Interview with Carlton Colwell, January 14, 2009

Carlton Colwell he ran a successful campaign for the Georgia House of Representatives in 1964. He represented several North Georgia mountain counties for thirty years. Colwell served on various committees, including Appropriations, Ways and Means, and Fiscal Affairs. He served as chairman of the State Institution and Property Committee, and oversaw the prison system in Georgia. Speaker Murphy appointed him to the constitutional revision commission, and he helped rewrite the Georgia Constitution. Colwell discusses his appointment to the Appropriations, Ways and Means, and State Institution and Property Committees in the State House. He recalls his time on the constitutional revision commission and his experience in the house when the first African Americans were elected to the legislature. Colwell discusses state-owned property and the involvement of the state in determining prison locations. He explains the origin of the nickname "the sawmill gang". Colwell also discusses party politics in Georgia.

2009-01-14

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