Opinion | By Miles Edwards
Georgia’s next secretary of state needs to understand something simple: public office does not come with an obligation to entertain a president’s demands for a different election result.
That is why Penny Brown Reynolds’ campaign message about hanging up on Donald Trump caught my attention. There is something refreshing about a candidate making a point without burying it beneath political jargon. Sometimes, defending the integrity of an office starts with knowing when a conversation is over.
Brown Reynolds, familiar to television audiences as the face of Family Court with Judge Penny, is the Democratic nominee for Georgia secretary of state. She faces Republican state Rep. Tim Fleming in the November 3 election. But the television recognition is only one chapter of a much longer professional history.
Before the cameras, there was the courtroom—and before the courtroom, there was substantial work in Georgia government.
Brown Reynolds earned her bachelor’s and law degrees from Georgia State University. Her legal career included serving as an assistant attorney general, an assistant district attorney in DeKalb County and a judicial clerk at the Georgia Court of Appeals. She later served as chief of staff and general counsel to Lt. Gov. Pierre Howard and executive counsel to Gov. Roy Barnes, then spent 2000 through 2008 on the Fulton County State Court bench.
Her campaign biography identifies her as the first African American to serve as executive counsel to a Georgia governor and the first African American chief of staff and executive counsel to the lieutenant governor. Those milestones deserve attention when assessing the experience behind the familiar “Judge Penny” name.
Her syndicated courtroom show ran for one season, from 2008 to 2009, and received an Emmy nomination. She later served in the Biden administration as a deputy assistant secretary for civil rights at the U.S. Department of Agriculture.
To me, that history makes her candidacy worth examining beyond the easy description of “TV judge running for office.” Voters should examine what she has managed, how she has exercised authority and whether her proposals meet Georgia’s needs.
The secretary of state’s responsibilities reach well beyond election night. The office handles business filings, professional licensing and securities regulation alongside its election duties. For entrepreneurs trying to establish a company and professionals waiting on credentials, its everyday performance matters.
Brown Reynolds’ platform includes improving licensing, supporting small businesses, protecting older residents from fraud and strengthening public trust in elections. Her proposed “Opening the Gate” initiative would connect entrepreneurs with networking, publicity and investment resources.
Those are worthwhile goals. I also want to see measurable results: accessible services, clear instructions, timely processing and an office that treats a small business owner’s time as valuable. Campaign promises should become standards the public can use to judge performance.
The same scrutiny applies to Fleming, a former deputy secretary of state who points to his experience in the office and Legislature as preparation for the job. Experience deserves consideration, and voters should ask each candidate how that experience would translate into better service.
But Brown Reynolds’ phone commercial speaks to another qualification I consider essential: independence under pressure.
On January 2, 2021, Trump pressed Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger to “find 11,780 votes,” enough to reverse his defeat in Georgia. That request went to Raffensperger, not Gov. Brian Kemp—a distinction worth getting right because the office Brown Reynolds wants is the very office that received the pressure.
In her commercial, Brown Reynolds says she would hang up if Trump called her with that kind of demand. I appreciate the clarity. A candidate should be able to say plainly that election results are governed by the ballots and the law, regardless of who is on the telephone.
Of course, hanging up is the easy part to dramatize. The harder work would come afterward: documenting improper pressure, following the law, supporting election workers and explaining decisions to the public. That is the standard I would expect her, or anyone elected to this office, to meet.
Still, the ad makes its point. And that beige, corded push-button phone makes quite an impression of its own.
Also, if anyone reading this knows Judge Penny Brown Reynolds, please tell her we have one small campaign suggestion: trade in that Laverne & Shirley-era phone for one with caller ID. She wouldn’t have to hang up on Trump if she never answered—and the only thing he’d be left trying to find is her voicemail.
Opinion Disclaimer: The views expressed in this opinion piece are solely those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views or positions of A.T.L. N.E.W.S. or Art, Trade & Lifestyle Media Group. Publication does not constitute an endorsement of any candidate or political party.