Warner Robins council candidate who served prison time withdraws candidacy

John Williams, a former Warner Robins city councilman convicted of a felony, has withdrawn his candidacy for council.

Williams qualified last week to run for the Post 6 seat he formerly held.

A hearing was set Tuesday for Williams to make a case as to why he should be able to run, despite having served time in federal prison. But on Monday Williams sent a letter to the city elections office stating he was withdrawing his candidacy.

He said when he researched whether he could qualify, there was a misunderstanding about his legal status.

Although he has served his time, he said he has an appeal of his conviction pending and he expects “to receive a favorable determination at most any time.”

Williams served four years on council and had a series of run-ins with police. He maintained his innocence in each of the cases but was soundly defeated in his re-election attempt in 2011 by Mike Davis.

Among other instances, Williams was charged with falsely reporting that his cellphone was stolen during a Waffle House visit. The charge was later dismissed.

Williams faced federal indictment on charges of extortion related to the attempted purchase of a used vehicle for the police department.

He was later convicted and sentenced to prison. Williams served 11 months of a 15 month sentence.

This story was originally published August 28, 2019 at 11:30 AM.