DeKalb County Commissioner Jeff Rader has announced that he won’t be seeking re-election.
The four-term commissioner from District 2 — which covers parts of the Brookhaven, Druid Hills and Decatur areas in northwestern DeKalb — thanked supporters, colleagues and constituents during his comments at the end of a Tuesday morning commission meeting.
“I’m honored to have served without opposition since my election in 2006, and that I remain so today,” he said.
Rader said he will serve out the remainder of his term, which runs through the end of the year.
His announcement came in the middle of this week’s candidate qualifying period.
“Because I care deeply for DeKalb’s future, I’ll soon endorse a candidate to succeed me and encourage voters to learn and decide for themselves,” Rader said.
He did not provide further information on who that person might be.
Two other DeKalb commission seats are also on the ballot this election season. Sitting commissioners Larry Johnson (District 3 in southwest DeKalb) and Lorraine Cochran-Johnson (Super District 7, which covers the eastern half of DeKalb) have already qualified to run for re-election.
Both will have at least one challenger for May 24′s Democratic primary.
Andrew Walter Bell qualified Monday to challenge Johnson.
Gregory Adams, a former commissioner who lost to Cochran-Johnson in 2018, has qualified for a rematch in that district.
