Clarkston resident to run as Independent against Rep. Hank Johnson

Hien Zaidai Nguyen, a Clarkston resident, has filed a petition to run as an Independent in the Nov. 8 General Election. He is seeking the Fourth Congressional District seat held by long-time Democrat Hank Johnson. The district encompasses portions of DeKalb, Gwinnett and Newton counties and all of Rockdale County. Johnson, who took his seat in Congress in 2006, is now serving his fifth term in office.

Qualifying for Independent candidates was held June 27 to July 1. Georgia’s Secretary of State’s Office qualified candidates running for federal and state offices, while county elections officials qualified local candidates.

Nguyen’s petition has 19,500 signatures, the majority of them from DeKalb and Gwinnett counties, according to Rockdale Supervisor of Elections Cynthia Welch, who was notified because signatures from Rockdale must be verified by her office.

Maxine Daniels, director of DeKalb County’s Voter Registration and Elections Office, said she, too, was notified of Nguyen’s petition and will be verifying signatures and addresses listed in DeKalb. Gwinnett and Newton elections officials also will have to verify the petition.

According to qualifying papers, Nguyen is an accountant. He was born in 1965, Welch said qualifying paperwork shows.