Democrat bows out of Gwinnett County Commission race

A Democratic candidate for the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners has decided he doesn’t want to run after all.

Derek Johnson, an information technology director from Lawrenceville, recently filed to run for the District 1 commission seat held by incumbent Republican Jace Brooks. Johnson told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution Thursday he has changed his mind and will not seek the office. He did not explain why he changed his mind.

Unless an independent candidate files to run for his seat, Brooks now is unopposed in his bid for a second term.

Until Johnson's decision to bow out, it looked like Democrats would run a full slate of candidate for the County Commission for only the second time since 1990.