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8 2 M ACO N M AG A Z I N E.CO M | O C TO B E R / N O V E M B E R 2 0 1 9 * * * PRACTICING, RUNNING AND SERVING COX PLUNGED into corporate trial law and thrived in one of Atlanta's largest firms. But when her father, a member of Georgia's House of Representatives, was diagnosed with cancer, she returned home to Bainbridge and sought work in a small, local firm. But there were no "lady lawyers" in Southwest Georgia in the 1980s. Unfazed, Cox convinced a general practice firm's younger partners to hire her. Within a year she made partner, blazing a trail as the first female attorney in 11 counties. After her father's death, a family friend won his House seat, but when Decatur County was split through reapportionment, Cox ran and won the district's new seat. "I have the defective family gene," she said. "I grew up around politics and saw the good side. My father and I read legislative stories together in the newspaper ... and I watched him use politics to help people. I learned about strategy and collaboration at an early age and grew to love the legislative process." Determined to correct flawed laws, Cox became a respected voice under the Gold Dome. One of her colleagues there was Macon-Bibb Mayor Robert Reichert, who was elected to the Georgia House in 1992. ey served together on the Judiciary Committee. "Our committee was meticulous in reviewing proposed legislation to ensure it didn't conflict with existing laws and was clear, concise and grammatically correct," Reichert said. "Cathy was dedicated in her efforts to make sure the intent of the law made sense and the statute's wording correctly stated the intent. I remember protracted discussions on the need for punctuation and its location. It was a privilege to serve with her, even if it meant our committee worked until everyone else in the Capitol had gone home for the night." * * * GEORGIA'S FIRST FEMALE SECRETARY OF STATE AF TER SERVING in the House from 1993-1996, Cox was appointed Assistant Secretary of State. Two years in that role gave her the confidence to run for the top job, which she won handily. She recalled her two terms as Georgia's first female Secretary of State from 1999-2007, saying, "ere were a lot of opportunities and I knew I had to get busy." Cox instituted the nation's first universal electronic voting system, calling Georgia's system "a hodge-podge with every county doing its own thing." Praised for ramping up Internet services, she aroused the ire of many legislators when, in the name of transparency in government, she placed campaign disclosure information online. Cox chuckled when remembering being confronted by a prominent lawmaker who tried to intimidate her, saying, "You want to put campaign disclosure information At top: Cathy as Secretary of State and with former Congressman and Macon Mayor Jim Marshall, who was also Cathy's professor when she was a stu- dent at Mercer University Law School. Bottom: Cathy receives the formal oath of office as Secretary of State from Gov. Roy Barnes in 2000 as her future hus- band, Mark Dehler, and nephew Steven Beach look on. Submitted photos.