Senator Freddie Powell Sims, a Democrat from Dawson, was first elected to serve Senate District 12 in 2008 after earlier serving in the Georgia State House of Representatives from 2005 to 2008.
The southwest Georgia district includes Baker, Calhoun, Clay, Early, Miller, Mitchell, Quitman, Randolph, Stewart, Sumter, Terrell and Webster Counties as well as a portion of Dougherty County. 
Sen. Sims is currently a member of the Senate Agriculture & Consumer Affairs, Appropriations, Interstate Cooperation, and Natural Resources & the Environment Committees. Additionally, she serves as Secretary of the Education & Youth Committee.

Over the years, special shorter-term Committee and Commission appointments for Senator Sims have included: 

• The Georgia’s Children Cabinet, a School Safety Committee, and The Medical Cannabis Oversight Commission with appointments by Gov. Brian Kemp;
• Education Commission of Georgia, Governor’s Office of Student Achievement, and Child Welfare & Reform Commission with appointments by then Gov. Nathan Deal; 
• The Southern Regional Educational Board, Georgia’s Education Finance Commission, Georgia’s Educational Ethics Taskforce, a Foster Care Initiative Study Committee, The Georgia-Alabama Joint Study Committee, and the College & Career Academies Committee with appointments by then Lt. Gov. Casey Cagle; 
• The Justice for Children Cabinet with an appointment by then Appeals Court Judge David Nahmias; 
• The Long-Term Aquifer Storage Commission appointed by then-Speaker Glenn Richardson and  
• Other special appointments including a Historically Black Colleges & Universities Study Committee; a National Council of State Legislatures Standing Committee on Education; and the Georgia Jobs and Infrastructure Committee. 

Sen. Sims counts among her legislative achievements establishment of the College and Career Academy in Dougherty, Mitchell, and Sumter Counties; advocacy to reopen the Terrell County Detention Center with full staffing after it was fully refurbished; shaping protocols for dual enrollment students statewide; appropriations for Albany State University’s Fine Arts Center and Georgia Southwestern State University’s Center for Excellence; a cash infusion for the Heart of Georgia Railroads; and funding to provide I-Pads for students in Dougherty, Quitman, and Clay Counties. 

She has been honored by many organizations including Easter Seals, the Albany Chamber of Commerce, Turner Job Corps, Leadership Albany, the Georgia Association of Educators, Leadership Sumter, the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, and the Cable Television Association of Georgia. She is a sought-after speaker for occasions such as banquets for local chapters of the NAACP and college commencements at Fort Valley State University and Georgia Southwestern State University. She was named Legislator of the Year by Turner Job Corps of Albany and received the “Whatever It Takes” Award from Community Development Systems. 

A retired middle school principal, Senator Sims received a Bachelor’s degree from Fort Valley State University, a Master’s degree from Georgia State University, and her Ph.D. from the University of Sarasota. She also holds a degree in Educational Leadership from the University of Georgia. She and her husband, Norman, have three daughters. 

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