Judge determines James Williams ineligible to run for House District 151 seat

ATLANTA — As they awaited confirmation from Secretary of State Brian Kemp’s office on a ruling Thursday by Administrative Law Judge Ronit Walker, the two presumed candidates for the Southwest Georgia House District 151 seat started looking toward what comes next.

Greene confirmed Thursday morning that he had received word that Walker, almost a month after presiding over a hearing before the Office of Administrative Hearings, had determined in his favor in his challenge of would-be Democratic candidate James Williams’ qualifications to run in the district based on Williams’ residency.

Maurice King, the Albany-based attorney who is representing Williams, told The Albany Herald he had not gotten word of the ruling, but he said he’s prepared to appeal the case to Fulton County Superior Court if Kemp confirm’s Walker’s decision.

“We have a lot of concerns about the way this challenge was conducted,” King said. “First of all, since Gerald Greene is a Republican, we don’t think he is the proper person to have challenged James Williams’ eligibility. He’s not a Democratic voter in the district. Second of all, I tried a similar case in 2003 that dealt with the same issues, and I prevailed in that case.

“We’re going to take a wait-and-see approach right now, but I would expect that if the ruling came down as you said, we would appeal it.”

Greene said he’s glad to have the episode behind him, saying that his challenge of Williams’ candidacy was never about the candidate.

“This was never about James Williams, it was about his qualifications (to run for the House District 151 seat) under Georgia law,” Greene said. “When I started hearing rumors that James might not be in the district, my first response was just to take him on. But someone pointed out that he could not even represent the district if he won the election because he doesn’t live in the district.”

Greene, a Cuthbert Republican, has held the HD 151 seat for 33 years. He served as a Democrat for the first 27 of those years before changing over to the Republican party six years ago. He is the state’s only Republican representing a majority (53 percent) African-American district.

Williams, a former Albany police officer, ran unsuccessfully for sheriff of Dougherty County eight years ago, but the Nov. 8 race was to have been his first attempt at seeking a seat in the Georgia Legislature.

Greene said rumors of Williams’ residency issues led him to seek clarification and then to challenge the Democrats’ candidacy.

“I started asking questions and was directed to the reapportionment office,” the Republican legislator said. “When I put his (Shady Glen Lane) address in that office’s computer, it showed him in District 154. I looked at the map that was approved by the Justice Department, and it showed that he was not in (HD 151). By this time, he had already qualified.

“I knew I only had so many days to challenge his candidacy, so I went to the secretary of state’s office to ask what procedures I needed to follow. That was the only conversation I had with that office. If I was going to challenge (Williams’) candidacy, I didn’t want anyone to say the secretary of state was involved in it.”

King disputed Greene’s account.

“If he said he only talked to the secretary of state about the process, he’s a liar,” King said. “There was sworn testimony (during the hearing) that the secretary of state ordered the Dougherty County Elections office to change (Williams’) district, and Gerald Greene knew very well what the process was to challenge an opponent’s qualifications. He did the same thing to Richard Smith in 2012.

“I have no doubt Gerald Greene talked to Brian Kemp before he challenged James Williams’ candidacy.”

Messages sent to Kemp’s office seeking comment were not immediately answered.

The question facing Kemp now, barring a court challenge by Williams, is whether the secretary of state will re-open qualifying in District 151 to give Democrats an opportunity to find another challenger.

“I haven’t really thought a lot about that, but I don’t know why there would be a need to re-open qualifying,” Greene said. “There were people who expressed interest in running, but they chose not to. They had that opportunity, but didn’t take it.

“I’ve been getting calls from all over Dougherty County and all down there in the district since the story (of Walker’s ruling) hit the paper. People are saying, ‘Now it’s time for you to get back to work on the things that are important in our district.’ They’re ready for me to start focusing on jobs and on the issues that matter.”