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| Contact Information
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| Birthday: November 8
Spouse: Shelia
Assistant: Jachque' Ratliff
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| Capitol Phone: (404) 656-0040 Fax Phone: (706) 724-6969
District Phone: (706) 722-4222
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| Capitol Address: 236 State Capitol /
Atlanta
, GA 30334
/ Fulton
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| District Address: P.O. Box 1282 /
Augusta
, GA 309031282
/ Richmond
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| Profession:
President, The Walker Group
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| Political Party and District Information
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| Political Party: D
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| State Senate District: SS 22
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| Biographical Information
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SENATOR CHARLES WALKER
Charles Walker, a Democrat from Augusta, was elected to serve as a State Senator in 1990.
He is currently serving in his fifth term and, in 1996, became the first African American to be
elected to the position of Majority Leader. Charles Walker is also one of six members of the
powerful Budget Conference Committee, which is responsible for drafting the State=s budget.
Walker is secretary of the Appropriations Committee and the Health and Human Services
Committee. He is also a member of the Natural Resources, Reapportionment and Rules
Committees. Senator Walker serves as an ex-officio member of the Education; Finance and
Public Utilities; Insurance and Labor; Retirement; State and Local Governmental Operations;
and Transportation Committees.
Senator Walker recently received the Martin Luther King Distinguished Service Award at
ceremonies on January 15, 1999 in the Capitol Rotunda.
The Augusta lawmaker is a member of the State Commission on Mental Health, Mental
Retardation and Substance Abuse Service Delivery. He is also a member of the Governor's
Commission on Health Care Reform.
Senator Walker represents Georgia on both the Human Resources Committee of the
Southern Legislative Conference (SLC) and the Human Services Committee of the National
Conference of State Legislatures (NCSL).
An experienced legislator, Walker served four terms in the state House of Representatives
from 1982-90 before his election to the Senate.
He successfully sponsored legislation to create and fund a state economic development
corporation to assist in the establishment of small and minority businesses.
He also sponsored or actively worked for the passage of a number of other bills including
legislation to reorganize the Mental Health/Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse delivery
system in Georgia (SB 49 and HB100).
A former chairman of the Legislative Black Caucus, Walker drastically expended its
influence in the legislative process. He is currently a member of the Board of Directors of the
Black Caucus and was the first black budget conferee in state history during Senate-House
budget negotiations in the 1993 legislative session.
An active community leader, he has served as chairman of the Sickle Cell Anemia Advisory
Board of Augusta. The Senator is a graduate of Leadership Georgia and has received a
number of awards and honors for his legislative and community leadership. His most recent
awards include: Mental Health Association, Public Service Award for 1993; Georgia Public
Health Association, Legislator of the Year for 1993; Georgia Council on Aging, Outstanding
Legislator for 1993; Georgia Alliance for the Mentally Ill, Legislator of the Year for 1993; the
Presidential Appreciation Award for the Coalition for Respect, 1993; and the Medical
Association of Georgia Distinguished Service Award, as an advocate of quality legislation.
A native of Burke County, Georgia, Walker received a degree in business administration from
Augusta College after serving in the U.S. Navy. He currently serves on the Board of
Trustees at Augusta State University. Additionally, he is a Trustee at Morris Brown and
Paine Colleges, as well as Morehouse School of Medicine. He is also the Chairman of the
Board of Trustees of Mt. Vernon Baptist Church in Augusta.
Walker is president and Chief Executive Officer of the Walker Group, which has holdings in
the construction, newspaper publishing, and temporary staffing industries. The Walker Group
conducts business in the states of Georgia, South Carolina, Florida, and Alabama and employs
over 1600 individuals throughout the southeast region.
Walker is married to the former Sheila Davis. They are the parents of two daughters and two
sons.
The Senator represents portions of Richmond County.
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