Newton Commissioner John Douglas Won’t Seek Re-Election

Newton County District 1 Commissioner John Douglas will not seek re-election, according to a story in the Covington News. The former state senator plans to spend time with his family, including new grandsons expected this summer. Douglas was quoted by the News as saying,

Careful prayer, the approaching birth of our twin grandsons and the fact that I have given our nation, state and county more than 33 years of service now lead me to believe it is time to step aside and not be a candidate this year.

I will leave elected office knowing I have done exactly as I said I would do when campaigning for each office. I can hold my head up high and look citizens in the face knowing they were not double crossed, not fooled, not surprised by what I did in office. Their confidence in me all these years is something I will value and cherish the rest of my life.

Douglas’s term as county commissioner was marred last summer when he made a racially insensitive comment on a Facebook post, writing about a black woman expressing her dissatisfaction with the American flag. “She is just a cheap, street walker knee grow who lays down for white men,” Douglas wrote. The comment was later deleted. The incident, for which he later apologized, led to Congressman Hank Johnson calling for his resignation.

After serving in the State House and State Senate from 2005-2011. He left the Senate after choosing to run against Tim Echols for a seat on the Public Service Commission in 2010. He was elected to the Newton Commission in 2012.

Who might replace Douglas on the Newton Commission? According to someone familiar with his plans, Nathan Bradley will announce his candidacy for the seat on Friday. Bradley is the Georgia State Trooper who received recognition from Governor Deal and the Georgia House after taking care of four young children last Halloween night following the death of their parents in a car accident. The alternative would have had the children spend the night in jail until relatives from Florida arrived.