The head of the voter registration project founded by Stacey Abrams is resigning as the organization struggles with a historic state fine, layoffs and deepening tensions with the Democratic star who launched the group a decade ago.
Francys Johnson told New Georgia Project staffers during a private meeting on Monday that a “new era” for the organization would soon be underway and that he was stepping down as chair of the voting rights advocacy group.
“I’ve probably done all the good I can do, and my presence is a distraction to our mission. It’s unfortunate, and it’s a reality I can recognize,” he said in a recording of the call obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. “It’s time to let the organization move forward beyond all this.”
Reached late Monday, Johnson declined further comment. It’s not immediately clear how quickly he will step down.
Jonathan McCollar, an NGP field operations staffer, said the organization is “more than thankful for Johnson’s leadership during a very difficult period for this organization.”
“There is not a city that I have visited in this state where his name does not proceed him as it relates to this work,” he said. “We wish him all the best as he starts a new chapter in his journey.”
Once a cornerstone of the state’s political infrastructure, the New Georgia Project was credited with registering tens of thousands of left-leaning voters who helped turn Georgia into a political battleground.
But former staffers say the organization was so mired in internal turmoil that it played a diminished role in the 2024 election. Abrams and another former leader, U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock, have both distanced themselves from its current operations. Abrams left the group in 2017, while Warnock stepped down as chair before his 2020 Senate bid.
“The setbacks at New Georgia Project are disappointing and my thoughts are with those laid off,” Abrams previously told the AJC in a statement that noted the NGP took on “new leadership and a new legal entity” after she stepped down to run for governor.
New Georgia Project’s struggles peaked in January when it was slapped with a record-breaking $300,000 fine — the largest ever for violating Georgia campaign finance laws — for illegally supporting Abrams’ first gubernatorial bid in 2018.
Credit: TNS
Credit: TNS
The legal issues coincide with staff cuts. NGP conducted another round of layoffs — its second since the election — a few weeks ago.
Johnson had initially brushed off the criticism by insisting the group was still a potent force in Georgia politics despite its struggles. He said the organization was responsible for helping to register more than 55,000 new voters during last year’s campaign.
But pressure on Johnson to step aside has mounted, and several former staffers publicly accused him of mismanaging resources. On the call, Johnson spoke of leading “through good and bad times” as the NGP’s staff and resources rose and fell. He told staffers the organization now has $11 million in reserves.
He said he tried to strike “pragmatic compromises that would allow our work to go forward.” But he added that he also “stood up to governors and attorneys general and ethics boards to defend our work.”
“I tried to safeguard our organization. I tried to defend it from those who wanted to see harm done to it,” he said. “I wanted to make sure that the conservatives who always wanted to see this work dismissed and destroyed never prevailed.”
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