ATLANTA – A long-time south Georgia legislator announced Wednesday that she plans to resign her post for a role with the state’s technical college system. 

 Rep. Amy Carter, R-Valdosta, will step down at the end of the year to become executive director of advancement for the Technical College System of Georgia, where she will lead fundraising efforts. 

Carter, a veteran educator who was elected in 2006, said Wednesday that the decision – which will create a vacancy just as the Legislature reconvenes – was bittersweet. 

She said she sees her new role as an opportunity to expand the role of technical education in Georgia.

“I think that the Technical College System of Georgia is the solution to our workforce issues in the state of Georgia,” she said. 

Her first teaching job was at Valdosta Technical College, which is now Wiregrass Georgia Technical College. 

“I realized the impact technical colleges make,” she said. 

She said that is particularly true for older working adults who realize they want to do “something bigger and better for their lives” and who go to a technical college to gain a new skill. 

Carter chairs the General Government Appropriations Committee, but she is best known at the Capitol for her work shaping education policy. Several of her colleagues said Wednesday that they have turned to her for this expertise frequently over the years. 

“She was our education guru,” said Sen. Ellis Black, R-Valdosta, whose Senate district includes much of Carter’s House district. 

She was also an organizing force within the south Georgia legislative delegation – an informal group focused on elevating issues important to communities far away from the shine of the Gold Dome. 

“I know she’s going to continue to look after south Georgia,” said Rep. Jason Shaw, R-Lakeland. 

House Speaker David Ralston, R-Blue Ridge, said in a statement that Carter’s classroom experience “brought a fresh perspective to the House of Representatives.” 

“She is truly a champion for education, and the role she is assuming will allow her to continue touching the lives of students at an even greater level, which will ultimately build a better Georgia for us all,” Ralston said. 

Carter will also leave the classroom after more than 20 years teaching. She said she will continue to live in Valdosta, but will also keep an apartment in Atlanta, where her office will be located. 

The seat will be vacant until a winner is chosen through a special election – for which a date has not been set. 

Gov. Nathan Deal will call for the election. An inquiry to his office went unanswered Wednesday. 

The special election comes as Democrats flipped three legislative seats in special elections elsewhere in Georgia. One district is located just outside of Atlanta, and the other two are in the Athens area. 

Carter’s district, though, is a seemingly safe Republican district in a rural, agricultural area of the state. It encompasses all of Brooks County and portions of Thomas and Lowndes counties. 

Carter, who was reelected in 2016, last faced Democratic opposition in 2012. She won easily with nearly 71 percent of the vote. 

Still, the success elsewhere in Georgia could be enough to embolden Democrats even in red districts such as this one, said Gary Wisenbaker, is a corporate communications and political consultant at Blackstone, LLC. 

And special elections, which typically have dismal voter turnout, represent their best shot, Wisenbaker added. 

“It’s strictly a get-your-people-out-kind-of-race,” he said. 

 

Jill Nolin covers the Georgia Statehouse for CNHI’s newspapers and websites. Reach her at jnolin@cnhi.com.