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Candidate weighs in on Searles

• Kirk Smith is seeking signatures to join the ballot as an independent candidate in the Dougherty sheriff's race.

J.D. Sumner

ALBANY — The man seeking to become Dougherty County Sheriff as an independent candidate weighed in on the growing controversy surrounding the comments made by a Dougherty County Commissioner in a column in his newspaper, arguing that he too is a viable candidate and that race shouldn't be a factor in the campaign.

Kirk Smith, a candidate for sheriff who is currently on the quest to obtain the signatures required to get on the primary ballot as an independent, called District 5 Commissioner Art Searles' comments in the Albany Southwest Georgian absurd, saying that Searles' comments about race will discredit him in the community leaving him vulnerable to be unseated in his own race.

"Race shouldn't even enter this campaign," Smith said. "A lot of black people in the community and in his district resent his comments, and he and James Williams need to know that. People have seen what damage the Rev. Jeremiah Wright can do to political candidates."

Sheriff candidate Benita Childs held a press conference Wednesday in front of the Southwest Georgian condemning comments made by Searles in a column he wrote about the sheriff's race for the paper's May 7 edition.

In that column, Searles is critical of local civil rights legend Charles Sherrod for throwing his backing behind Childs rather than James Williams, the candidate endorsed by the paper, hinting that Childs was put up to running by what he called the "white power structure" to pull votes away from Williams.

"So let me put it another way, if you vote for Childs, you are voting for the white candidate," Searles wrote.

In an interview with local media after Childs' press conference, Searles defended his remarks as being his personal opinion about the strategy at work in the race and denied Childs' claim that he was a racist.

When asked about Smith, who is also black, and his opinion about Smith's chances to become sheriff, Searles said that the community generally doesn't respond well to independent candidates and that he didn't consider Smith to be a viable candidate in the race.

Smith disagreed Thursday.

"The people like the independent party because we're a party of everyone, Democrats and Republicans," Smith said. "I've got signatures of people who think I've got a shot at being the next sheriff, so obviously his (Searles) opinion is a little off."

Searles is up for re-election to his District 5 commission seat and is being challenged by contractor Harry James.

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