Completing paperwork at the Georgia Secretary of State’s South Georgia office in Tifton were two Tifton lawyers who qualified for the superior court judgeship that Gary McCorvey announced last week he would not seek again this year.
Carter announced late Friday he would seek McCorvey’s Tifton Circuit judgeship and not a third term as District 13 senator.
Candidates to qualify for the post Monday were Tifton lawyer Melanie Cross and Assistant District Attorney Ronnie Wheeler, according to Jo Wingate, Director of the South Georgia office.
Also visiting the Tifton office to qualify were incumbent George Peagler, Superior Court Judge for the Southwestern Judicial Circuit and incumbent Rucker Smith and Albany attorney Jimmy Brown, who both qualified to run for the Southwestern Judgeship Smith has held for four terms.
The Georgia Secretary of State’s office Web site also listed incumbent Ronnie Joe Lane has having qualified to run again for Superior Court Judge in the Pataula Circuit.
Nonpartisan elections in Dougherty and Lee counties saw several incumbent candidates qualify to run again for their positions Monday.
In Dougherty County, Probate Judge Nancy Stephenson and State Court Judge John Salter qualified to run again for their positions, according to Elections Superintendent Carolyn Hatcher.
In Lee County, Probate Judge John Wheaton and Chief Magistrate Jim Thurman qualified Monday to run for their posts, Elections Superintendent Veronica Johnson said.
Qualifying is this week for three nonpartisan school board posts from Lee County’s Leesburg, Redbone and Century districts. No one qualified Monday to run for the positions, Johnson said.
Also on Monday, only one candidate, Sen. Michael Meyer von Bremen, D-Albany, qualified to run for statewide election to the Georgia Court of Appeals, for the position now held by Judge John Ruffin, who said he would not run again.