A Dahlonega man has been disqualified from running for Lumpkin County Board of Commissioners.
Chester Dole, a former leader of the Ku Klux Klan, is a convicted felon. According to state law, convicted felons cannot hold office. However, if they get their civil rights restored and at least 10 years have passed from the time they completed their sentence, then they can hold an elected position.
In 2004 we reported that Chester Doles was sentenced to almost six years in prison. He was arrested in March 2003 when federal agents raided his home and found a dozen guns. He was sentenced on firearms charges. At the time, federal agents say Doles served as state leader for the National Alliance.
Doles was released from federal prison in 2007, meaning that the 10-year time period has passed to be qualified for an elected position. However, according to CBS46, no state officials have any records of Doles getting his rights restored. The Lumpkin County Board of Commissioners also don’t have documents that his rights were ever restored.
Dole says he is contacting the Secretary of State to get a status on his campaign.
Dole has been a very vocal activist on issues such as Critical Race Theory. He said education would be one of his top priorities. In an interview with CBS 46 he said, “My main policy would be the guardian of the educational system of Lumpkin County, to keep out Critical Race Theory,” Doles said. “It’s Marxist. It’s trying to put a sense of white guilt into young white children. It needs to be abolished.”
In that interview Dole spoke about American patriotism and woke culture. He also compared his previous arrests to those of other civil rights activities, including Hosea Williams and John Lewis. He was also quoted as saying he is a changed man.
Dole indicated he would fight the disqualification, stating that he had already spent lots of money on campaign ads and marketing materials.
