker immediately.
Which brings us to the next question. Even if Burkhalter automatically becomes Speaker on Friday, that doesn't mean he'd remain as Speaker when the House convenes the second Monday of January. The first order of business in every new legislative session is to elect — or re-elect — a Speaker.
From all I hear, the caucus is looking to Rep. Jerry Keen, R-St. Simons, to lead the House next month — not least because he's one of the few GOP leaders who hasn't been the subject of rumors of hanky-panky. It certainly wouldn't do to throw out a guy for schtupping a lobbyist, only to replace him with someone who has a similarly skeleton-filled closet.
Of course, that's an oversimplification of why Richardson is tainted. The problem isn't that he had a mistress, it's that his alleged (for now) mistress worked for a major utility that would've benefited from legislation the Speaker co-sponsored.
That accusation, brought forth in a hastily dismissed ethics complaint, gets into the territory of conflict-of-interest and corruption. That's why Richardson has to go.
Comments (4)
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Scott, I am surprised that someone as familiar with Georgia politics as you are would make a kindergarten mistake when it comes to how the Speaker of the Georgia House is elected. Your statement --"The first order of business in every new legislative session is to elect — or re-elect — a Speaker-- isn't entirely correct. The first order of business at the beginning of every new two-year legislative session is to elect a Speaker of the House. State Representative Glenn Richardson (R - Hiram) was elected Speaker of the House for the 150th Georgia General Assembly beginning on January 12, 2009 and ending January 10, 2011. Essentially what the preceding paragraph means is that if Glenn Richardson were not embroiled in scandal, he would not stand for election --or re-election as the case may be-- to the Speaker's office until the convening of the 151st Georgia General Assembly; and would serve a two-year term beginning January 10, 2011 and ending January 14, 2013.
GP — Yes, you're right. I'd made the silly mistake of forgetting about the two-year cycle. Still, from what I'm hearing, the caucus is leaning toward anointing Keen as Speaker.
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