Mike Berlon


Mike Berlon is the former Chairman of the Democratic Party of Georgia. He served from early 2011 until June 9, 2013, when he resigned following accusations of professional misconduct.

Personal life

Mike Berlon was born in Ohio. He attended St. Xavier High School. Berlon moved to Georgia in 1984 where he worked as an adjuster for an insurance company. While working full time, he also completed his studies at Georgia State University and graduated with a degree in Political Science. He then went on to complete his legal studies and graduated from Georgia State's College of Law in 1992.

Political career

In January 2011, Berlon was elected as the Chairman of the Democratic Party of Georgia. Since his election, he has emphasized a grassroots strategy to make the Democratic Party more competitive outside of the Atlanta metro area and a progressive platform including job creation, increased pay for teachers and educators, and increased funding of public schools.
On May 29, 2013, the Democratic Party of Georgia released a statement saying Mike Berlon would resign his chairmanship, after Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed called for Berlon to step down earlier on Wednesday. In a subsequent statement released to the media, Berlon announced his resignation from the state party would be effective midnight on June 9, 2013.

Stance on party-switchers

Berlon has also been a strong critic of elected Democrats that switch to the Republican Party. During his tenure, several Democrats switched parties to take advantage of the state's Republican-lean, most notably State House Caucus Chair Doug McKillip, and State Representative Rick Crawford. The Democratic Party of Georgia unsuccessfully attempted to remove Crawford from the ballot.
All three party-switchers lost in their next election.