Vincent Fort

Early life

Vincent D. Fort was born on April 28, 1956 in New Britain, Connecticut. He received his Bachelor of Arts Degree in American History at Central Connecticut State College and his master's degree in African-American History from Atlanta University.

Career

Fort ran against Balch in the Democratic primary for the state senate in 2010. Fort won the primary with 67% of the vote.

Fort serves on committees dealing with the judiciary, education, State institutions and properties, MARTA, appropriations, redistricting and reapportionment.

Fort was the first author of Georgia's predatory lending law, which, until replaced by a measure written by Congressman Tom Price, was the strongest law in the country. He has sponsored and co-sponsored bills against prostitution, hate crimes, drug-related nuisances, discrimination against citizens with disabilities, racial profiling, disabled access to housing, and collective bargaining for law enforcement officers. Fort has been described as a supporter of Grady Memorial Hospital.

In February 2010, Fort opposed a bill that would prevent Georgians from being forced to receive a microchip implant against their will, calling it "a solution in search of a problem." On October 26, 2011, Senator Fort was arrested along with 52 other members of Occupy Atlanta, in support of the protesters. In the aftermath of the 2014 shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, Fort criticized police militarization in Georgia.

In February 2016, Fort announced he would relinquish his support for Hillary Clinton and support Bernie Sanders for President of the United States instead. He issued a statement saying, "After months of looking at Bernie’s record and studying his positions on healthcare, Wall Street, predatory lending and the minimum wage, I came to the conclusion that Bernie’s position on the issues that affect my constituents in Georgia the most conform most closely to my positions."