CHATSWORTH, Ga. —  Lee Shiver, a former Pickens County school superintendent, says he was enjoying his retirement. But the Feb. 14 shooting at a high school in Parkland, Florida, that left 17 dead changed his plans.

“I was a high school principal in Tifton when the Columbine school shooting happened, and I dealt with that high school the next day when 20 percent of our students stayed home,” he said. “I was the director of the Georgia School for the Deaf when the Virginia Tech massacre happened. I was an elementary school principal in Albany when the Sandy Hook shooting happened.”

Shiver was one of several candidates attending a reception hosted Saturday at the Spring Lakes Golf Club in Murray County by the Murray County Democratic Party.

He said a conversation with a former fraternity brother who is now an Episcopalian priest who performed the funeral for one of the Parkland students inspired him to take action.

Later he met with state Rep. Rick Jasperse, R-Jasper.

“Rick’s a good guy. I’ve known him for years,” he said. “But he just said ‘It’s mental health,’ ‘It’s evil.’ Anything except the guns.”

After that meeting, he was determined to find someone to run against Jasperse.

“I attended my first Democratic Party meeting,” he said.

Within a couple of meetings, party members had convinced him to run against Jasperse.

The two will face off on Nov. 6 in the race for state House of Representatives District 11, which covers parts of Murray, Gordon and Pickens counties.

“People seem to be energized right now, and we want them to get out and vote,” said Murray County Democratic Party Chair Liz Gould.

Gould noted that Democratic Party gubernatorial candidate Stacey Abrams is locked in a tight race with Republican Brian Kemp, who is currently secretary of state. She said she hoped interest in that race and enthusiasm for Abrams will boost Democratic candidates further down the ballot.

Fred Swann, the Democratic candidate for agriculture commissioner, says the interest in the governor’s race — Abrams would become the state’s first black and first female governor if elected — should boost other candidates.

“There’s historically a very low drop-off between how people vote for governor and how they vote for (agriculture commissioner),” said Swann, a programmer analyst from the Macon area. “If there’s a tight governor’s race, we have a very good shot of winning this seat.”

Swann faces incumbent Agriculture Commissioner Gary Black, a Republican, in November.

LeeAnn Espinoza-Farthing was on hand to represent the campaign of Otha Thornton, Democratic candidate for state superintendent of schools.

“We want to let people know that the Democrats have a candidate who will fight for our children, a candidate who recognizes that education is vital for the future of this state,” she said.

Thornton is a veteran of the U.S. Army and former president of the National PTA. He faces incumbent Republican Richard Woods.

Murray County resident Susan Ridley, a lifelong Democrat, said she hopes all of the candidates do well. She said the race she is most interested in is the gubernatorial race.

“Every race from the courthouse to the statehouse is important, but I think Georgia will take a major step forward if it elects Stacey Abrams,” she said.

Other candidates at the reception were:

• Michael Morgan, who is challenging incumbent Republican Chuck Payne in the race for state Senate District 54, which includes Whitfield and Murray counties.

• Brian Rosser, who is challenging incumbent Republican John Meadows in the race for state House of Representatives District 5, which covers parts of Murray and Gordon counties.