McCarley, long-shot candidate for Georgia governor, dies

<p>William George "Mac" McCarley, a chain-smoking, straight-shooting Democrat who made an unsuccessful, long-shot 2006 bid for Georgia governor, has died, his family said. He was 79.</p><p>"I guarantee he didn't give up. He fought all of this," said his daughter, Sherry Newman.</p><p>The colorful Stockbridge resident died Wednesday from lung cancer.</p><p>McCarley, who previously lived in the Prattville area and served in the Alabama state Senate, acknowledged he didn't have much chance to become Georgia's governor last year, but figured he had a shot.</p><p>A retired Navy veteran, McCarley was elected to the Alabama Senate in 1966. After a newspaper story linked him to a scheme to take $3,500 from the Fraternal Order of Police to help move a pension bill, McCarley became the first person kicked out of the Alabama Senate.</p><p>He was later found not guilty and successfully sued state officials in federal court. He was readmitted to the Senate but did not run for re-election in 1970.</p><p>McCarley eventually moved to Georgia to be near four of his five grandchildren. Out of politics since the 1960s, he ran for governor on a pledge to help veterans, improve education and streamline government.</p><p>McCarley hoped to force the race into runoff by finishing a competitive third. He finished fourth.</p><p>"I'm wore out," he said the night of the July 18 primary. "Was it fun? Yeah."</p><p>McCarley is survived by his wife, Helen; four daughters; one son; 15 grandchildren; and two great-grandchildren. Services will be held Monday, with a public viewing at 10 a.m. and the service following at 11 a.m., both at Cornerstone Baptist Church in Stockbridge.</p><p>Elmore County. From Prattville.</p><p>___</p><p>HASH(0x1cdbd30)</p>