RJ Hadley (born Rakeim Jerhal Hadley on January 14, 1969) is an American activist and former Tax Commissioner of

Rockdale County Rockdale County is a county located in the North Central portion in the U.S. state of Georgia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 93,570 up from 85,215 in 2010. The county seat is Conyers. Rockdale County is included in Metro Atlanta. ...

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the South Caucasus * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the southeastern United States Georgia may also refer to: People and fictional characters * Georgia (name), a list of pe ...

. In 2008 he was a delegate to the

Democratic National Convention The Democratic National Convention (DNC) is a series of presidential nominating conventions held every four years since 1832 by the United States Democratic Party. They have been administered by the Democratic National Committee since the 18 ...

representing Georgia. Hadley is a graduate of

Dartmouth College Dartmouth College ( ) is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in Hanover, New Hampshire, United States. Established in 1769 by Eleazar Wheelock, Dartmouth is one of the nine colonial colleges chartered before the America ...

. He has worked in the public sector as juvenile justice social worker for the State of

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. He has also held software technology positions in the United States and abroad with the

Federal Aviation Administration The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) is a Federal government of the United States, U.S. federal government agency within the United States Department of Transportation, U.S. Department of Transportation that regulates civil aviation in t ...

Motorola Motorola, Inc. () was an American multinational telecommunications company based in Schaumburg, Illinois. It was founded by brothers Paul and Joseph Galvin in 1928 and had been named Motorola since 1947. Many of Motorola's products had been ...

, and

Logica Logica plc was a Multinational corporation, multinational information technology, IT and Management consulting, management consultancy company headquartered in London and later Reading, Berkshire, Reading, United Kingdom. Founded in 1969, the c ...

. In 2009, he was appointed Chief of Staff for

. He served as the Chief Operating Officer for Affordable Housing CDC, a non-profit housing and economic development organization, until his election as Tax Commissioner in 2012. In

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

, Hadley sought the Democratic Party's nomination for Senate in Georgia, losing to Labor Commissioner

Mike Thurmond Michael L. Thurmond (born January 5, 1953) is an American author, attorney, and politician. A Democrat, he was previously the Chief Executive Officer of DeKalb County and a representative in the Georgia Assembly. Thurmond served as the interim ...

. On January 29, 2011, he was elected vice-chair of County Parties with the

Democratic Party of Georgia The Democratic Party of Georgia (DPG), formally known as the Union Democratic Republican Party, commonly shortened to the Union Party (UP), until 1840, is the affiliate of the Democratic Party in the U.S. state of Georgia. Since its founding, it ...

Personal life

He is married to noted bird veterinarian Dr. Tarah Hadley. They met at Dartmouth.

Political activism

Hadley was an early volunteer for the Barack Obama presidential campaign when an Obama campaign office opened in

Atlanta Atlanta ( ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Georgia (U.S. state), most populous city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia. It is the county seat, seat of Fulton County, Georg ...

in 2007. He went on to volunteer for the Obama campaign throughout Georgia,

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North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

, and

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. In 2008, he was chosen by the Obama campaign to serve as an At-Large delegate at the Democratic National Convention in

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. He was also the campaign manager for Richard Oden who became Rockdale County's first African-American Chairman in 2009.

2010 U.S. Senate campaign

In 2009, Hadley announced his campaign to seek the Democratic Party of Georgia's nomination for

United States Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the Bicameralism, bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the United States House of Representatives, U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and ...

to replace

Johnny Isakson John Hardy Isakson (December 28, 1944 – December 19, 2021) was an American businessman and politician who served as a United States senator from Georgia from 2005 until his resignation in 2019 following health concerns. A member of the Republi ...

, a Republican. For nearly a year he ran unopposed until Labor Commissioner Michael Thurmond entered the race in the last week of qualifying. In the primary election held on July 20, 2010, Hadley garnered 15.7% of the popular vote.

Rockdale County Tax Commissioner

In 2012, Hadley was elected Tax Commissioner in

. He defeated Republican incumbent Dan Ray with 51.73% of the vote.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Hadley, RJ 1969 births Living people Dartmouth College alumni People from Conyers, Georgia African-American people in Georgia (U.S. state) politics County officials in Georgia (U.S. state) 21st-century African-American people 20th-century African-American people

Personal life

Political activism

2010 U.S. Senate campaign

Rockdale County Tax Commissioner

Further reading

References