Atmore City Council member Susan Smith has qualified to run as the Democratic Party candidate for the open state Senate seat in District 22. This seat was previously held by Marc Keahey of Grove Hill.

Keahey qualified for re-election by the deadline but then withdrew, leaving the district with no Democratic Party candidate. The Alabama Democratic Party’s executive committee established May 30 as the deadline for individuals to qualify to fill the vacancy.

Smith was the lone qualifier, and will advance to the November general election. She will face the winner of a July 15 run-off election between Republicans Greg Albritton and Harry D’Olive.

“I truly feel honored and somewhat overwhelmed at the same time,” Smith said. “It will be a task that will prove to be hard, yet rewarding to me and all those in District 22 when I am elected.”

Smith has served 11 years as the lead nurse for the Escambia County Board of Education. Prior to her position with the board of education, Smith spent 12 years as supervisor of blood services for the American Red Cross in the Atmore area and surrounding counties.

She has been a member of the Atmore City Council since 2012.

“I am not afraid to stand firm on what is right,” she said. “I will be your voice. This district will be my priority.”

Nancy Worley, chair of the Alabama Democratic Party, said that Smith would be an effective senator for the district.

“Susan Smith’s government experience, membership in organizations as diverse as AEA and ALFA, her volunteer service, and her work with the Red Cross, Leadership Alabama, Escambia County School Board, and other organizations prepared her for the Alabama state Senate,” Worley said. “She will represent the people of District 22 quite well.”

For more on this story, see the Wednesday, June 11, edition of The Atmore Advance.