DeKalb County, GA — Public relations specialist Angela Moore has defeated former county commissioner Stan Watson in the March 9 House District 90 runoff election.

Moore received 1,626 votes. Watson received 1,130 votes.

Moore has been elected to 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.

Watson beat Moore by 11 points in the Feb. 9 election, but neither cleared the 50 percent threshold to win the race outright. Four other candidates took part in that election.

In a prior interview with Decaturish, Moore vowed to be an inclusive state representative to her constituents if elected.

“We haven’t had that and I feel like that’s what we really need,” she said. “People don’t even know who their representative is. I want to be engaged with the community.”

Moore’s top priority would be education.

“I’m really interested in trying to get the state or the feds to pay for technical colleges because what we know for sure is that the people who go to technical colleges open up their own businesses,” she said.

She also wants to persuade the state and the Biden administration to increase access to healthcare and housing.

“We’re getting ready to go into a housing crisis that’s going to be awful,” Moore said. “DeKalb found out what kind of crisis we’re really in when they put out that rental help.”

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 Patrick Saunders contributed to this story. 

If you appreciate our work on this story, please become a paying supporter. For as little as $3 a month, you can help us keep you in the loop about your community. To become a supporter, click here.