Description

James Francis "Jim" Martin was born in Atlanta, Georgia, on August 22, 1945. He attended the University of Georgia, where he served in ROTC and was elected freshman class president. He served in Vietnam in the U.S. Army. Upon his return from the war, he earned a bachelor's degree and two law degrees from the University of Georgia. After graduation, he obtained work drafting legislation in the legislative council. He then worked for Legal Aid, representing low income families. In 1983, he ran for office, and was elected to the Georgia House of Representatives as a progressive Democrat. He served as a chairman of numerous committees, including Human Services Subcommittee for Appropriations, MARTOC, Ethics, and Judiciary. In 2001, he left the legislature and was appointed commissioner of the Georgia Department of Human Resources by Governor Roy Barnes. There, he worked to improve hospital conditions for the mentally disabled. From 2004 to 2005, he served as chief legal officer of the Georgia Public Defender Standards Council. In 2006, he ran an unsuccessful campaign for lieutenant governor. He then helped develop the Master's Program in Public Policy at the Georgia State University Andrew Young School of Policy Studies. In 2008, he ran for U.S. Senate against incumbent Saxby Chambliss, and was defeated in a runoff.Martin discusses his childhood in Atlanta and his first political race when he ran for president of the freshman class of the University of Georgia. He recalls serving in Vietnam as a military intelligence officer. Martin recalls working...

Record Contributed By

Richard B. Russell Library for Political Research and Studies

Record Harvested From

Digital Library of Georgia