17 Facts About Mike Bowers

Michael Joseph Bowers was born on October 7,1941 and was the Attorney General of Georgia from 1981 to 1997 before mounting an unsuccessful campaign for Georgia Governor.

Mike Bowers was a Democrat through 1994, at which time he joined the Republican Party.

Mike Bowers joined the Georgia Air National Guard on September 19,1970 and earned his JD degree from the University of Georgia in 1974, and then worked as an assistant state attorney general until his appointment as attorney general in 1981.

Mike Bowers resigned as attorney general in June 1997 to run for the Republican nomination for governor in 1998.

Mike Bowers retired from military service on August 31,1997 with the rank of major general.

Mike Bowers did not come from a privileged background and his public service exhibited a populist flair.

Mike Bowers vigorously opposed conflicts of interest by public officials and contractors that might undermine loyalty to the citizenry and the public's confidence in state government.

For instance, despite fierce opposition from entrenched interests, Mike Bowers was successful in convincing the courts that, due to an inherent conflict of interest, state legislators who were lawyers could not sue the state.

Mike Bowers's targets included long-serving Georgia Labor Commissioner Sam Caldwell, whom he prosecuted for fraud.

Mike Bowers prosecuted powerful highway construction companies for bid-rigging practices that were anti-competitive.

Mike Bowers went on to lose the 1998 Republican primary to Guy Millner, finishing with 39.92 percent of the vote compared with Millner's 50.38 percent.

Mike Bowers controversially performed the duties of his office by defending the constitutionality of a Georgia criminal sodomy statute in a test case brought by the ACLU.

Mike Bowers faced controversy again in 1991 when he rescinded a hiring offer to a lesbian, Robin Shahar, for an assistant attorney general position because she had stated that she planned to participate in a religious ceremony of which Mike Bowers did not approve: Shahar was planning a same-sex marriage ceremony with the blessing of her Jewish faith.

In 2003, Mike Bowers started a government relations and lobbying firm with his son Bruce Mike Bowers and John Watson, the political consultant for Georgia's then-governor, Sonny Perdue.

In 2015, Mike Bowers stated that his views on gay rights had "changed," and he lobbied the Georgia legislature in opposition to legislation that would allow discrimination against LGBT people on the basis of personal religious views.

In September, 2020 Mike Bowers joined the Athens law firm Johnson Marlowe LLP as counsel.

Mike Bowers received an honorary degree in Doctor of Laws in 1988 from Oglethorpe University.