By Logan C. Ritchie, contributor 

DeKalb County, GA — DeKalb County Elections Board held a special called meeting today, Feb. 18, to certify the special election for the House District 90 seat. The Elections Board is scheduled to meet Feb. 19 for its monthly meeting, and only met today at the urging of the Georgia Secretary of State’s office.

“It is my understanding because we have not certified this election, we were delaying them of certifying some of the other elections around the state,” said Sam Tillman, board chair.

According to the Secretary of State’s Office, 3,006 people cast their ballot in the Feb. 9 election to fill the seat of former state Rep. Pam Stephenson, whose daughter used a power of attorney to announce her mother’s resignation in September due to Stephenson’s personal health issues. HD 90 includes parts of DeKalb, Henry and Rockdale Counties. The runoff election will be held on March 9.

Former county commissioner Stan Watson received 847 votes, drawing 28.18 percent of all votes cast. Angela Moore, a public relations specialist, received 510 votes, drawing 16.97 percent of the vote.

Watson served for 10 years in the Legislature, and is a former head of the Legislative Black Caucus and the DeKalb delegation. He previously served as a DeKalb County Commissioner and was implicated in federal corruption investigations. After resigning from office, Watson pleaded guilty to a charge of theft by conversion for stealing $3,000 meant to cover the cost of government trips.

Moore in 2015 was disqualified from running State Senate District 43 office because she didn’t live in the district, according to The Rockdale Citizen.

Writer George Chidi contributed to this story. 

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