Fran Millar

Fran Millar (born December 9, 1949) is an American politician. He is a member of the Georgia State Senate from the 40th District, serving since 2010. He is a member of the Republican party.^[1] Fran Millar has served in the Georgia legislative since 1999, both in the House of Representatives and the Senate. He currently is chairman of the Higher Education committee, is secretary of the Health and Human Services committee, and also serves as a member of the Rules and the Education and Youth Committee.^[2]

Millar is a native of New London, Connecticut. He holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics and works as an independent consultant, and serves as an ex-officio member of the Dunwoody Homeowners Board of Directors.

Senator Millar is married to Mary Millar. They have 3 children, Lisa, Bill, and Meredith, and 7 grandchildren. Senator Millar is a very active member at Dunwoody United Methodist Church^[3] and Cherokee Town and Country Club.

Political career

Millar has been in public office for since 1999. He has served as a Representative to Georgia's 79th House District and Senator to Georgia's 40th Senate District.

He served his first terms in the State Legislature in 1998-2010 with the House of Representatives. He was recognized as Policymaker of the Year in 2008 by the Georgia Association for Career and Technical Education. He was also awarded the 2010 Advocacy Award by All About Developmental Disabilities. He was first elected to the State Senate in 2010. In 2012, the National Federations of Independent Business (NFIB) awarded Senator Millar with the Guardian of Small Business Award. In 2013, Senator Millar was recognized by the American Conservative Union (ACU) for his support of bills based on conservative principles during the legislation session. In 2014 he was named the Georgia Chamber's 'Legislator of the Year'.^[4]

In 2017, Millar — chairman of the state senate's Higher Education Committee —was one of four Republican Senators who voted against a bill that would allow licensed individuals to carry handguns onto public university campuses across the state of Georgia. "I'm not trying to offend anybody; I understand people's concerns about gun rights," Millar told senators during the debate. "But why are we doing this? What's the end game?"^[5]

Controversy

In 2014, Fran Millar sparked outrage when he suggested that he opposes new Sunday voting hours because they'll primarily benefit African-Americans—then explaining that he simply "would prefer more educated voters." ^[6]

In 2017, Millar admitted to gerrymandering, saying ""I'll be very blunt: These lines were not drawn to get Hank Johnson's protégé to be my representative. And you didn't hear that," and "They were not drawn for that purpose, OK? They were not drawn for that purpose." ^[7] Also in 2017, Fran Millar was accused of engaging in money laundering activities for Congressman Buddy Carter.^[8]

References