The wife of a former local state representative may be tapped to head the Ga. Lottery.

According to an article in the Atlanta Journal Constitution, Debbie Dlugolenski-Alford, head of the governor's Office of Planning and Budget and a member of the Ga. Lottery board since 2009, is the top contender for director of the Ga. Lottery.

She would be the third director since its inception in 1992 but the first to be appointed without a nation-wide search and the only one without previous experience running a lottery system, according to the AJC. She was appointed to the lottery board in 2009 by Gov. Sonny Perdue.

According to her biography on the Governor's website, Dlugolenski was appointed Chief Financial Officer and reappointed as the Director of the Office of Planning and Budget by Gov. Nathan Deal in June 2010.

At OPB, she has also served as Deputy Director and Division Director of the Physical and Economic Development Division; and as Assistant Commissioner of the Office of Information Technology, Planning and Development and with the Technical College System of Georgia and President of the Georgia Virtual Technical College. Dlugolenski-Alford serves on the Georgia Lottery Board, State Road and Tollway Authority Board, OneGeorgia Authority Board and the Employee Benefits Council.

She and her husband, Dean, a former local state representative, have five children and two grandchildren.

Dean Alford was recently appointed to the Board of Regents, which oversees the state's university system, for the fourth district, and also chairs the Miracle League.

The lottery reported $3.8 billion in ticket sales last year and funds about $900 million in to HOPE and pre-kindergarten programs each year. Current director Margaret Difrancisco announced in August she would retire.