Charles Mays admits constituents often ask him why a construction contractor is running for Probate Court.   He points out he has a law degree from St. Louis University and had originally started down the path to a legal career.

“You get started in life and you take twists and turns. My kids are old enough that I can start living my dream,” said the 56-year-old. This is his first time running for elected office.

“I wanted to work in my latter years serving the community. I wanted to exercise my legal education as well,” he explained. “ I’m interested in the probate court. Especially to help those that are adults that are mentally ill and mentally challenged. “

 “Often times they come before the courts and they don’t have any support. They often don’t have places to live so they become wards of the state through the prison system. That’s one of the areas I’d like to work on and emphasize. People often don’t want to become their guardians because of the hassles they have to go through and they don’t have a lot of money. “

He and his family experienced some of those hassles while handling his older brother, who recently passed away. 

He said if he were elected, he would bring a “new energy to the office. To be able to expand the services that the office provides so I’ll be able to include some of the things on mental issues.”

“I would be able to bring all of my skills together to advance the office of Probate Judge so we are serving the community to our fullest and expanding to service in certain areas where the court system is lacking.” 

He said his experience as a small business owner has made him used to operating on a tight budget. “We’ll hopefully be able to expand the number of employees in the office to cover more areas,” he said.

Mays grew up in St. Louis, Missouri, and received his undergraduate degree in political science from University of Missouri, St. Louis. He came to the Atlanta area in 1985 and moved to Conyers eight years ago. He has four children aged 13 to 24.

“I liked the family atmosphere. It seemed like a good place to raise my family. Everything seemed to be growing.”

Mays has served on the board of the nonprofit Ceek-2-Fulfill, which assists at-risk youth that age out of the foster care system. 

Mays will be running against Caycie Dix, who previously announced her intent to run, for the Democratic nomination for Probate Court judge.