Accompanied by supporterson Monday, Mokah Jasmine Johnson travelled from to Atlanta to file the necessary paperwork ahead of the state’s primary election on May 19. Johnson filed with the Democratic Party of Georgia to run for District 117 of the Georgia House of Representatives.
District 117 is currently represented by Republican Houston Gaines and includes parts of Jackson, Barrow, Oconee and Clarke counties. “From economic justice to voting rights and criminal justice reform, there are many people in District 117 who feel like their voices are not being heard,” Johnson said. “I aim to change that.”
Johnson also announced last Friday that she had resigned from her position on the Athens-Clarke County Board of Elections in order to pursue the Democratic Party nomination for the District 117 House race.
Political party candidates have until March 6 to register with their parties for inclusion on the primary election ballot. If necessary, primary runoffs will take place on July 21 to determine the political candidates that will appear on the general election ballot in November.
Johnson is an adult educator, civil rights activist and mother. She has served on the Athens-Clarke County Board of Elections, former Mayor Nancy Denson’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Taskforce, and the Athens-Clarke County Solicitor General’s pre-arrest diversion program. As the former president and co-founder of the nonprofit Athens Anti-Discrimination Movement (AADM) she led successful local efforts to pass an anti-discrimination ordinance and repeal cash bail.