The candidates in the only locally contested race in Habersham County in 2022 will come together for a forum on Tuesday, April 19.
The District 3 county commission forum will be from 6-7 p.m. at the Cornelia Community House and it will be co-sponsored by The Northeast Georgian, WCON radio and Farm Bureau.
Incumbent Commissioner Jimmy Tench and his challengers Jimmy Dean and Jason M. Smith will be answering questions for the public. The forum also will be carried on Facebook live.
Tench is serving his first term on the county commission.
“I was leery about it, but my supporters encouraged me to run again,” Tench said before the filing period began in March. “I think we have a lot of things to accomplish in the next five years that should have already been accomplished. We have let a lot of things go by the wayside.”
All five county commissioners are in their first term. District 2 Commissioner Dustin Mealor is unopposed and will be elected to a second term.
Dean is the former deputy director of Georgia’s Public Safety Training Center, and he is retired from a long career in law enforcement.
“I plan to work with all the county’s elected officials and organizations for the betterment of Habersham County,” Dean said in February. “I also want to make sure we maintain our county’s serenity and beauty that we all enjoy. I have a 4-year-old granddaughter and I am interested in what her future is going to look like.”
Smith is a local engineer and military veteran.
“The county needs a better spirit of cooperation,” Smith said after qualifying in March. “I would like to see us be more business-friendly, and I think we need to do all we can to take advantage of this inland port that is coming to Hall County. I think we have provided more friction than opportunity, and our tax base is not keeping up with the demands for services in our county.”
The three candidates will face off in the Republican primary May 24, with a runoff in June if none of them receive 50 percent plus one vote.
Anyone who has a suggested question can email it to editor@TheNortheastGeorgian.com by Friday, April 15.
– Staff reports