Al Scott (born 1947) is an American retired politician and businessman who served as Commissioner of the

Georgia Department of Labor The Georgia Department of Labor is an administrative agency of the U.S. state of Georgia. With approximately 4,000 employees in 2008, it provides services to the state's current and emerging workforce. History The department was originally create ...

from 1991 to 1992. He was the African American to hold a non-judicial Constitutional Office in

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

history. Scott is a

Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...

from

Savannah A savanna or savannah is a mixed woodland-grassland (i.e. grassy woodland) ecosystem characterised by the trees being sufficiently widely spaced so that the Canopy (forest), canopy does not close. The open canopy allows sufficient light to rea ...

Life and career

Born ad raised in poverty in

Savannah, Georgia Savannah ( ) is the oldest city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and is the county seat of Chatham County, Georgia, Chatham County. Established in 1733 on the Savannah River, the city of Savannah became the Kingdom of Great Br ...

, Scott attended Beach High School and

Armstrong State University Armstrong may refer to: Places * Armstrong Creek (disambiguation), various places Antarctica * Armstrong Reef, Biscoe Islands Argentina * Armstrong, Santa Fe Australia * Armstrong, Victoria Canada * Armstrong, British Columbia * Armstrong, O ...

. He deployed to Korea after being drafted into the

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the land service branch of the United States Armed Forces. It is one of the eight U.S. uniformed services, and is designated as the Army of the United States in the U.S. Constitution.Article II, section 2, cl ...

. He worked for the

Union Camp Corporation Union Camp Corporation was an American pulp and paper company and a private owner of timberland in the United States. In 1999 it was acquired by International Paper. Company creation Union Camp came about through the merger of the Union Bag and P ...

from 1968 to 1990 and again from 1993 to 2006, rising to executive roles. Scott represented District 123 in the

Georgia House of Representatives The Georgia House of Representatives is the lower house of the Georgia General Assembly (the state legislature) of the U.S. state of Georgia. There are currently 180 elected members. Republicans have had a majority in the chamber since 2005. T ...

from 1976 to 1982 and represented the 2nd District of the

Georgia State Senate The Georgia State Senate is the upper house of the Georgia General Assembly, in the U.S. state of Georgia. Legal provisions The Georgia State Senate is the upper house of the Georgia General Assembly, with the lower house being the Georgia ...

from 1982 to 1990, becoming the first African American elected to the Senate from Chatham County. Considered a pro-business moderate Democrat, Scott served on the House Reapportionment Committee, sponsored bills requiring mortgage companies to pay interest on escrow accounts, and advanced efforts to establish the Georgia Children's Trust Fund. In 1990, Governor

Zell Miller Zell Bryan Miller (February 24, 1932 – March 23, 2018) was an American author and politician from the state of Georgia. A Democrat, Miller served as lieutenant governor from 1975 to 1991, 79th Governor of Georgia from 1991 to 1999, and as U. ...

appointed Scott to the office of Labor Commissioner, in which he served from 1991 to 1992. As Commissioner, Scott held taxes and fees steady and secured passage of the first major revision to Georgia's employment security law in fifty years. Former Georgia Secretary of State

David Poythress David Bryan Poythress (October 24, 1943 – January 15, 2017) was an American politician, born in Bibb County, Georgia. He served terms as Secretary of State and Commissioner of Labor of the state of Georgia. Poythress also served as the Adjutan ...

defeated Scott in the Democratic primary and went on to win the 1992 general election. In 2012, Scott was elected chair of the Chatham County Commissioners, becoming the first African American to hold this office. He was reelected in 2016 but opted not to run for a third term in 2020. He led the Savannah branch of the

NAACP The National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) is a civil rights organization in the United States, formed in 1909 as an interracial endeavor to advance justice for African Americans by a group including W. E.&nb ...

for many years. He also served on the board of directors of the

Georgia Ports Authority The Georgia Ports Authority, which was founded in 1945 and chaired by US. Colonel, Inventor and Engineer Dr. Blake Van Leer, operates port facilities in the U.S. state of Georgia. Georgia's primary deepwater ports are located in Savannah and ...

, the State Board of Education, the BB&T Bank Community Board, the Southern State Energy Board, the

Boy Scouts of America The Boy Scouts of America (BSA, colloquially the Boy Scouts) is one of the largest scouting organizations and one of the largest youth organizations in the United States, with about 1.2 million youth participants. The BSA was founded i ...

, and Hospice Savannah.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Scott, Al 1947 births Living people 20th-century American politicians 21st-century American politicians American businesspeople Politicians from Savannah, Georgia Place of birth missing (living people) Armstrong State University alumni Democratic Party Georgia (U.S. state) state senators State labor commissioners in the United States Democratic Party members of the Georgia House of Representatives People from Chatham County, Georgia