Two candidates have emerged for the District 71 seat in the Ga. House of Representatives being vacated by Robert Stokely before he could be sworn in. Qualifying for the Feb. 5 special election will be held Jan. 7-9, but Darryl Marmon and David Stover have already announced their candidacy for the House seat that includes east Coweta County and portions of the west side of Peachtree City.
Marmon was the only candidate running in opposition to Stokely for the Dist. 71 seat in the July primary. Marmon is a Sharpsburg attorney promising ethical, conservative leadership in the General Assembly.
“As a proud conservative, I believe in the principle that the government that governs the least, governs the best. I am not a career politician. I am a husband and father who is concerned about our children’s future and what’s best for our community. As your representative, my top priority will be improving our economy through less spending and lower taxes and passing strong ethics reform that will make our government accountable to the people – not the special interests,” said Marmon. “I am running because now more than ever our families need and deserve an ethical, conservative leader they can trust to champion our interests and values.”
Stover is president of the advertising and business development company BrightNight Media, Inc. and serves as the executive coordinator of Coweta TEA Party Patriots. He is a resident of north Coweta County who advocates for a constitutionally-limited government and promises to work to keep taxes low.
“We lose more of our freedoms at the state and local levels of government. We have a strong group of committed people in our area willing to spend their personal time to stop government overreach and excessive taxation. The next logical step is to bring it to the state level and continue my work there,” Stover said. “I have no doubt that Robert (Stokely) would have been an excellent state representative and he will be an equally great magistrate judge. In light of Robert’s appointment, I would be honored to represent the 71st district in his place.”
The special election will be held on Feb. 5 and qualifying will take place on Jan. 7-9.
Dist. 71 includes large portions of east Coweta County and portions of the west side of Peachtree City in the areas north of Ga. Highway 54 and west of Ga. Highway 74.
Qualifying for the special election will be held in the Elections Division of the Office of Secretary of State, 802 West Tower, 2 Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive, SE, Atlanta. The dates and hours of qualifying will be Monday, Jan. 7 beginning at 9 a.m. and ending at 5 p.m.; on Tuesday, Jan. 8 beginning at 8 a.m. and ending at 5 p.m.; and Wednesday, Jan. 9 beginning at 8 a.m. and ending at 12 o’clock noon. The qualifying fee is $400.
Stokely opted to forego the House seat in favor of serving in the full-time capacity as a Coweta County Magistrate Judge.
Stokely last week said Dist. 70 Rep. Lynn Smith and Dist. 72 Rep. Matt Ramsey, “have graciously agreed to cover constituent needs and be a point of contact for the citizens of Dist. 71 during the interim time while the Dist. 71 representative is being selected.”
