Savannah gets added clout at Georgia Capitol as Effingham's Burns elected House speaker

Jon Burns hails from rural Effingham County, not far from Newington, one of the many small Georgia towns easily missed by drivers as they fly by on a four-lane state highway.

I know Newington for Clarke’s Country Kitchen, a meat-and-three eatery on the town’s edges that I’ve visited while en route to the local Boy Scout reservation located a few miles north along Georgia 21 in Screven County.

Most other Georgians now know Newington for Burns, elected Monday as Georgia House speaker. He is the state’s first new speaker since 2010, succeeding the late David Ralston, and inherits a post second in political profile only to governor.

Effingham's Burns is House speaker'Can't think of a better candidate'

In some cases, the speaker of the Georgia House’s power has even rivaled that of the governor. Ralston certainly had enough influence to help shape the policy agendas of Gov. Brian Kemp and his predecessor Nathan Deal. Go back a few more decades to Tom Murphy’s 29-year run as speaker and only Zell Miller was a bigger political figure.

Burns has the potential to claim a similar place in the history of Georgia politics. He’s served in the House since 2004 and was House majority leader from 2015 until being nominated as speaker late last year. He knows the chamber and was a close confidant of Ralston. He won’t ease into the speaker’s role.

He’s both well-liked and well-respected by his colleagues.

Given Burns’ local ties - Effingham High and Georgia Southern - his being speaker bodes well for the Savannah area and Coastal Georgia. Gov. Kemp has tightly embraced our area during his tenure, and having two power brokers championing Savannah at the Georgia Capitol is to our benefit at a time when the state is a must-have partner in terms of workforce development and transportation infrastructure.

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Jon Burns elected Georgia House speaker as General Assembly session