After the qualifying period to run for office ended last Friday, there’s a chance that the Athens-Clarke County Commission could take another sharp turn to the right when voters go to the polls for local nonpartisan elections in May.
But perhaps the single most interesting race will be for sheriff, where Clarke County School District police officer Tommy Dorsey is challenging incumbent John Q. Williams.
Since the murder of Athens college student Laken Riley last month, Williams has been under fire from conservatives for the jail’s policy—instituted by his predecessor, Ira Edwards—of not holding undocumented immigrants past their release date without a judge’s order. Dorsey, like Williams, is running as a Democrat in the May 21 primary, but Dorsey has courted support from local Republicans.
Last week, Williams sought to clarify the jail’s policy: “In 2018, the Clarke County Sheriff’s Office reviewed and updated its policy concerning foreign nationals booked into the jail. These updates to the policy were the result of public input, a review of best practices, relevant case law, and input from legal counsel. Based on the totality of circumstances at that time, the policy was changed to decline requests from Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) to hold inmates, known as ‘detainers,’ that are not signed by a judge. The law requires us to notify ICE whenever we book someone either known or suspected to be a foreign national. Our policy reflects that.
ICE detainers are requests, not a court order or warrant. Holding a person based solely on an ICE detainer constitutes a warrantless arrest. The policy does allow for detaining if a warrant or court order signed by a judge is issued. Whenever ICE is able to pick up an undocumented person before the time they would have been able to bond out or otherwise be lawfully released, the Sheriff’s Office does not prevent them from doing so. When Sheriff Williams took office in 2021, we maintained this policy.
In the case of [the] murder suspect, Jose Ibarra, he had never been arrested in Athens-Clarke County or the state of Georgia. At no time was Jose Ibarra detained by CCSO before his arrest for the murder of Laken Riley. The Sheriff’s Office’s first contact with him was when he was charged with the murder and he is currently confined and held with no bail.
Controversial District Attorney Deborah Gonzalez drew no opposition from either the Republican or Democratic side. Her opponent, Kalki Yalamanchili, plans to run as an independent, which involves gathering more than 6,000 signatures before July rather than simply filling out a form and writing a check.
In commission races, former school board member and owner of Mama Sid’s Pizza Sidney Waters signed up to run against incumbent Carol Myers in District 8, representing the Eastside. Waters was among those who participated in the “Make Athens Safe Again” rally Mar. 5.
In District 2, incumbent Melissa Link will face Jason Jacobs, co-owner of the downtown business Cheeky Peach. Link and Myers are both considered two of the more progressive commissioners remaining after Republicans drew three others out of their districts in 2022.
Commissioners Allison Wright in District 4 and Mike Hamby in District 10 are unopposed.
In District 6, Commissioner Jesse Houle opted not to run again, as expected. Rashe Malcolm, owner of Rashe’s Cuisine, and Stephanie Johnson are running for the seat. Prior to getting married, Stephanie Maddox, as she was then known, was fired by the mayor and commission from her job as internal auditor and later sued ACC alleging discrimination.
Three Clarke County Board of Education incumbents—Patricia Yager, board president Mumbi Anderson and Nicole Hull—are also unopposed. In District 2, incumbent Claudia Butts will face challenges from Kirrena Gallagher and Mary Bagby. Gallagher held the seat from 2021–2022, when she stepped down to run for commission, while Bagby lost to Gallagher in 2020 and has applied unsuccessfully twice for vacancies on the board.
Longtime coroner Sonny Wilson and two-term tax commissioner Toni Meadow are not running for re-election. Insurance agent Brant Spratlin and J.P. Lemay, a project manager for the ACC Leisure Services Department, are running as Democrats for tax commissioner. Michael Eberhart, a warehouse manager, and funeral attendant William C. Gaulden Jr. are running in the Democratic primary for coroner. Neither race has a Republican candidate.
Superior Court judges Patrick Haggard and Lawton Stephens, State Court judges Ryan S. Hope and Charles Auslander III, Probate Court Judge Susan Schaffer, Chief Magistrate Judge Benjamin Makin and Clerk of Court Elisa Zarate are all unopposed.
One local figure is running for Georgia Supreme Court, though. Former ACC commissioner and Democratic congressman John Barrow is challenging Justice Andrew Pinson, a Gov. Brian Kemp appointee, and plans to make abortion rights the centerpiece of his campaign.
State Rep. Houston Gaines (R-Athens) will face Democrat Andrew Ferguson, who has lost two previous legislative races, in House District 120. In District 121, Democrat Courtney Frisch, an engineering consultant, is running against state Rep. Marcus Wiedower (R-Watkinsville), who also has a primary challenger in Watkinsville nurse practitioner John Michael Grigsby. White Plains paralegal Melanie M. Miller is challenging state Rep. Trey Rhodes (R-Greensboro) in District 124. Rep. Spencer Frye (D-Athens) is unopposed.
District 46 state Sen. Bill Cowsert (R-Athens) will face Democrat Gareth Fenley, a social worker from Walton County. In District 47, incumbent Sen. Frank Ginn (R-Danielsville) will face Jefferson consultant Ross Harvin in the primary, with the winner facing Conolus Scott of Danielsville, who lost to Ginn two years ago.
Two 10th District Democrats, Jessica Fore and Lexy Doherty, are vying for the right to face Republican U.S. Rep. Mike Collins in November.
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