staff report

Ezekiel Pettway has announced his candidacy as commissioner for Dallas County District 2.

Pettway&8217;s objectives as county commissioner include open and honest communication between city and county government and residents of District 2, improved roads and county services.

Pettway plans to hold quarterly town hall meetings throughout the district for district residents to voice their concerns.

Pettway, 47, is married to the former Pamela Dawn Jameson and has two sons, two daughters, and four grandchildren.

He is a Wilcox County native who has lived in District 2 for 14 years. Pettway graduated from Pine Hill High School in 1979, and spent a total of 13 years serving in the United States Army and earned awards. While in the service, Pettway completed an advanced senior radio technician course, a leadership management and development course, and the Battalion Management Training System.

He graduated from the Non-Commissioned Officer Academy and served as an Army officer for the last five years of his service.

Following the service, Pettway attended Selma University to pursue a degree in Bible and Pastoral Ministry.

He also attended Pikes Peak Community College in Colorado Springs, Colo., and studied business management.

Pettway worked as safety coordinator for the Wood Yard Department of International Paper Company, Riverdale Mill from 1988-2002, until he entered full-time service as senior pastor of Maggie Street Baptist Church in Montgomery.

Previously, Pettway had served as pastor of Friendship Missionary Baptist Church in Gees Bend, Union Missionary Baptist Church in Thorsby, and Bethesda Baptist Church in Prattville. In June 2007, Pettway was part of a nine-day preaching crusade in Africa that included Zambia.

Pettway&8217;s memberships include the National Baptist Convention, the Montgomery Antioch District Association, the John 17 Prayer Ministry in Montgomery, and the Alabama Democratic Conference. He is a senior board member for Richard B. Peoples Ministries in Augusta, Ga., and is an alumnus of Leadership Selma-Dallas County.