Bobby Peters

Bobby G. Peters (born February 21, 1949) is a Superior Court judge in Columbus, Georgia, and a former mayor of Columbus.

Early life and education Peters graduated from Hardaway High School in 1967, in Columbus, Georgia. He earned an undergraduate degree in criminal justice, and a post-graduate degree in education at Columbus State University. He graduated with a J.D. from Woodrow Wilson College of Law in 1979 while serving as the director of the police academy in Macon. He drove to Atlanta at night for three years to attend law school, and passed the state bar exam prior to graduating from law school, while working full-time.

Career Peters was first elected mayor in 1994, after twelve years as a city councilor. In 1998, he became the first Columbus mayor to win re-election to a second term since consolidation. In a field of six candidates, including a black minister and the president of the NAACP, he won without a runoff and won every black precinct in the city, which demonstrated his appeal to a cross section of the community; Peters is white. He served as mayor for eight years, until 2002, when Robert Poydasheff was elected.

As mayor, Peters also served as public safety director of the city in charge of the police department, fire department, EMS, E-911, Muscogee County Prison, and all non-public safety departments. His eight years as mayor saw no tax increases, and over a billion dollars of new investment made in the city.

Peters was one of ten elected officials in the nation to represent the United States in a governmental exchange program with Australia. He was named "Ambassador of Goodwill" for the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC), formerly the School of the Americas. In 2002, he was presented with the Order of Saint Maurice by the commanding general of Fort Benning, Gen. Paul Eaton.

Personal life Peters is a member of Calvary Baptist Church of Columbus, Georgia and has two daughters, Kelly and Jennifer, as well as three grandchildren.