Incumbent District 1 Dougherty School Board representative David Maschke was the lone Republican to throw his hat into the ring locally, while Democrats Sabrina Owens-Hayes and Benita Childs joined the fray in the at-large school board and Dougherty Sheriff races, respectively.
Albany attorney Ingrid Driskell qualified to run against Chief Dougherty Assistant District Attorney Greg Edwards in the race to replace Ken Hodges as the county’s chief prosecutor, while, as previously announced, former Reps. John White and Freddie Powell Sims qualified to run for the State Senate District 12 seat being vacated by Michael Meyer von Bremen.
“I decided to run for a third term because I didn’t feel that my work (on the School Board) was done,” Maschke said shortly after qualifying at Albany Travel. “I will continue to be a voice on the board willing to discuss our good as well as, frankly, the issues that are in front of us.
“I will stress achievement and accountability, as well as provide accessibility to the citizens in the county. It’s obviously too early to tell how the changes on the board will affect it, but the two men leaving (at-large member Richard Anson and District 3’s Willie Weaver) brought a positive perspective to the board. I hope their replacements will be people who are truly interested in moving the School Board forward.”
Maschke will face Laura Calhoun in the Republican primary July 15. The winner will take on Democrat Judith Corbett in the general election Nov. 4. Owens-Hayes will battle fellow Democrats Thomas Langstaff and Anita Williams-Brown for the at-large seat, while Democrat Velvet Edwards-Riggins was the only qualifier for Weaver’s vacated seat. Weaver is leaving the board to challenge Denise Marshall for a Dougherty Superior Court judgeship being vacated by Chief Judge Loring Gray.
The Rev. James Bush, the incumbent District 5 School Board representative, drew no opposition for his seat.
Childs joins fellow Democrats James Williams and Kevin Sproul and Independent Kirk Smith in the battle to fill the shoes of retiring Sheriff Jamil Saba.
“It feels wonderful to finally be officially in the race,” Childs said after qualifying Friday at the Plumbers & Steamfitters Local 72 union hall. She said juvenile crime, gang activity and domestic violence are issues she wants to address during her campaign.
Childs and Williams are currently Albany Police officers, while Sproul is a deputy in the sheriff’s department. Smith is an independent businessman who, if he meets qualification requirements in June, will automatically move to the general election.
Edwards, who has been in the district attorney’s office for the past 18 years, got a ringing endorsement from Hodges when the current DA announced his plans to leave office, but Driskell said that is not a major concern.
“I think it’s time for a change,” she said Friday. “I think the district attorney’s office has the potential to look at some of the cases of nonviolent, first-time offenders and solve them rather than letting people like that fall through the cracks. I believe in moving cases like this expeditiously.
“There’s not a lot of time for campaigning, so I intend to meet as many people as possible, talk to them and let them get to know my face. I think prosecutors who do the same thing year after year, those who haven’t defended clients, lose their objectivity. I certainly won’t be soft on crime, but I think I’ll be able to better judge each case on its merit.”
The announced candidates for the three state House seats that represent Dougherty County voters — incumbents Winfred Dukes, D-Albany, District 150, and Ed Rynders, R-Leesburg, District 152, and Carol Fullerton, D-Albany, who will move into Sims’ vacated District 151 seat — have no opposition. Both Sims and White were late qualifiers to run for the Senate District 12 seat.
Rand Knight and Josh Lanier added their names to those of Vernon Jones, Dale Cardwell and Jim Martin in the crowded Democratic race to challenge U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss, R-Moultrie; while newcomer Lee Ferrell will provide a Republican challenge for District 2 House veteran Sanford Bishop, D-Albany.
Incumbent County Commissioners Lamar Hudgins, R-District 1, and Muarlean Edwards, D-District 3, drew no opposition in their quests to return to the commission, while District 5’s Art Searles will be challenged by contractor Harry James in the Democratic primary.
Dougherty Clerk of Courts Evonne Mull will return to office unopposed, while incumbent Dougherty Coroner Emma Quimbley is being challenged in the Democratic primary by jailer Andrew Harris Jr. District 1 Public Service Commissioner Doug Everett of Albany will be challenged by Moultrie’s Rick Collum in the Republican primary.
Following the party primaries, any runoffs will be contested on Aug. 5. Winners will be on the Nov. 4 ballot that will include the race for the White House.