Towns County resident representing 9th District at Democratic National Convention

    Hiawassee resident Jim Powell is one of four elected delegates representing the Ninth Congressional District this week at the all-virtual Democratic National Convention in Milwaukee where former Vice President Joe Biden and U.S. Sen. Kamala Harris of California will be formally nominated Thursday as the party’s presidential/vice presidential ticket for the Nov. 3 general election.  Powell is participating as a Biden delegate.

 

Jim Powell

  Powell and three others were elected by Ninth District Democrats in May through an online voting process Powell has been active in Georgia Democratic activities for many years.  He was the statewide Democratic candidate for the Georgia Public Service Commission in 2008, when he was the top performing statewide Democratic candidate in the primary, general, and runoff elections.  He works at the grassroots level in support of Georgia Democrats in a variety of statewide, regional, and local elections.  He previously served on the Towns County Board of Elections and Registration.

    Georgia is allocated 129 convention delegates, nine of whom are alternates. Powell is one of 68 district-level delegates and the only delegate from Towns County. The other Ninth District delegates are Virginia Webb of Clarksville, Wilson Golden of Gainesville and Terry Franzen of Jasper.

    Powell retired from the federal government in 2007 after a 35-year career.  He was a member of the Senior Executive Service with the U.S. Department of Energy where he served as the national program manager in the Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Office, managing a number of initiatives and a budget of more than $300 million.  He served honorably in the U.S. Navy from 1968 to 1972.

    In 2013, President Barak Obama appointed Powell to serve as the federal representative to the Southern States Energy Board (SSEB).  In this role, he served as the official liaison between the SSEB members and all federal agencies. SSEB is a non-profit interstate compact created in 1960 with a mission to enhance economic development and the quality of life in the South through innovations in energy and environmental policies, programs, and technologies. Sixteen Southern states and two U.S. territories comprise the membership of SSEB, and each jurisdiction is represented by the governor and a legislator from the U.S. House and Senate

    A small business owner, Powell currently works as an independent energy efficiency and renewable energy consultant to states, local governments, and industry.  He and his wife, Karen, have been married for 49 years and have lived in Hiawassee since 2006.