Background
Howard, Pierre was born on February 3, 1943 in Decatur, Georgia, United States.
politician Lieutenant Governor of Georgia
Howard, Pierre was born on February 3, 1943 in Decatur, Georgia, United States.
Howard attended the University of Georgia, where he was captain of the tennis team and president of Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. He graduated Phi Beta Kappa and went on to receive a law degree from the University of Georgia.
He served as ninth Lieutenant Governor of the US state of Georgia. In 1974, Howard married Nancy Barnes. They have two children, Christopher and Caroline.
Howard's pronunciation of his first name is identical to the word "pier". Howard entered politics in 1972. He was elected to the Georgia , representing DeKalb County's 42nd district.
He was subsequently re-elected eight times, serving a total of 18 years, until 1990. During his tenure in the Senate, Howard served eight years as assistant floor leader for Governor George Busbee and 16 years as chairman of the Senate Human Resources Committee. In 1990, Howard ran for the office of Lieutenant Governor.
He was elected to a four-year term and was re-elected in 1994. Howard focused on critical issues concerning Georgia families throughout his political career (ie graduated licenses and zero tolerance for drinking and driving for teens). In 1997, Howard announced his intention to run for governor.
He was considered by many to be the front-runner for the Democratic nomination. The metro Atlanta attorney targeted rural voters, with a campaign that reimaged the candidate with humor, stressing his "Southernness" with the slogan "Pierre is French for Bubba". However, prior to the primary election, after having raised over $1 million in campaign contributions, Howard abruptly exited the race, citing family concerns.
Campaign funds were returned to contributors. According to the Savannah Morning News, "many Capitol-watchers had trouble believing Howard's reasons for dropping out." In the book Peepshow: Media and Politics in the Age of Scandal, the authors state that "Howard denied that he was bowing out of the race to prevent any ... revalation about himself. There is nothing in my background that worried me and caused me to get out of the race, Howard told suspicious reporters.
Almost two weeks later, Jim Wooten, editor of the Atlanta Journal's editorial page, wrote that suspicions lingered nonetheless.".
His great-grandfather, Thomas Coke Howard, was a member of the Georgia House of Representatives.
