Holcomb engaged in debate on the House floor.
Photo by Georgia House of Representatives.
Holcomb presenting a House bill in 2019.
Photo by Georgia House of Representatives.
“I mentor a number of women because
I know many women lack mentors who
are men, which is an issue,” he says. “I
think it’s really important for men to be
mentors because they tend to be overrep-
resented in positions of power. Many men
don’t feel comfortable mentoring women,
and I think that says a lot about them.”
As a mentor, Holcomb makes a point to
nominate young leaders for programs he
has participated in, such as being admit-
ted to the Council on Foreign Relations,
accepted to Bucerius Summer School on
Global Governance and named a Marshall
Memorial Fellow, British-American Proj-
ect fellow, French-American Foundation
Young Leader, Manfred Wörner fellow,
Truman National Security Project fellow,
Emerging Leader in Environmental and
Energy Policy and a NewDEAL Leader.
“These programs have been extremely
inspiring both in terms of what I learned
and the people I met,” says Holcomb. “I
now have close friends from across the
world. I never traveled outside of the
country until after law school, and now
I have a global network of friends. It’s a
true blessing.”
Holcomb’s advice for lawyers just start-
ing out is to listen and get involved.
“I don’t pretend to have the secret recipe
for anything, but I do know that good
leaders—and mentors—need to be good
listeners, and they need to be actively en-
gaged,” he says. “I tell young people all
the time about programs I’ve been fortu-
nate enough to participate in that I didn’t
know about before someone told me. I
encourage those who I think have a shot
at being selected to go for it. It’s thrilling
when they do and are accepted.”
This passion for helping others moti-
vated Holcomb to run for the Georgia
House of Representatives in 2010. He
won his first election and has been re-
elected every two years since.
“I ran for public office because I
sincerely believe in public service and I
knew I could make a positive difference,”
he says. “It’s been a journey. I have found
common ground with my colleagues while
representing my district and upholding
my values. I believe in collaborating, and
I’ve had considerable success crafting
bipartisan measures. My greatest strength
is my integrity. That’s not something I’ll
ever compromise.”
Holcomb’s experience as a lawyer
not only prepared him to be a legislator
but also allows him to aid his fellow
representatives.
“Being a lawyer has certainly helped
at the Capitol because I’m able to quickly
read and understand complex bills,” he
says. “I’m often asked to assist non-law-
yers in the Legislature, and I’m happy to
do so. When I draft bills, I work closely
with our legislative counsel’s office to
turn policy ideas into legislation. It takes
time, and as every lawyer knows, every
word matters. I was well trained at WVU
to pay close attention to details, and
I’m very grateful for that. It makes me a
better legislator.”
Holcomb believes his legal and military
backgrounds have been an asset for nav-
igating the politics of state government.
“Being a lawyer helps me analyze legis-
lation and policy, and that’s invaluable,”
he says. “In terms of being a veteran, I
use the leadership techniques I learned
in the service: lead from the front, look
after people, tell the truth, carry your
weight, take responsibility and do what
you say you’re going to do.”
One of the most memorable bills he
worked on, which has been his primary
focus since 2015, sought to strengthen
Georgia’s laws on sexual and domes-
tic violence and aid survivors of those
crimes. In 2016, he helped pass legisla-
tion to address the state’s backlog of un-
tested sexual assault kits.
“We had thousands of kits that were
sitting on shelves, even though the vic-
tims wanted their cases to be investigated
by law enforcement,” says Holcomb. “It
was a travesty.”
After the bill passed, he worked with
Georgia’s Speaker of the House and chair-
men of the House and Senate appropria-
tions committees to fund testing for the
kits. “In 2018, the last kit was tested. As
a result, serial rapists have been identified
and prosecuted, and our law enforcement
has leads in hundreds of cases,” says
Holcomb. “I’m very proud of this.”
He has since gone on to author bills to
allow domestic violence victims to break
their leases without an early termination
penalty and extend the amount of time
the state of Georgia preserves evidence
in sexual assault cases.
“I love working on policy, and it doesn’t
feel like work for me even though it is,”
he says. “I enjoy solving puzzles and prob-
lems, and public policy challenges are the
most complex problems we have. I want
to do everything I can to help make our
state better for everyone I represent and
all of our state’s citizens—that’s really
what drives me.”
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