the Senate from the 15th District in 1992. Sen.

Harbison represents the citizens of Macon, Marion,

Talbot, Taylor, and Schley counties as well as

portions of Chattahoochee County and Muscogee

County.

Sen. Harbison is currently Chairman of the Senate

Veterans, Military. He also serves on the Banking

and Financial Institutions, Insurance and Labor,

Interstate Cooperation, Regulated Industries and

Reapportionment and Redistricting committees.

Sen. Harbison is a former Chairman of the Georgia

Legislative Black Caucus.

During the 2008 General Assembly, Sen. Harbison

successfully sponsored a bill to ease barriers

and alleviate bureaucratic “red tape” for children

of military officers who transfer from one state to

another while in service.

Sen. Harbison is also responsible for legislation

which successfully led to the installation of Emergency

Call Boxes in the state along Interstate I-

85 from LaGrange to Columbus. He chaired the

Senate Eviction Law Study Committee and served

on the Joint Senate-House Study Committee on

Certificate of Need Health Care Facilities. He also

serves on the Policy Committee of the Senate

Democratic Caucus.

During the 1994 General Assembly, Sen. Harbison

successfully steered legislation through the

Senate to give the Governor the authority to order

the Georgia National Guard to assist state law

enforcement agencies in anti-drug efforts.

Prior to his election to the Senate, Sen. Harbison

served as second vice-president of the Muscogee

County School Board and was a member of the

Columbus Charter Review Commission.

Born in Prattville, Alabama and raised in Montgomery,

Sen. Harbison graduated from the Ca-

Senator Ed Harbison

Senate District 15

reer Academy School of Broadcasting and attended Troy State University at Fort Benning.

He served four years in the U.S. Marines.

Sen. Harbison is a public relations and advertising consultant and a broadcast journalist.

Active in the community, Sen. Harbison served on the Mayor’s Committee for a Drug-

Free Columbus; the Community Task force on Gangs, the Columbus Charter Review

Committee and the Columbus Cable TV Study Commission. He is a 1990 graduate of

Leadership Columbus, a member of the A.J. McClung YMCA Board of Directors and a

former officer of the Georgia Association of Newscasters.

Sen. Harbison has been featured on NBC’s “Dateline” news program regarding the

death penalty, and has been quoted in USA Today on his opposition to a state redistricting

plan.

Sen. Harbison has received a number of awards for his professional accomplishments

and his community service including- the James Costen Government Services Award,

the National Infantry Association's Order of Saint Maurice for distinguished and gallant

support of the Infantry, the Dr. John W. Townsend Award for Broadcast Excellence, the

Associated Press Annual Award for Best Regularly Scheduled TV Newscast, the PUSH

Excellence Award for the Communications Field and the Bambino League Award of Support.

He was recently honored as one of the 50 Most Influential African Americans of

Columbus.

He has also been honored by Alpha Kappa Alpha for his support of the Heritage Program

and cited by the NAACP for a 1989 Radio-Thon. He received the Columbus Times

Newspaper Award for Outstanding Contributions to African Americans, the Alabama

Disabled American Veterans Certificate of Appreciation and the U.S. Marine Corps Appreciation

Award. He also received the UPI Pacemaker Award for writing, editing and

narrating “The Dreamer’s Dream- Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.”

Sen. Harbison was honored as Legislator of the Year for 1994 by the Georgia Pharmacy

Association for his efforts to improve the quality of health care in the state. He is also

the recipient of the Progressive Men’s Club’s prestigious Man of the Year Award for

1994.

Sen. Harbison’s wife, Cecilia, whom sadly passed away in 2012, blessed their family

with two children, Edward and Ladena.

January 2013—Senate Press Office