Ernest Yarborough, a former attorney and current president of South Carolina Citizens For Justice, has announced his intentions to challenge Rep. Boyd Brown for his seat in the Statehouse in the June Democratic primary.

“I’m going to re-establish my residency in Fairfield County and run against Boyd Brown,” Yarborough said. “I’m going to let the people decide who should have that seat.”

Yarborough was disbarred in 2008 following a conviction for obstruction of justice for offering an alleged victim $500 to drop charges against his client.

According to the S.C. Judicial Department Web site (http://www.judicial.state.sc.us/opinions/displayOpinion.cfm?caseNo=3938), “Yarborough was sentenced to ten years imprisonment, suspended on the service of six months, two years probation, and payment of $1,000 in costs and assessments.”

The Fairfield County School Board voted 4-3 Tuesday night to consider hiring Yarborough as a lobbyist to help fight local legislation that would appoint two new seats on the board and that would create an independent finance committee to handle the district’s budget.

Although the board is now backing away from the Yarborough hire, it has served as a launching pad for his political career.

“It was never my intention (to run), but I’m going to put my name before the people,” Yarborough said. “They’re saying my obstruction conviction makes me unqualified, but we’ll let the people decide.”

Brown said he welcomes the challenge.

According to his press release, Yarborough graduated with honors from Fairfield County public schools in 1977 and earned a bachelor of arts degree in political science from S.C. State University in 1981. After a stint in the military from 1981 to 1988, he earned his Juris Doctor degree from the University of North Carolina in 1991.

He is an ordained minister and a social advocate, the press release states, and was instrumental in the campaign of Lt. Gov. Andre Bauer in 2006.