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About Common Cause Georgia

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Common Cause Georgia is a non-profit, non-partisan citizens' lobby organization.  We believe that by banding together, citizens can make a difference.  We throw a spotlight on issues that affect all Georgians.  We work to strengthen public participation and to ensure that the political process serves the public interest, rather than the special interests.

Our purpose is clear: make public officials and public institutions accountable and responsive to citizens. Common Cause Georgia has more than 3,000 members and supporters across the state.

Common Cause Georgia is guided by our State Advisory Board. We are a state chapter of the national Common Cause organization.

We encourage you to get involved! More members mean a stronger voice for the public in local, state and national politics. If you are not already a member, please join today! If you're not ready to become a member, please be sure to sign up for CauseNet -- our email alert network -- to stay up to date on our latest news, events and campaigns.

Our mailing address is 5115 New Peachtree Road, Suite 200, Atlanta, GA 30341.  Our telephone number is 770.986.4200.

Common Cause Georgia Advisory Board Officers

State Chair, Bob Irvin

Bob is a consultant for the Bridge Strategy Group.  He lives in Atlanta and holds a Law degree from Emory and an MBA from Harvard Business School.  Bob served nine terms in the Georgia House of Representatives, six years as Minority Leader.  He assumed the Common Cause Chair position in January 2009. 

State Vice Chair, Joe Stoner

Joe is the Executive Director at Habitat for Humanity DeKalb.  He served as the Chairman of Common Cause New Jersey from 1983-1985.  Throughout his career he has been a member of numerous community organizations and associations including the YMCA, the Atlanta Enterprise Council and the Georgia Tech Alumni Association.  As a member of the Common Cause Georgia board Joe has brought his extensive knowledge of leadership and experience in growing and developing non-profit organizations.

State Treasurer, Steve Jacobs

Steve Jacobs is the Chief Financial Officer at King & Spalding. He joined King & Spalding in 1981 as the firm’s first controller. Steve is a Certified Public Accountant and began his career in public accounting with the audit staff of Price Waterhouse in Atlanta, continuing in public accounting with local CPA firms until joining King & Spalding. He obtained his MBA from Georgia State University after receiving his BSBA from the University of Florida in 1968.

State Secretary, Sam Bacote

Sam is head of the Atlanta Office of Commerce Capital Markets and Commerce Capital Access Program (subsidiaries of Commerce Bank). He has served in the Peace Corps and was named as one of the twelve Most Notable Returned Peace Corps Volunteers in Business. Mr. Bacote serves on several community boards and is past president of the Metro Atlanta Kiwanis Club. Sam ran unsuccessfully for the Georgia State Senate in 2002. He began serving as a Common Cause board member in 2007.

State Past Chair  

State Past Chair John Sours is a practicing attorney in Cobb County, specializing in construction and government contract law, alternative dispute resolution, and serves as an adjunct professor at Southern Polytechnic University. He received AB and JD degrees from the College of William and Mary and an LLM from Georgetown University. John is the former chairman of the Atlanta Vietnam Veterans Business Association and served for seven years as a member of the State of Georgia Election Board. John managed the Georgia Presidential Campaign of John McCain in 2000, was State Chair of the Georgia Veterans Alliance for McCain in 2008, and served as a Presidential Elector in that year. He assumed the Common Cause Chair position in January 2007.

Governing Board Members

Dr. Lesley Ward

Lesley is a Psychologist in independent practice in Atlanta. She received her PhD from Georgia State University. She has chaired fundraising events for a variety of campaigns, including universities, theaters, charities and political causes. Lesley held the position of Vice Chair role in 2007.

Emmet Bondurant is the Senior Partner of the Atlanta Law Firm, Bondurant, Mixson and Elmore. He currently serves as the chairman of the Georgia Public Defenders Standards Council, the state agency established to insure compliance of the indigent defense laws in Georgia. Emmet received his LLM from Harvard. He has had a long and distinguished career as a trial lawyer with high profile experience in anti-trust law and numerous public interest and civil rights cases. He was the attorney who won the landmark 1963 Supreme Court case which reversed the Georgia County Unit system, establishing the principle of one man, one vote. Mr. Bondurant served as CCGA board chair from 2002 to 2004.

Chan Caudell

Chan joined the Common Cause Board in 2009. Chan is an attorney in private practice in Cornelia, Georgia. Chan holds a JD degree from Mercer University and a bachelor’s from the University of Georgia. Chan served as Habersham county Commissioner in 2003-2004 and ran for the Georgia State Senate in 2004 in an unsuccessful race in the Republican Primary. Chan is an active volunteer and support of several organizations including Georgia Conservation Voters, Boy Scouts of America and The American Red Cross.

Charles "Chuck" Clay

Chuck is a practicing attorney in the Marietta law firm of Brock, Clay & Calhoun, and he is the President of Insider Advantage.  He received his J.D. from the University of Georgia.  He is a former assistant District Attorney for Cobb County, and he was elected to the State Senate from the 37th District in 1988 and completed six terms.  While a member of the Senate he chaired the Appropriations Subcommittee for Higher Education and served as Vice-Chairman of the Banking and Financial Institutions Committee.  He has received numerous awards including, a Distinguished Service Award from the Georgia Middle School Association, the Outstanding Legislator Award from The Georgia Council on Aging and the Association of County Commissioners, and the Distinguished Public Service Award from the State Bar; it's highest award for public service.  In 1999 he was elected chairman of the Republican Party of Georgia, and in this capacity he oversaw Georgia's GOP operations through the 2000 election cycle.  

Benita Dodd

Benita joined the Board of Common Cause Georgia in 2008. Benita is the Vice President of the Georgia Public Policy Foundation. Benita is a journalism graduate of Rhodes University in Grahamstown, South Africa. She immigrated to the United States in 1986. Benita was an editorial writer and columnist for The Atlanta Journal Editorial Board and an editorial writer for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Editorial Board from 1999 to 2003. She is a member of the 2007 class of Leadership Georgia and a faculty

 Joy Kramer

 Joy joined the Board of Common Cause Georgia in 2008. Joy is the Founder and President of AdVentures, a media Marketing and Events Company. Joy also serves as a volunteer with Cobb County as a Child Advocate. Prior to starting her own firm Joy worked in the broadcast media business for both Cox Broadcasting and Radio and Clear Channel. Joy is a graduate with honors from the University of Florida.

Stephen Mitchell is our longest serving Common Cause Georgia board member. He resides in Lilburn, and currently serves as the primary owner and CEO of Sertec Corporation, an Atlanta-based large volume customer response management company.  A graduate of Georgia Tech, Mr. Mitchell has a made a long career of acquiring, reorganizing, revitalizing and selling companies.

Vivian Jetter Moore  

Vivian joined the board of Common Cause Georgia in early 2009. Vivian is a Health Coordinator with Fulton County Health and wellness, and has worked on community health issues since 2004. Vivian’s prior position was with the Community Foundation of Greater Atlanta were she served as Neighborhood Fund Manager. Vivian holds a degree in Social Work from Tennessee State University and is very active in the DeKalb County community most recently serving as President of the DeKalb National Association for the Advancement of Colored People and a Member of Leadership DeKalb.

Nolan Murrah

Nolan is a resident of Columbus Georgia.  He is currently Director of the Office of Dispute Resolution of the Third Judicial Administrative District. He holds a Law degree from Emory University as well as a Post Graduate degree from Harvard Law School.  Nolan had a long business career where he served as an executive in the food and beverage industry. 

Shyam Reddy

Shyam is  a new member of the Common Cause board in 2007. He works as a corporate attorney at Kilpatrick Stockton, LLP. Mr. Reddy holds both a JD degree from the University of Georgia and a Masters in Public Health from Emory University. He served for two years as General Counsel for Young Democrats of Georgia. Shyam ran unsuccessfully for the Democratic party nomination for Georgia Secretray of State in 2006.

Robert Schapiro

Robert is a professor of Law at Emory University specializing in Civil Procedures and Constitutional Law. He received his J.D. from Yale Law School. He is considered an authority on judicial practices and ethics in government and has been active over a number of years in support of political candidates at the state and national level. Robert has served on the Common Cause board since 2000.

Melvin Steely

Dr. Steely is a recently retired professor of history and founder and former director of the Georgia Political Heritage Program at the University of West Georgia in Carrollton, Georgia.   A Georgia native, Mel graduated from Carson-Newman College and Vanderbilt University.  Mel has been involved in Georgia political campaigns for candidates from both parties, most notably working with Newt Gingrich, on his campaigns and as an administrative aide on staff, for 12 years.

Kerwin Swint

Dr. Swint is a Professor of Political Science at Kennesaw State University since 1993. He is a specialist in political campaigns, mass media, and political communication. Dr. Swint is a frequent speaker for business and civic organizations; political commentator for national, international, and local media. He is also the author of three books on American politics, and one forthcoming. A Graduate of University of Georgia, 1985, he received his Masters in 1990 and Ph.D. 1995. Dr. Swint and his family live in west Cobb County. Dr. Swint joined the Common Cause Georgia Governing board in spring 2009.

 Advisory Board Members

Common Cause Georgia Staff

Bill Bozarth has served as Executive Director of Common Cause Georgia since June, 2002. He retired after a 28 year career with the IBM Corporation in 1993 and has since worked in the information technology industry in various capacities. Bill is a graduate of Columbia University Engineering School, and has been active in local political issues and campaigns since 1997. He previously served as vice chairman of the Common Cause Governing Board.

Jayne Watson joined the Common Cause staff in 2007 after serving two years on the Governing Board.  She had previously worked as a regional marketing manager for a national real estate investment firm. She has been active in a number of community programs including DeKalb County Habitat for Humanity, Atlanta Habitat for Humanity and The Leukemia Society.  Jayne has worked on campaign committees for candidates for state and local office. She is a graduate of the University of Georgia.

Leah Humphries is the Development Manager for Common Cause Georgia. Leah was formerly a partner with a Technical Recruiting firm and had previously worked with the Shepherd Center as a Major Gifts Associate. Leah has also been involved in the Junior League of Atlanta and a member of Saint Mary’s Hospital, WINGS of Mercy.

Jim has has been lobbying at the State Capital since 1990.  Jim is a former member of the Governing Board of Georgia and has worked as our contract lobbyist since 2002.  Jim is a native of Minnesota and currently splits his time between his home in Atlanta and his villa in Italy.

Bryce Farbstein joined Common Cause as the Project Manager for Judicial Election Reform. Bryce holds a law degree from the Georgia State University Collage of Law and a Master’s in Public Administration from Georgia State’s Andrew School of Policy Studies. Bryce is an attorney in private practice in Atlanta.

Our Meetings

Common Cause board meetings are open to the public.  Those seeking to attend please give advance notice by calling us at (770) 986-4200.

Click to read the minutes from the last board meeting.

The next board meeting will be Thursday, December 3rd, 2009 at 7:00 pm -  location to be determined.