On Tuesday, May 24 South Cobb should re-elect Senator Michael Rhett 

With the 2022 Primary Election season quickly coming to an end, those running for office – incumbents and new candidates alike – have less than 48 hours to make their final pitch to voters as to why they should be given their sacred vote.  

For Senator Michael “Doc” Rhett, who has served South Cobb for nearly eight years, he points to his exemplary record of service in the community and to the deliverables he has been able to secure for his constituents – saying these are the reason voters should return him to the office to continue representing them in the 33rd district at the Gold Dome. 

Sen. Rhett made history in 2014 when he became the first Black elected to the Georgia Senate from Cobb County. Prior to his election, Sen. Rhett spent more than 25 years as an educator and over 25 years in the U.S. Air Force where he said much of his time was devoted to training and solving problems. He managed personnel, prepared young individuals for leadership, and worked as a training instructor for the 700th Airlift Squadron. He is the recipient of the United States Air Force Meritorious Service Medal and retired as a Master Sergeant in the United States Air Force. 

As he seeks reelection on Tuesday, May 24th, we asked Sen. Rhett about his ability to get things done for his constituents that escape others. Rhett said, “Simply put, I like people and I want to help them regardless of their political affiliation.” 

During his tenure in the legislature, Rhett sponsored Senate Bill 20, which provides banking access in areas with insufficient banking facilities, along with Senate Bill 847 and House Bill 733 which garnered cost-saving follow-up diagnostic screening for women with breast cancer. 

Additional bills Rhett championed and helped pass through the Senate include: 

• Senate Bill 202 and House Bill 206 – increased personal allowances for people in nursing homes
• Senate Bill 87 – provides scholarships for disabled veterans at Georgia Technical Colleges

Sen. Rhett also served as a member of the Georgia Senate Judiciary Committee that passed the Georgia Hate Crime Bill, which allows for extra penalties to be applied for crimes motivated by a victim’s race, color, religion, national origin, sex, sexual orientation, gender, or disability.

“I convinced my colleagues to make it a bipartisan collaboration. It was the right thing to do. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. reminded us that, ‘the arc of the moral universe is long, but it bends toward justice,’” said Sen. Rhett.

Born in New York City, Sen. Rhett grew up in Harlem public housing and graduated from Bishop Dubois High School where he lettered in varsity basketball.