Karlton Howard elected House District 129 representative, carrying out late brother's legacy

Georgia's House District 129 will continue to be represented by the Howard family.

Karlton Howard, one of the older brothers of the late Rep. Henry "Wayne" Howard, won the special election for his brother's seat as representative of the house district on Tuesday.

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Howard was born and raised in Augusta, is a pastor at Noah's Ark Missionary Baptist Church in Keysville, and is a newcomer to politics. However, he has served as a member of the Augusta Aviation Commission and various local advisory boards. Howard was moved to join this race as a way of carrying on the legacy of his late brother as well as their father, Rep. Henry L. Howard of Georgia House District 121.

"They were for the people, they represented people, did stuff for the people, and they were not self centered," Howard said. "I thought, to continue that legacy, it would be an honor."

The newly elected representative said he has that same kind of mentality, and will bring that into the work. One of the issues he is particularly interested in is education, getting much needed resources to teachers and endorsing a grant from Gov. Brian Kemp to better fund early childhood learning for ages 3-5 so they are better prepared for early grades. Howard also looks to be an active part of any efforts to improve living conditions for the elderly.

After the results came in around 8:30 p.m. Tuesday, Howard said he is humbled to carry forward the family's legacy and sent thanks to all of his supporters.

"We have so much support from a diverse group of people and we could not have done this without them," he said.

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Howard won 68.38% of the vote, while private security contractor Brad Owens received 16.43%, project manager Scott Cambers 9.22% and Georgia Southern University student Davis Green 5.97%. About 7.82% of voters cast their ballots.

Richmond County Board of Elections Director Travis Doss said the election went smoothly and was pretty quiet. He said they were hoping for at least 10%, but the turnout was about what they were expecting. Doss attributed the low turnout to a variety of factors such as bad weather, this being a special election, and that this was not a county-wide election.

This article originally appeared on Augusta Chronicle: Karlton Howard elected Georgia House District 129 Representative