The status of one potential candidate who hopes to run for the Dougherty County at large school board seat remains up in the air. But the Dougherty County board of elections did decide that Terrance Wilson did not qualify to run in November.
The board voted at their meeting Wednesday.
Terrance Wilson needed just over 400 signatures on nomination petitions to qualify. That's five percent of registered voters in his district.
But only 86 signatures could be verified. The board voted unanimously that he was not qualified to run.
"I was surprised, but then again I knew it's a process. I'm not disappointed, I'm not upset. I'm more so disappointed with the school system, with what we have going on with our kids," said Wilson.
Lorenzo Heard, needs close to 3,000 signatures since he's trying for the at large seat. Today the supervisor of election told the board her office is still verifying those.
If, Heard qualifies, he'll have to run against Lane Price, who just won in the Democratic Primary.
Lane Price, who beat out incumbent Anita Williams-Brown for the at large school board seat, says all along she knew that there was a possibility of an independent running against her.
And Lorenzo Heard, the pastor of the Greater Second Mount Olive Baptist Church, is the person trying to do just that.
"As long as somebody has followed the law, that's fine. I've been elected by a good number of votes, and if someone challenges me legally that's fine. Of course I'd love to not to have to do more campaigning, but I feel totally confident from the support that I received during the campaign and the innumerable phone calls I've had since the campaign that I'll be able to win a second time," said Dr. Lane Price, School Board.
Heard had to turn in his notification of candidacy and pay a fee by August 3rd. He also had to submit close to 3,000 signatures on a nomination petition by August 6th.
Heard says he's not running because Williams-Brown lost, but because he wants to make a difference.
If Price is elected, it would switch the board from majority black to majority white. But she says the election should not be about race.
"Surely we have gotten to the point that we can look at things not from the color of people's skin, but from their character. And I will say that I ran for this position feeling that this was something I could contribute to the school system. And obviously the population felt the same thing because I was elected," said Price.
We hoped to interview Reverend Heard Wednesday, but he has not returned our phone calls this week.
The elections office should finish going over all the signatures by next week, then the board of elections will call a special meeting to take action on Lorenzo Heard's candidacy.
Terrence Wilson hoped to run for Velvet Riggins' seat. She is suspended and awaiting trial on charges of falsifying free school lunch documents.
If she's convicted, she won't be able to run for re-election.
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