August 29, 2019–3:00 a.m.

STAFF REPORTS

One of the candidates for Rome City Commission has announced his withdrawal from the race.

In 2005, while a school board member and lobbyist in Chattanooga Charles Love got tangled up in the Operation Tennessee Waltz bribery sting conducted by the FBI.

Love pleaded guilty, cooperated with investigators and served less than a year in federal prison.

Since then, he served on various boards and committees and has been a voice for the revitalization of North Rome.

He recently petitioned the Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles to restore his civil and political rights, which they did under Article IV, Section II, Paragraph II of the Georgia Constitution.

However, Love said in a statement issued Wednesday that “Since offering my candidacy, a provision of the prior Article II of the State Constitution, with which I was not familiar, has been raised as an issue to bar my candidacy.  In addition to the requirement that rights must have been restored, Article II requires that at least 10 years must have elapsed since completion of my sentence.  That will occur within several months.”

Love’s departure from the race leaves five candidates seeking three seats in Ward 1.  They are incumbents Milton Slack, Bill Irmscher and Sundai Stevenson, along with Mark Cochran and Jim Bojo.