Community Corner

Veteran State Legislator Ashe Joins GBPI Board

Former State Rep. Kathy Ashe has been named to the board of directors of the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute, a nonpartisan nonprofit that engages in research and education about the fiscal and economic health of the state.

Ansley Park resident and former State Rep. Kathy Ashe has begun another chapter of her public service career as she has joined the board of directors of the Georgia Budget and Policy Institute (GBPI).

GBPI is an independent, nonpartisan nonprofit engaged in research and education about the fiscal and economic health of the state of Georgia.

Last Spring, Ashe, who since 1991 had represented the 56th District, which formally included many Midtown Patch neighborhoods such as Ansley Park, Sherwood Forest, Home Park, Georgia Tech and Midtown, announced she would not seek re-election after her current term expired in January 2013.

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The former Republican turned Democrat had grown frustrated by the lack of middle ground between the two political parties. In a letter dated April 10, 2012, she wrote, “As a ‘raging moderate’ I have increasingly found myself caught between the far right and the far left.”

Now she joins the board of the GBPI, which contends to provide “reliable, timely analysis of Georgia’s budget and tax policies, promotes greater state government fiscal accountability, improved services and an enhanced quality of life for all Georgians.”

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Also joining the board is Russell Hinton, who headed Georgia’s Office of the State Auditor for more than a decade before retiring last year. The two served the people of Georgia for six decades combined.

“Kathy and Russell are fantastic additions to our board and we are lucky to have them,” Alan Essig, executive director of the nonprofit research organization, said in a news release. “Georgia lawmakers will face very tough spending choices in 2013. Our policy recommendations will be strengthened by the guidance these two subject experts will give us.”

While in the legislature Ashe served in key leadership positions, focusing on education and fiscal policies. Ashe is a former educator, an active community leader, a mother, and a volunteer.

She taught in the Marietta and Cobb County public schools from 1969 to 1977. Ashe sits on the boards of a variety of community service organizations, including the Southeast Region of the Anti-Defamation League and Sheltering Arms.

She is also a member of the Mayoral Service Board, Junior League of Atlanta Advisory Board, Georgia Justice Project Advisory Board and The Georgia Tech Research Institute External Advisory Council and the Atlanta Speech School Board of Visitors.

Ashe graduated from Agnes Scott College and holds a master’s in teaching from Emory University.


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