Athens native Michael Thurmond announced today that he will seek the top elected position in DeKalb County, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported.

Thurmond, a Democrat, represented Clarke County in the Georgia House of Representatives from 1987–92. He was elected state labor commissioner in 1998, a post he left in 2010 in a failed bid to unseat U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson.

After the election, Thurmond joined the high-powered law firm Butler Wooten Cheeley & Peak.

Gov. Nathan Deal tapped him as interim superintendent of DeKalb’s troubled school system in 2013. The district hired a permanent superintendent in July, after Thurmond helped secure re-accreditation.

Interim CEO Lee May, appointed by Deal to replace Burrell Ellis, who was indicted on perjury and extortion charges in 2013 and later convicted, is not seeking re-election.