Keisler announces candidacy for Senate District 20 seat

A vice president of an education software company announced Wednesday he will seek the state Senate District 20 seat.

“I’m running to represent our community with honor and integrity,” said Brooks Keisler, who lives with his family in Bonaire.

He said some of the main planks in his platform will concern education and small business. It will be his first run for elected office.

A Warner Robins native, Keisler is a 1999 graduate of Warner Robins High School, and he later received a speech communication degree from Georgia Southern University. He is working on his masters degree in learning, design and technology from the University of Georgia. He is the executive vice president of national partnerships for LTS Education Systems.

Four other people have declared for the race so far: Kathleen businessman Larry Walker III, Perry businessman Michael Reece, Warner Robins youth minister Vivian Childs and Laurens County businessman Jon Martin. All five are Republicans.

District 20 covers most of Houston County plus all of Bleckley, Laurens and Pulaski counties.

The special election was triggered by the announced midterm departure of incumbent state Sen. Ross Tolleson, R-Perry, who will retire at the end of the month due to an early onset Alzheimer’s disease diagnosis.

The election winner will fill the roughly one year remaining in Tolleson’s term. The state has not yet set a date for the special election or a deadline for qualifying.

To contact writer Andy M. Drury, call 744-4477 or find him on Twitter@MaconPaperboy.

This story was originally published October 14, 2015 at 5:14 PM with the headline "Keisler announces candidacy for Senate District 20 seat ."