Geoff Duncan’s transformation, opposition politics among top-read AJC opinions
My eight-month anniversary at the AJC is coming up right after the new year, and I have absorbed so much about metro Atlanta and Georgia though I know there’s still much for me to learn.
My education comes from exploring places, reading a lot (I’m finishing “Where Peachtree Meets Sweet Auburn” by Gary Pomerantz), tapping into my colleagues’ experiences, responding to readers, attending community events, and editing hundreds of opinion columns in 2025 offering a variety of fascinating perspectives about the important issues of the day.
As I was reviewing our selections from this past year, I wanted to share with readers what the 10 most impactful essays were based on digital metrics such as page views and new subscribers.
A thread that unites these 10 are an urgency, responding to the news of the moment and striking a chord with readers.
The writer of an effective guest opinion column provides clarity with authority and an economy of words.
Let me know if your favorite opinion column from 2025 made the list or if you want to share your top picks.
The Top 10 countdown
Editor’s note: Find the authors, headlines and brief context below.
No. 10: Former Centers for Disease Control Director Bill Foege: “Incompetent, uninformed approach to CDC, and USAID is a ‘national crime’” (May 14)
The second Trump administration’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) decimated federal agencies including the Atlanta-based CDC.
No. 9: AJC President and Publisher Andrew Morse: “MARTA must do better: Bring in new leadership and stop misleading the public” (July 20)
MARTA experienced a serious of operational mishaps in addition to the sudden departure of its former CEO, less than a year before the World Cup matches in Atlanta.
No. 8: Travelsist founder Veronica Woodruff: “Atlanta airport chose equity and lost federal dollars in a win for travelers” (Oct. 31)
The federal government slashed grants for organizations and entities including Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport for maintaining diversity commitments.
No. 7: Retired Army officer and congressional candidate Brian Montgomery: “As International Paper mills shutter, coastal Georgia families pay the price”(Sept. 25)
The announced closure of two International Paper mills and the elimination of 1,100 jobs alarmed coastal Georgia residents and raised questions about the state’s forest industry.
No. 6: State Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver: “Stone Mountain Park should be for all Georgians, not just Confederacy boosters” (Oct. 6)
Stone Mountain displays the largest Confederate monument in the world, but its management board has allegedly been “slow-walking” reforms on modernizing the telling of Civil War history.
No. 5: Emory University School of Law Professor Mark Nevitt: “Vietnam War still isn’t over for my father and other Agent Orange victims” (Nov. 8)
For Veterans Day, Nevitt shared a personal account of the toll of the Vietnam War on his father.
No.4: Fatherhood advocate Kenneth Braswell: “Georgia legitimation law keeps men from fulfilling their potential as fathers” (Oct. 16)
Georgia has a cumbersome two-step process for fathers to establish their parental rights. Lawmakers are looking into reforms.
No. 3: Former UGA system professor Rick Diguette: “Georgia sends chilling message that college professors can’t be trusted” (Aug. 29)
The Board of Regents decided to require state university professors in Georgia to make their syllabi public, alarming academic freedom proponents.
No. 2: Pastor Jamal-Harrison Bryant: “On the King holiday, a reminder that accountability is not opposition” (Jan. 20)
The commemoration of the Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. birthday holiday fell on the same day as the inauguration of President Donald Trump.
No. 1: Gubernatorial candidate Geoff Duncan: “From Republican lieutenant governor to Democrat: Loving my neighbor is easier now” (Aug. 5)
Duncan, a former paid opinion contributor to the AJC, decided to leave the GOP after years of being in the crosshairs of President Trump and many of his fellow Republicans.
AJC opinion submission guidelines
- Our focus is on Georgia voices, topics and/or issues
- It should be timely, newsy and relevant to the public conversation
- 750 words max
- Include 2-3 hyperlinks for reference in the text
- One-sentence author bio
- High-resolution author headshot with photo credit
- Please keep the guest opinion column issues-focused and not promotional (rule of thumb: Would the author read it if he or she had not written it?) - the point is to keep it conversational
- Due to the volume of submissions, we cannot guarantee immediate publication and may not be able to publish an essay in a timely manner, if at all, if priorities change
Email AJC Opinion Editor David Plazas at david.plazas@ajc.com with your thoughts, ideas, questions and suggestions.
About the Author
David Plazas joined The Atlanta Journal-Constitution in May 2025 after a 25-year award-winning career as a reporter, editor and opinion editor for The News-Press in Fort Myers, Florida, and most recently, The Tennessean in Nashville, Tennessee, as an opinion writer and editor, video podcast host, newsletter writer and sought-after moderator.
