Don Balfour | |
|---|---|
| Member of the Georgia State Senate from the 9th district | |
| In office 1993–2015 | |
| Succeeded by | P.K. Martin IV |
| President of the National Conference of State Legislatures | |
| In office 2009–2010 | |
| Preceded by | Joe Hackney |
| Succeeded by | Richard T. Moore |
| Personal details | |
| Political party | Republican |
| Spouse | Ginny |
| Residence | Snellville,Georgia |
| Alma mater | B.S. Bob Jones University;M.A. Fairleigh Dickinson University |
Donald Kenneth Balfour II is a Republican politician. He was a member of the Georgia State Senate,representing the 9th District.
Balfour,a resident of Snellville and an executive with Waffle House,Inc., [1] was elected to the State Senate in 1992. He was re-elected multiple times without opposition. In 2002,after Republicans took control of the Georgia Senate for the first time,he was elected chairman of the Republican caucus [2] and in 2003 he became chairman of the senate's Rules Committee, [3] a position he held until January 2013. [4] He served as President of the National Conference of State Legislatures from 2009 to 2010. [5] [6] He announced a campaign for the United States House of Representatives in Georgia's 7th congressional district in March 2010 (see United States House of Representatives elections in Georgia §District 7), [7] but ended his campaign later that month. [8] Balfour was defeated in a primary challenge in 2014. [9] When he left office,he was the longest-serving Republican in the Georgia Senate. [10]
Balfour was indicted by a Fulton County grand jury for eighteen counts of falsifying expense reports and theft by taking. [11] In November 2013,pending his trial,he was suspended from his office by Governor Nathan Deal,and from his party positions by the Senate Republican Caucus. [12] In December,Balfour was acquitted of all charges and his suspension was reversed. [13] [14]