Humphries reverses decision to run for Dunwoody City Council
Zack Humphries, a frequent speaker and vocal critic of the Dunwoody City Council has announced that he is no longer intending to run for the District 1 post in November.
Humphries, 26, had announced at the May 27 council meeting during the public comment portion of the meeting that he would be running for the post, currently held by Catherine Lautenbacher.
On his Substack platform, Humphries said he was dropping out of the race, “though I never officially entered.”
“I’m just not ready yet,” he wrote. “I entered the race under some false assumptions.”
In particular, Humphries said he was motivated to run for office “under the assumption that the Special Purpose Tax District council was planning to impose was genuinely not allowed under the charter.”
However, he said he found later that the tax district is “likely perfectly legal.”
“Under home-rule, a voting majority of council can choose to modify the charter as they choose, and by doing so they can modify the charter to allow for that Special Purpose Tax District,” he continued.
“It’s my fault for not doing enough research,” he wrote. “Lessons learned, and I’m sorry to everybody for spreading misinformation. It was not my intention.”
A statement sent by Humphries to Rough Draft said when he saw his friends and former classmates from Dunwoody High struggling and the actions of the Trump administration regarding civil rights, “it’s hard to not want change now. Unfortunately, progress can be slow, and I realized that running against Council Member Catherine Lautenbacher would have only slowed it down.”
Humphries said the current council does a wonderful job serving the community, “even though it doesn’t always go fully appreciated.”
“Council does their best with what they’re given,” he said.
Humphries first entered the public fray when, during public comment at a March council meeting, he refused to leave the podium while delivering a long diatribe accusing the city and other community members of malfeasance.
His remarks, spanning more than eight minutes, included accusations about the purpose and intentions of the Dunwoody Homeowners Association, calling its 1970 formation “a deal with the devil,” saying that he believes DHA, Dunwoody citizens and the city have “foundational relationships” with former members of the Ku Klux Klan, and blaming the actions of the DHA to his peers’ suicides and drug overdose deaths.
On his Substack, published on June 6, Humphries said his future plans include possibly volunteering on Ossoff’s 2026 senatorial campaign and “going into an incubation period for a few years to properly develop.”
Three seats are open in the Nov. 4 election in Dunwoody – Post 1 (District 1), Post 2 (District 2), held by Rob Price, and Post 3 (District 3), currently held by Tom Lambert.
One candidate, David Ziskind, has announced he is running for Price’s seat.
Lambert, Price, and Lautenbacher have not yet announced whether they intend to run for reelection.
Qualifying takes place at Dunwoody City Hall, 4800 Ashford Dunwoody Road, in the city clerk’s office, beginning at 8:30 a.m. on Monday, Aug. 18, and ending at 4:30 p.m. on Wed., Aug. 20.
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