Fayette developer Jim Pace has announced he will join the contest to replace Lynn Westmoreland as Third District congressman.
Westmoreland announced earlier this month he will not seek reelection this year, saying he wants to open the seat to someone else while he considers what he will do next in service to Georgia, whether as a gubernatorial candidate in 2018 or some other role.
In the meantime, three candidates have now stepped forward saying they want to take the baton from Westmoreland in January 2017. Republican State Senator Mike Crane of Coweta County announced his candidacy last week at the State Capitol. West Point Mayor Drew Ferguson announced his candidacy on Monday of this week. Pace announced his intentions on Wednesday.
Pace says he a businessman and not a politician, but he also says he believes that will work in his favor.
“We need people who normally would not run to run,” Pace said. “And that’s what I’m doing.”
Pace, who is perhaps best known recently for helping establish Pinewood Atlanta Studios in Fayetteville, is a long-time Peachtree City resident and CEO of Group VI, a real estate and construction firm he co-founded in the 1980s.
Pace and is wife Mary have three children and eight grandchildren.
