In 2009, the Georgia General Assembly passed H.B. 251, an anti-nepotism law affecting public officials operating in certain capacities. In part, the law makes a person ineligible to serve on a local school board if that person "has an immediate family member sitting on [that] local Board of Education or serving as the local school superintendent or as a principal, assistant principal, or system administrative staff in the local school system." Immediate family is defined as "a spouse, child, sibling, or parent or the spouse of a child, sibling, or parent."

Lamar Grizzle, former Bartow County Board of Education chairman, was affected by the new law due to the fact that he had a family member serving within the Bartow school system in a capacity that rendered him ineligible for continued service as chairman. His daughter is an Assistant Principal at an elementary school in the Bartow County school system.

As a result, Mr. Grizzle decided to challenge the new law in the courts, and the Bartow County Republican Party was named as a co-defendant in that lawsuit, along with Secretary of State Brian Kemp. The BCRP was named in the lawsuit because they are required to administer the qualifying process for candidates in partisan races within the county, and Mr. Grizzle sought injunctive relief from the courts in an effort to block the BCRP from considering the terms of the new anti-nepotism law in their determination as to whether he met the qualification requirements.

The case was brought before a panel of the Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, with Mr. Grizzle arguing that the law violated both his 14th Amendment right to equal protection under the law, and secondly, his 1st Amendment right of freedom of association, both as a candidate for office and as a voter. The Eleventh Circuit held that the statute Mr. Grizzle had challenged was not unconstitutional and he was not entitled to the injunctive relief barring enforcement of the anti-nepotism provision.  

I received word recently that the final entries in the law suit have been filed and the case is finally, officially, completely over. This is welcomed news considering that the taxpayers of Bartow County will not be responsible for covering any more legal costs...the previous school board had unanimously approved $17,000 of school board funds to cover the cost of Mr. Grizzle's lawsuit.

Although able to get onto the ballot after initially receiving injunctive relief by the lower courts, Mr. Grizzle was subsequently defeated by John Howard for that seat in the 2010 Republican primary.

 

The Bartow County Republican Party would like to also offer a sincere and heartfelt proclamation of gratitude to Mr. Christian Coomer for his efforts in our behalf. Mr Coomer, a local attorney and Vice Chairman for Membership of the BCRP at the time that the suit was initiated, agreed to act as General Counsel on behalf of the party, and defended the party's position during the legal process. He did so at no charge to the party, at considerable time and expense to himself. Mr. Coomer was subsequently elected to the Georgia General Assembly in November 2010, and now serves as the state representative for District 14. In his first session with the legislature, Mr. Coomer has already established himself as a stalwart conservative and a constitutionalist, taking time to read the bills that come before the House and determine the constitutionality and impact of those bills on his constituents and the State of Georgia. As Republicans in Bartow County, we can take great comfort in knowing that such a man is representing our interests.

Sincerely,

Louis DeBroux

Chairman, Bartow County Republican Party