“My mom was actually in high school (at Athens High School) when Coach Henderson was at Georgia. She actually knew him back when he was in college. When he came back to take over at (CCHS), she was one of the few people who actually knew him.”
— Brian Kemp, Georgia Secretary of State,
Republican gubernatorial candidate,
Clarke Central High School, Class of 1982
Georgia’s 27th Secretary of State Brian Kemp is the Republican gubernatorial nominee. Prior to pursuing a career in public service, Kemp attended Clarke Central High School. A major theme in Kemp’s time at CCHS was playing for the school’s varsity football team.
“Even when football season wasn’t going on, we were always lifting weights, we were constantly working out and literally just lived, ate, and breathed Clarke Central football,” Kemp said.
Growing up, he found a mentor in another famous Athenian, the late CCHS head football coach Billy Henderson.
CCHS head football coach Billy Henderson poses in a photo for the 1982 edition of the Gladius Yearbook.
“I had a kind of interesting connection to Coach Henderson,” Kemp said. “My mom was actually in high school (at Athens High School) when Coach Henderson was at Georgia. She actually knew him back when he was in college. When he came back to take over at (CCHS), she was one of the few people who actually knew him. She introduced me to him (when) I was probably seven or eight years old. I knew him all the way until I graduated.”
“I traveled with his team on the bus, holding his bubblegum bag,” Kemp said. “He chewed a lot of bubblegum during the game, so when I was little I would ride in the front of the team bus with him. I was always having to guard the gum because all of the players would wipe it out. I had to make sure I didn’t let them get everything.”
In high school, Kemp played for Henderson as a varsity football and varsity baseball player. His experience was defined by the total commitment Henderson demanded of Kemp and his teammates.
“He had a lot on influence on people, not just people who played for him, but cheerleaders, he appreciated people that played in the band, he appreciated the students who were cheering at the games,” Kemp said. “He was just a great guy and influenced a lot of great people.”
Head football coach and 1986 CCHS alumnus David Perno also played under Henderson. Perno is a close family friend of the Kemps, and admires Kemp’s authenticity.
“He was the same guy he is now. You could tell. He was a hardworking, competitive football player and teammate. He had some good leadership qualities, which obviously are serving him well,” Perno said. “That’s the most important aspect. Brian is genuine, he’s real and he cares about our community.”
Head junior varsity girls soccer coach and 1983 CCHS alumnus Alexander Sams was in the grade below Kemp at CCHS and also feels that Kemp is of strong character.
“(Kemp’s) a year older than I am. I’ve known him probably all my life, for as long as I can remember,” Sams said. “(Kemp) was the kind of guy who always seemed pretty serious. He didn’t cut up, had a good time and knew everybody — a pretty dependable guy. The way I always saw it, his word meant something. He was very popular and knew a lot of people. He was kind of just the guy who would never bother anybody.”
After graduating from CCHS in the spring of 1982, Kemp decided to attend the University of Georgia and major in agriculture.
Senior Brian Kemp (top row, second from right) poses in a photo for the 1982 edition of the Gladius Yearbook.
“He’s always been an outdoorsman,” Sams said. “(He was) always at home with that. I would have thought (he would pursue) agriculture or something where he gets to wear boots. He enjoys getting dirty and doesn’t mind it.”
In this time, Kemp worked in construction before becoming an entrepreneur in the early 1990s.
“I just decided to stay here and go to (UGA), which ended up being great,” Kemp said. “I was working for some guys in the construction industry […] as soon as I graduated. I did that for seven years and then started my own company in ‘93. That’s kind of where I started getting involved in politics.”
Kemp cites his experience as a businessman as one of his main political inspirations. Irritated by local business regulations, he decided to run for a seat in the Georgia General Assembly.
“I had been out in the private sector for a long time and had been dealing with local government issues through work and my business,” Kemp said. “That’s what really drove me to run for office the first time. I was just kind of a frustrated small business guy, you know. I felt like we needed some common sense in state government and someone to represent our values. So I did that and ended up serving two terms (as a state senator), which was great.”
Kemp gained most of his experience while in the legislature, studying the ins and outs of state government. Later, after Rep. Karen Handel, R – Ga. stepped down in 2010, then-governor Sonny Perdue appointed (Kemp) to Secretary of State. He was reelected in 2014.
“I learned about the budget process and all those types of things. That was good,” Kemp said. “What was even better is I ended up coming back home and was out of office for several years before I decided to run for Secretary of State from the outside looking in. I kind of told myself, ‘If I ever run for office again, I’m gonna just tell people what I’m gonna do, I’m gonna get in, and I’m going to do it.’ When I had the opportunity to run for Secretary of State, that’s exactly what I did.”
Kemp believes that he has stayed true to his word by shrinking government and cutting regulations during his term as Secretary of State.
“I ran on streamlining government (and) making it more efficient in the Secretary of State’s office by using technology,” Kemp said. “We’ve replaced all of our systems from an IT perspective. We’ve reorganized our IT staff and everything we have is working better. We’re processing things quicker. It’s easier to register to vote.”
1982 Clarke Central High School alumnus and Georgia Secretary of state Brian Kemp (#64), a senior at the time, poses with the rest of the varsity CCHS football team for the 1982 edition of the Gladius Yearbook. Kemp remembers practicing football daily, having spend countless afternoons in Death Valley. “I remember running around this track more than I wanted to,” Kemp said. “Before games, we would come down through these pines, but there were no steps here. I (also) remember a lot of people would get senior pictures on that rock right there.”
Then, after eight years as Georgia’s Secretary of State, Brian Kemp decided to run for governor. He announced his candidacy on March 31, 2017, and defeated Lieutenant Governor Casey Cagle in the Republican primary runoff election on July 24. As to why he decided to aim for the governorship, Kemp believes that Georgia needs an executive who’s not willing to compromise with certain political groups.
“I really just felt like we needed a candidate in the governor’s race who was gonna put Georgians first instead of the special interests and status quos and politically correct,” Kemp said. “Somebody who just has some private sector experience but also knows how the government operates. That’s really why I ran. I felt like we needed an alternative solution.”
Now, Secretary Kemp is running against former Georgia House of Representatives minority leader Stacey Abrams in the general election, which will be held on Nov. 6. Kemp respects Abrams, but fiercely believes that he is the better choice for Georgia.
Senior Brian Kemp (top left) poses for a photo with his mother for the Senior Players and Parents spread of the 1982 edition of the Gladius Yearbook.
“I think she’s a very smart, articulate lady. I’ve dealt with her before, but her views are a lot different than mine,” Kemp said. “She believes in bigger government and raising taxes just to pay for it, while I believe in streamlined government to make it more efficient and really create opportunities through private sector solutions. Lower costs should make government more efficient. That’s what I’ve always believed in.”
Though Kemp’s campaign has gained publicity for its controversial political advertisements on television, Kemp says he will be a unifying political figure if elected.
“When you’re governor, you represent everybody. That’s exactly what I’ll do,” Kemp said. “Not everybody’s gonna (agree) with you on every issue, (but) that’s why you have a campaign, so people can talk about their issues and their values and how they want to govern.”
Kemp hopes to deliver real change once elected and claims to be more qualified than his opponent.
“I’ve talked about making sure no matter what your zip code is or where you live that you have the same opportunities as everybody else,” Kemp said. “I’m (also) the only person in the race who’s run a large executive branch agency. It’s a lot different from being in the legislature. There’s no doubt about it; I have a lot more experience than Stacey Abrams.”
