Clayton County Board of Education (BOE) Member Dr. Aleika Anderson has stepped down from her position as Vice-Chair and District 8 Representative.
“I have officially resigned and I look forward to serving the people of District 1,” Anderson said in an exclusive interview with the Atlanta Voice.
Dr. Anderson announced last month her intention to run for District 1 Representative on the Clayton County Board of Commissioners (BOC) last month.
The seat was vacated after long-time Commissioner Sonna Singleton Gregory passed away in May.
Article 2, Section 2, paragraph 5 of the Georgia State Constitution states that an elected official’s seat is declared vacant when that person qualifies to run for a different seat.
This applies to state, county and municipal elected officials who have qualified for a primary, general or special election for any state, county or municipal seat or a seat in the U.S. Senate or House of Representatives.
“I just think it’s not fair for the people, citizens still need a voice — I think I should stay in my seat until the race is finished,” Anderson said.
Anderson’s seat was declared vacant July 21 when she officially qualified for the Board of Commissioners special election to be held September 21.
“We thought we could appoint someone to fill the seat but we can’t,” Clayton County BOE Chair Jessie Goree said. “We have to have a special election.”
The date of the special election to fill Anderson’s seat has not yet been scheduled. According to Goree, the district is considering scheduling it for September 21 if possible.
Editor’s Note: A previous version of this article stated that Clayton County Board of Education Member Dr. Aleika Anderson was told to step down to run for Board of Commissioners. Anderson stated that she has now resigned.
