Elizabeth Osborne Williams, a Paulding County attorney, withdrew this morning as the sole candidate in the contest to replace her father, Superior Court Judge James R. Osborne.
Judge Osborne had signed up as a candidate for re-election on March 3, and his daughter had signed up as his sole opposition four days later, as qualifying closed.
Judge Osborne withdrew as a candidate the next Monday, leaving his daughter as the only candidate in the race to replace him. My AJC colleague Steve Visser had the following on Saturday:
"We're not pursuing any ethical charges," he said, noting the agreement stopped Osborne from re-qualifying.
What happens next? Jared Thomas, spokesman for Secretary of State Brian Kemp, said state law does not permit a renewed qualifying period for the judgeship. “We’ve never had anything like this before,” Thomas said.
So next year, Gov. Nathan Deal – or Gov. Jason Carter, will get a free judicial appointment. And voters will be deprived of an opportunity to weigh in.
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