Local & State Headlines

Fullerton to run for House Seat 151

• An Albany Water Gas & Light Commission board member will run for a State House seat.

Joshua Brown

ALBANY — Former Albany City Commissioner Carol Fullerton is scheduled to announce her candidacy for the State House District 151 seat at 10 a.m. today in front of the Albany/Dougherty Government Center.

Fullerton, who considered a mayoral bid last year and has served on the Albany City Commission and the Water, Gas & Light commission board, said she first contemplated a run for the house seat after outgoing Rep. Freddie Powell Sims asked her to think about it last week.

With qualifying set to begin April 28, she had to make up her mind quickly. After talking with several friends and advisers, Fullerton said she made the decision to pursue the seat Tuesday.

“All of that kind of coalesced yesterday (Tuesday),” she said. “There was one last meeting of everybody and they said they would support me, and here I am.”

Sims made her formal announcement to leave the House of Representatives to seek the District 12 Senate seat Tuesday.

“(Fullerton) brings to this seat years of public service and hard work and would make a good choice for the state Legislature simply for her ability to get things done,” Sims said Wednesday. “Carol is a good friend as well as a person I know can do the job.”

Albany State Farm insurance agent Jay Kimbro, who had also considered a run for the District 151 seat, said he decided not to pursue the candidacy after hearing of Fullerton’s decision to run.

Fullerton’s qualifications and several business ventures of his own, Kimbro said, all played a part in his decision not to run.

“Oh yeah, I talked to several people about it (running for the seat),” he said. “(But) she is extremely qualified, and I think she would do an excellent job.”

Kimbro said he is not ruling out a possible legislative run in the future, though.

“I definitely in the future would like to put myself in a position to give back to a city that has given much to me,” he said. “Because I am passionate about Albany.”

Fullerton said she wanted to address issues such as health care, education, economic development, city transportation and natural resources if elected to the state legislative body.

“It’s sort of a ‘what isn’t an issue?’ these days,” she said when asked what issues she thought needed to be addressed in the legislature.

While she plans to run as a Democrat, her “moderate standpoint” on issues will allow her to work across the aisle with Republicans, she said.

“I’m a Democrat, but I’ve been around long enough to know that there are other people who have other ideas about how to do things,” she said. “What I want is the best for Albany and Dougherty County and Southwest Georgia.”

Fullerton, who has served two terms on the Albany City Commission, said several others had considered running for the seat, including City Commissioners Jon Howard and Dorothy Hubbard, Kevin Hogencamp and Sandy Hilsman.

Hubbard said Wednesday that she decided not to run for the seat about a week ago because of other personal commitments, including her Ward 2 City Commission seat, which doesn’t expire until 2009.

“If I were going to do it, I would want to be a good representative of the people of the district,” she said. “I think Carol will be a good person (to fill the seat). She will be concerned about the people of Southwest Georgia and give them a voice.

“That’s what we need, someone who will work for us and who understands our needs and will take them to Atlanta.”

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