COVINGTON, Ga. — Gabriel M. White announced Thursday his intentions to run for Newton County coroner in an upcoming special election.

A special election is expected to be held after former embattled coroner Dorothea Bailey-Butts resigned May 28. Newton County Probate Judge Melanie Bell appointed former longtime coroner Tommy Davis to serve in the interim. The election should be scheduled between 120 and 365 days from May 28, 2021 — or between Sept. 25, 2021, and May 28, 2022.

If elected, White promises to be “trustworthy, dedicated, dependable and experienced,” a news release stated.

“A Covington native, I am a 2009 graduate of Alcovy High School (Go Tigers!) and my love for our community knows no bounds,” he said. “As the son of Gabriel C. White and the late Tajuana L. Stroud, my family roots run deep in Newton County. I am a proud son of the Springhill Community. I am honored to be a devoted, loving and dutiful father to my son, Kylan, and daughter, Skylar.  As a family, we made a choice to remain in our home county and serve the community that helped shape who we are today.

“I am asking for your trust and the responsibility of being your county Coroner,” White continued. “I will be qualifying in the Special Election for Newton County Coroner when it is announced. My candidacy for Coroner is based on being TRUSTWORTHY, DEDICATED, DEPENDABLE and EXPERIENCED.”

If elected, White said he plans to maintain the following priorities:

• To work tirelessly for the people of Newton County.

• To bring transparency to the Coroner’s Office.

• To compassionately serve those who have lost their lives and the families they leave behind while remaining objective to do the job at hand.

• To ensure thorough follow-ups for all initiatives.

“Together, I will lead this community in comforting those who have lost a loved one while providing professional, courteous service to the law enforcement community and all of Newton County’s citizens,” White said. “Any questions or concerns can be emailed to GWhite4Coroner@GMail.com.”

White will enter the race for coroner as a Democrat like he did for the 2020 election. White campaigned for the coroner’s office in last year’s election, but was defeated by Bailey-Butts in the primaries.

White would bring more than 10 years of experience of working in the local funeral home industry to the coroner’s office. Currently employed by Young-Levett Funeral Home Inc., White said he had also spent time working under Davis as a transporter in recent years.

Coroner is a law enforcement position responsible for such tasks as investigating suspicious deaths and producing death certificates.