Lao-tsu once said: "To lead people, walk beside them..."

Walking beside people has been the story of our candidate's life. The son of a truck driver and house wife, Mr. and Mrs. John Taylor Walker, Sr., John was born and reared in McRae, Georgia where he began to excel in academics and on the basketball court early in life. It was in Telfair County, Georgia that he would become known as "Little John", the smart little basketball player.

Having completed the college prep curriculum at Telfair County High School, where he was a basketball star, he matriculated to Brewton Parker College in Mount Vernon where he continued to play basketball; he later transferred to Georgia College where he would give up his basketball career and devote his attention and energies to his studies and preparation for a career in law enforcement.

Having received the Bachelor of Science Degree in Criminal Justice, John accepted his first position in law enforcement as a parole officer in Dublin, Georgia. As a parole officer, John developed a deep passion and compassion for the men and women that he supervised, and while firmly believing that all offenders must pay their debt to society, must complete a period of punishment and rehabilitation, his experience and passion also led him to believe in the great possibilities of a man to re-enter society and build a productive life for himself and those around him. As a parole officer, he saw his task as walking with parolees and leading them "from where they were to where they had never been."

It was also during this time that he married his college sweetheart, Marcy Smith, who was a hometown girl in Dublin.

While John's successes did not come easy, opportunities presented themselves, and after serving as an assistant chief parole officer and a district chief parole officer in South Georgia, he seized the moment by moving to Atlanta and becoming the Director of Drug Violence Prevention and Education for the State of Georgia Board of Pardons and Paroles. This afforded him further opportunities to share the passion that he had developed for those who had become offenders. More importantly, it would afford him the challenge of working toward educating youth and young adults before they became offenders. With the great increase in young offenders and with the growing fears of society, he was willing to confront unequivocally this major anxiety of the people of this time by reaching the young before the offense rather than post offense. Making strides in this area while still being a young husband and becoming the father of their first son, John Taylor Walker, III (Taylor) was a challenge but a challenge that was welcomed.

After serving two years as Director of Drug Violence Prevention and Education, John was promoted and appointed as Executive Assistant to the Board of Pardons and Paroles and would spend the next four years continuing his work in helping to educate youth during the pre-offense years, but he would also expand his work in facilitating the transition of offenders back into society through his work directly with the parolees, the board, and especially through his collaboration and networking with the state legislators, lawmakers, and other state officials. Much of his time would be spent at the Capitol seeking to influence and help guide policies which affect the lives of youth, pre-offenders, post offenders, etc. All of this work was especially important because of his continued partnership with the various parole officers throughout the state while serving as President of the Parole Association of Georgia.

As opportunities for growth and service continued, John, Marcy, and Taylor purchased their first home in Clayton County and became the neighbor of those he now seeks to serve as state representative.  After being in Clayton County for more than five years, John and Marcy’s family grew from three to four with the birth of their second son, Brandon, and it became obvious that Clayton County would be home:  the place where they would grow, the place where their sons would grow , be educated, and meet their first friends, the place where they would be active on the community and civic scene, the place where they would struggle with their neighbors and friends to build a better community and a better world, the place where they would serve those around them.

Yes, Clayton County would become home, but not a home just for comfort but a home where he could serve people by walking with them, a place where he could love the citizens by walking with them, a place where he could watch children grow strong by walking with their parents, a place where he could nurture senior citizens by walking with them, a place where he now seeks to serve by leading them – as their state representative – by walking with them – as their state representative.

"Great leaders are almost always great simplifiers, who can cut through argument, debate, and doubt to offer a solution everybody can understand." - General Colin Powell