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Three seats on the Macon County Board of Commissioners are up for grabs in this year’s county election
Editor’s Note: This is the first in a series introducing the candidates for the Macon County Board of Commissioners. Next week’s article will include candidates from District 2.
Three seats on the Macon County Board of Commissioners are up for grabs in this year’s county election – the District 1 representative and two District 2 representatives.
Current District 1 representative Jim Tate, who also serves as chair of the Board of Commissioners, is not running for re-election. District 1 includes the Ellijay, Sugarfork, Highlands and Flats precincts. John Shearl and Don Willis, both Republican, are running for the District 1 seat. No Democrats filed to run in that race.
District 2 incumbents Gary Shields (R) and Ronnie Beale (D) are running for re-election. Beale and Betty Cloer Wallace will be on the Democrat ticket in the November election. Five Republicans are vying to the District 2 positions – Gregg Jones, Richard Lightner, Danny Reitmeier, Gary Shields and Danny Antoine. The top two vote getters will advance to the November election.
Voters can cast ballots for candidates in any district. The Democrat candidates for District 2 will not be on the primary ballot. District 2 includes Franklin, Millshoal, Smithbridge, Union and Iotla precincts.
District 1:
John Shearl
Macon County’s low tax rate is a major draw for many long-time residents and prospective property owners, and maintaining that asset is a key focus of John Shearl’s run for the Macon County Board of Commissioners.
Shearl said he would stick to his ideals if elected, promising to “vote for low taxes, freedom and property rights.”
Shearl’s history in Macon County is extensive – a graduate of Franklin High School, he has served as a Highlands firefighter and as a former member of the Macon County Planning Board as well as owning his own business in the county for 35 years.
Looking ahead to the coming term, Shearl identified a number of challenges facing Macon County – the largest being the pending tax revaluation, capital improvements and high-speed internet access.
“When it comes to capital improvements as your District 1 County Commissioner, I will work to provide you with complete details of the project including total costs and how we will pay for the project,” Shearl said by email. “Once the details are finalized, we as the Macon County Commissioners would be ready to vote on the project. I would make a motion to put the capital improvement project on a referendum for you the voters/taxpayers to have the final say.”
Shearl said he would examine potential expenditures with close scrutiny, doing whatever he could to avoid increasing taxes for Macon County residents.
“I will vote to fund the police (not defund), vote to provide services that our citizens expect, need, deserve and are willing to pay for, vote for a budget that we can live inside of and only tax the people for what is needed to operate Macon County government effectively and efficiently,” Shearl said. “I will listen to our citizens and vote to move Macon County forward, while being mindful of our citizens on a fixed income. I will not vote for over-taxation.”
Don Willis
After 30 years in public service in Macon County, first as a volunteer firefighter and then as the county fire marshal and, eventually, a lieutenant in the Macon County Sheriff’s Office, Don Willis said he’s been eyeing a position as a Macon County commissioner for two years now.
“Two years ago I decided – I talked about it with the sheriff, and he said, ‘you need to make a run for it.’ So I put my name in the hat,” Willis said.
With the prospect of a new Franklin High School on the horizon, Willis said he’s interested in being a part of that planning process and feels he would bring an experienced perspective to the project.
“With the coming up of the high school, I was very much interested in that,” Willis said. “Over the years as fire marshal, I inspected the schools twice a year and I knew of the problems going on there. It being dated and over capacity and so spread out, it’s becoming a safety issue.”
Willis said he sees parallels between the needs of the high school and other facilities under the county’s management, like the courthouse and jail. He said he hopes to be able to help plan for these future projects and balance the financial needs of the county with the wishes of county residents and their own financial interests.
“We’ve just been putting bandages on things over the years, and money’s been spent that I don’t necessarily agree with. We should have bought new probably in some instances,” he said. “But that goes along with having a low tax rate. It’s a great thing to have a low tax rate, but on the other hand you’re limited as far as what you can do.”
Financial responsibility and good budgeting are the keys to addressing these issues, Willis said.
“It’s just like running a household,” he said. “Something breaks, or you have to remodel, and you have to be able to budget and look at that long term. That’s what we’re faced with, is projects that we’re going to have to do in the long-term.”
He said the commissioners are tasked with being good stewards of taxpayer money, and in the coming term it will be important to be diligent in assessing how projects can be done correctly without raising taxes unnecessarily. If increases need to be made, he said, transparency is key to ensure public buy-in.
“All options need to be explored before we get to that point of raising taxes. And then, of course, being transparent to the public,” he said. “It’s something we can put a plan together for, and put it out there and let Macon County look at it and let them be the ones to say, ‘Yes we want to push forward with this’ or ‘Maybe we can do away with this.’”
Willis said his career in law enforcement and emergency services has prepared him for the rigors of helping run the county.
“I’m going to be their full-time commissioner – boots on the ground,” he said. “Everyone has a voice, and I’m available 24/7 as I’ve done so my entire career. It’s not anything new to me. Being in law enforcement, being a detective, those were my hours.”
Editor’s Note: Democrat candidates Ronnie Beale and Betty Cloer Wallace are not included in this article since they will not be on the primary ballot. They will be interviewed prior to the November election.
- By Carter Giegerich/for The Highlander