Bill Heath (politician)

Bill Heath (born October 20, 1959) is a former Republican Georgia state senator who served from 2005 to 2021. He served as the Senate Floor Leader for Governor Sonny Perdue. Prior to his election to the state senate, Heath served one two-year term in the Georgia House of Representatives.

Bill Heath
Member of the Georgia Senate
from the 31st district
In office
2005 – January 11, 2021
Preceded byNathan Dean
Succeeded byJason Anavitarte
Member of the Georgia House of Representatives
from the 18th district
In office
2003–2005
Preceded byTom Murphy
Succeeded byMark Butler
Personal details
Born (1959-10-20) October 20, 1959
Political partyRepublican
Spouse(s)Susan
ChildrenWilliam, Sandy
ResidenceBremen, Georgia, U.S.
Alma materSouthern Tech
Occupationfarmer, engineer
CommitteesAgriculture and Consumer Affairs
Appropriations

Political career

Bill Heath's first foray into electoral politics was in 2000, when he challenged Tom Murphy, the Democratic Speaker of the Georgia House of Representatives, for the 18th State House District. Murphy had held the seat since 1960, and had skated to reelection time and again.

Despite the state Republican Party taking no initial interest in the race, a very competitive race would materialize. Heath would raise over $60,000, a very competitive sum for a State House race.[1] Aiding Heath was the ongoing shift in the district's demographics, with the district becoming more suburban and more Republican as Atlanta's outer suburbs had begun bleeding into the district; Republican candidates for other offices had frequently won the district[2][3] Heath would lose the race by 505 votes, a margin of less than two percentage points.[4]

Heath finally defeated Murphy in 2002, in the final race of Murphy's life. The loss was widely attributed to Murphy's role in the 2001 redistricting, which produced contorted districts that confused and angered voters.[5][6]

Upon taking his seat in the Georgia House, Heath acquired national attention in 2004, when he added a ban on adult women's ability to choose to get genital piercings onto a bill designed to ban the genital mutilation of children. Adult men would still have been allowed to choose to have their genitals pierced under Heath's amendment. The attention arose from both the difference in the way Heath's amendment treated women and men and from Heath's seeming lack of knowledge regarding the practice he proposed to legislate. The amended bill passed the House 160-0, forcing it back to the Georgia Senate.[7]

Email Controversy

In 2013, after an online petition generated by the group Better Georgia, Heath was condemned for his response to legislature creating a $150,000 a year position for former Majority Leader Chip Rogers at Georgia Public Broadcasting. Heath dismissed those who signed the petition as "childish" in an email response, and hid in the Secretary of the Senate Office refusing to talk to the press.[8] [9]

Election History
Election history of Bill Heath
Year Office Election Subject Party Votes % Opponent Party Votes % Opponent Party Votes %
2000 Georgia House, 18th District Primary Bill Heath Republican 627 100.0
2000 Georgia House, 18th District General Bill Heath Republican 6,562 48.1 Tom Murphy (incumbent) Democratic 7,067 51.9
2002 Georgia House, 18th District Primary Bill Heath Republican 2,989 100.0
2002 Georgia House, 18th District General Bill Heath Republican 6,431 53.9 Tom Murphy (incumbent) Democratic 5,495 46.1
2004 Georgia Senate, 31st District Primary Bill Heath Republican 5,217 31.0 James Garner Republican 5,046 30.0 Mason Rountree Republican 6,542 38.9
2004 Georgia Senate, 31st District Primary Runoff Bill Heath Republican 5,342 50.6 Mason Rountree Republican 5,215 49.4
2004 Georgia Senate, 31st District General Bill Heath Republican 37,822 65.1 Lester Tate Democratic 20,302 34.9
2006 Georgia Senate, 31st District Primary Bill Heath (incumbent) Republican 6,200 100.0
2006 Georgia Senate, 31st District General Bill Heath (incumbent) Republican 25,875 68.0 Tracey Bennett Democratic 12,156 32.0
2008 Georgia Senate, 31st District Primary Bill Heath (incumbent) Republican 10,658 100.0
2008 Georgia Senate, 31st District General Bill Heath (incumbent) Republican 47,859 66.5 Tracey Bennett Democratic 24,086 33.5

References
  1. Chapman, Dan: "Taking on Mr. Speaker; A Political Newcomer is Giving Tom Murphy his Toughest Race in Years", p.1F, 2000
  2. Pruitt, Kathey: "Showdown in Haralson: Legendary Speaker Murphy Faces Stiffest Challenge", p. 3D, Atlanta Journal-Constitution, 2000.
  3. Chapman, Dan: "Taking on Mr. Speaker; A Political Newcomer is Giving Tom Murphy his Toughest Race in Years", p.1F, 2000.
  4. http://sos.georgia.gov/elections/election_results/2000_1107/0008900.htm
  5. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on December 3, 2013. Retrieved 2013-11-24.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  6. http://www.georgiaencyclopedia.org/nge/Article.jsp?id=h-1095
  7. http://www.accessnorthga.com/detail.php?n=173370
  8. http://www.peachpundit.com/2013/02/04/a-textbook-lesson-in-how-not-to-deal-with-capitol-press/
  9. https://liveapartmentfire.com/2013/02/11/dodgeball/
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