STONECREST, Ga. — A former Stonecrest mayor who served prison time for embezzling COVID-19 funds is ready to get back into politics.
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Last week, Jason Lary qualified to run for the City Council seat in District 5.
“I have a zero balance with the Department of Justice. I’ve paid everything,” Lary told Channel 2’s Tyisha Fernandes.
Former Stonecrest Mayor Jason Lary says he’s ready to serve the people again as a city council member after learning a lot from serving a three-year prison sentence.
A federal judge convicted him of stealing from the city he vowed to serve, when Lary used hundreds of thousands of dollars for personal use, when he was supposed to distribute that money to small businesses during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Lary only served about half of his sentence because he completed an early release program for first-time non-violent offenders.
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He believes he can serve the people better than ever now.
“My life is an open book, and ya’ know, can you imagine going to jail? Well, going to prison because prison is different than jail at 60 years old, and you lose everything. Friends, family, all your personal possessions. I’m starting from the bottom again, as we said earlier. The bottom of the bottomest, and I have to find the God given strength to say I still can do it,” Lary said.
To run for office in Stonecrest, you must meet the following requirements:
- You have to be 21 years old.
- You have to live in the city of Stonecrest for at least one year before you qualify.
- The city clerk has to qualify you to run, and you’re not allowed to have any felony convictions involving moral turpitude unless your civil rights have been restored.
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Lary said DeKalb County has restored his rights and showed Fernandes a document to prove it.
“Don’t throw me away over the mistakes that I made because being the leader of the city of Stonecrest and being its principal creator that I spent years in the legislature putting together and begging them for an opportunity to be our own self-governed body. Allow me the opportunity and give me a second chance to finish that mission. That’s what I’m asking for,” Lary said.
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