He once ruled the state House. Now he works for Warner Robins

Terry Coleman once reigned over the Georgia House of Representatives, but now he speaks for Warner Robins.

Coleman, an Eastman Democrat, served as a state representative from 1973 to 2006, when he decided not to seek re-election. He was House speaker from 2003 to 2004, and then Republicans took over. Before becoming speaker, he served 12 years as chairman of the powerful Appropriations Committee.

Today he is a partner in Government Solutions, a lobbying firm that has worked for Warner Robins for the past year. He formed the company with Terry Matthews, who served as state director for Sam Nunn when Nunn was a U.S. senator, and Scott Maxwell, who was also a Nunn staffer.

The city pays the firm $4,500 a month, and Mayor Randy Toms said it has been a good investment. Coleman’s work goes beyond following legislation that may affect the city, he said. Coleman helps the city navigate the inner workings of state government.

“Whatever they need we pretty well try to help them with,” Coleman said.

Toms credited Coleman with helping the city get $1.2 million from the Georgia Department of Transportation to beautify Watson Boulevard. That project is being designed and will target the area from North Davis Drive to Ga. 247. Toms said the city wouldn’t have known that money was available to ask for without Coleman.

“He brings a lot of knowledge of what happens in Atlanta and the resources that are available for the city and we just don’t know it,” Toms said.

Coleman said 16 other cities across the state have lobbyists. Cities with military bases especially find value in having a lobbyist, he said, and working to prepare Warner Robins for a potential Base Realignment and Closure Commission is a key focus of his job. The only other city Coleman’s group represents is Valdosta, which is close to Moody Air Force Base.

One initiative he’s now working on is trying to secure dual use for the runway at Robins Air Force Base. The city has long sought to lure aerospace industry by establishing an industrial area north of the base with access to the base runway, which can accommodate any aircraft.

Coleman is also working to get Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University to establish a location outside of the base in Warner Robins. The school offers classes on base, but an outside location would allow those without base access to attend the school.

Toms said the decision to hire Coleman was not because Houston County has a young legislative delegation. He said the local delegation does a good job for the city, but that Coleman offers something extra and can help with things not necessarily related to legislation.

“The contacts he has and the influence he has is pretty amazing,” Toms said. “I’ve walked around the Capitol with him and the respect he still gets up there is pretty impressive. They still refer to him as Mr. Speaker.”

Coleman said there is a much more bipartisan spirit at the state Capitol than in Washington, and he has a simple explanation for at least part of that.

He noted that seating in Congress is done by party, with Republicans on one side and Democrats on the other. at the state Capitol, the seating is mixed. He thinks Congress should consider that.

“It’s really a segregated society based on ideology,” he said. “It could be changed a little bit if you knew your neighbor better or your working relationship was a little more personal.”

This story was originally published March 6, 2017 at 4:51 PM with the headline "He once ruled the state House. Now he works for Warner Robins."