Kenneth Zachary to seek state House District 151 seat as Democrats’ ‘backup plan’

ALBANY — A Southwest Georgia pastor who was recently disqualified from running for Calhoun County sheriff announced Tuesday that he will seek to become an independent candidate for the House District 151 seat currently held by Cuthbert Republican Gerald Greene.

The Rev. Kenneth Zachary Jr. announced Tuesday that he will be the Democratic Party of Georgia’s “backup plan” in the state House District 151 race.

In a news conference held on the courtyard of the downtown Albany Government Center, Zachary, a former Arlington City Council member, said he’s ready to “step in and fill my friend James Williams’ shoes.” Albany attorney Maurice King, who has represented disqualified Democratic candidate Williams in Williams’ attempt to challenge Greene and who was at Tuesday’s news conference, acknowledged that Zachary had been disqualified from the Calhoun County sheriff’s race.

“Any (legal issues) that had happened with Rev. Zachary happened in 1992,” King said. “The Georgia Constitution says that as long as someone hasn’t been convicted of a felony in the last 10 years, he is still qualified to run for the State House.

“In his (qualification) hearing (for the Calhoun sheriff’s race), no evidence was presented that Rev. Zachary was guilty of a crime. There was only an accusation.”

King said he expected Zachary to drop his appeal in that matter so that he could focus on the HD 151 seat.

Williams qualified as a Democrat to run against Greene for the HD 151 seat, but was disqualified by Secretary of State Brian Kemp’s office when state officials determined Williams’ Shady Glen Lane home is not located within the district. The eligibility issue surfaced when Greene challenged Williams’ eligibility.

Administrative Law Judge Ronit Walker ruled at a hearing in Atlanta that Williams was ineligible to seek the HD 151 seat because of residency issues, and an initial appeals ruling by Fulton County Presiding Judge Tom Campbell confirmed Walker’s ruling. That appeal, though, is still pending in the Fulton County court.

Williams declared Tuesday that, despite previous rulings, he will continue his challenge.

“It’s a sad day in Dougherty County, in the state of Georgia and in our nation that someone in this day would be denied his constitutional rights,” Williams said at the news conference. “My question today is who will be the next victim of the secretary of state’s office?

“I am continuing my fight for the long haul because of this injustice. Both the secretary of state’s office and the local elections office have admitted their errors (in the qualifying process), but my candidacy is still being denied. I plan to keep campaigning in all nine counties in the district so that I don’t fall too far behind, but if my appeal is denied I ask the voters in the district to sign the petition that will allow Rev. Zachary to qualify as an independent candidate and to reward him for stepping up to the plate.”

HD 151 includes all or parts of Dougherty, Calhoun, Clay, Quitman, Randolph, Stewart and Terrell counties.

Zachary, who served as part of the Arlington city government from 1996-2000, is a U.S. Army veteran who now preaches at three small churches in the region. He asked HD 151 voters to “give me a chance to stand in my friend James Williams’ shoes.”

“Those are some big shoes to fill,” Zachary said. “But I’m ready for the challenge. Obviously, it’s a much bigger territory (than the city of Arlington), and all of the communities in the district have their own particular concerns. But I’m prepared to find the needs of each county in the district and address the concerns of each one.

“Gerald Greene does not want health care and Medicaid to be expanded, but that’s something this region needs. It’s not right for one man to make a decision that impacts so many people (negatively). I believe people in HD 151 are being treated unfairly, and I want to be the voice for them.”

Zachary did not mention his disqualification in Calhoun County during the news conference.

To qualify as an independent candidate, Zachary must get the signatures of 5 percent of the registered voters in the district who were active during the last HD 151 election (an estimated 1,200 to 1,500). That list must be approved by Kemp’s office. Independent qualifying will run from June 27 until noon on July 12.

Greene, who was speaking Tuesday at a convention on Amelia Island, said he hadn’t heard who might seek to qualify as an independent candidate, but that he expected the state Democratic Party to try and find a candidate.

“We have one independent legislator among the state Legislature,” Greene said. “There’s a reason for that. The views of independent candidates don’t really fit in in the state government.

“I look at this as just the continuation of the political process, but you do get a little tired of it after a while. At some point, we need to focus on the needs of our district.”

King insisted, as he has since Williams’ disqualification, that Kemp’s ruling is based on partisan politics.

“I believe that Mr. Williams has been disqualification for partisan gains,” King said. “I don’t believe you can trust a secretary of state’s office that is about as partisan as it gets. That’s why we’re introducing the Rev. Kenneth Zachary today as a ‘backup plan’ in the HD 151 race.

“We think that’s important so that, no matter what happens from a legal perspective, we will still have an opportunity to elect a representative who actually represents the values of the people of this district.”

King said Walker did not consider all pertinent issues in her ruling, offering media representatives a handout that said, in part: “Respondent was denied due process of law when his district was changed, … denied constitutional and statutory right to appeal the decision to the Superior Court of Dougherty County, … the secretary of state’s office unlawfully instructed the (Dougherty County elections) board to change respondent’s district from 151 to 154.”

Zachary and King said supporters are canvassing neighborhoods throughout District 151 seeking signatures that would allow the former’s independent candidacy.

Greene said he would not comment on Zachary’s disqualification in Calhoun County at this time.