Commissioner George Maxwell Not to Run for Re-Election

For George Maxwell, Kenny Rogers says it all: You got to know when to hold 'em, know when to fold 'em, know when to walk away and know when to run.

At Tuesday's meeting of the Athens Clarke County Commission, District 3 Commissioner Maxwell said he's not running for re-election when his term expires. He's finished.

"I have been asked by many people," he said. "I thought about it. I prayed about it. My prayers were answered—no."

The 75-year-old Maxwell has been a preacher, a mailman and a police officer, the third African American police officer in Athens. He defeated Alvin Sheats for the commission seat in 2002. 

Maxwell isn't a chatterbox during the commission meetings but he was in full throttle during a recent discussion on the renovation of Jack R. Wells Homes, chastising Commissioner Doug Lowry for calling the housing complex a "compound," and insisting they are neighborhoods.