The Republican candidate for Jones County’s Commission District 4 would like to bring some new ideas to the Board of Commissioners while being more accessible to the needs of his constituents.
Alton West said in an Oct. 14 interview that he believes it is important for people to know who is representing them. He ran for the office in 2016 but opted not to run in 2020.
“I decided to try again,” West said. “I’d like to change the tone and be available and known to the people I’m representing. I didn’t run in 2020 because I found out someone else was running.”
The candidate is opposing Democratic incumbent candidate Daylon Martin, who was elected to the position in 2012.
West was born in Macon and grew up in Warner Robins in what he described as a very modest home. He said his family returned to Macon, and he graduated from Central High School. The candidate enlisted in the U.S. Navy after graduation and served as a hospital corpsman with the United States Marine Corps.
West returned home to Macon after three and a half years in the military and went to work as a machine mechanic at YKK. He made the decision to return to school and further his education, attending Macon State College. He majored in education.
West has been a resident of Jones County for more than a decade. He is now the Chief Water Operator for the City of Stockbridge, having previously been employed by the Macon Water Authority.
“I am blessed to settle in a community with so many good people where I don’t have to worry about the safety of my wife and children,” he said.
The candidate is the father of five, with the youngest a 17-month-old adopted son and the oldest a 32-year-old daughter who lives in Tampa. He has 11-year-old twins and another daughter who is 15.
West said he feels the position of commissioner is about serving the people in his district. He said he wants to see Griswoldville Park developed.
“It has limitless potential,” he said.
The candidate said, as a commissioner, he would like to have face-to-face communication with the people in his district, which he believes is very possible for a community the size of Jones County.
“People have a right to know what is going on, and I have a different approach to do that. I think everyone should be treated equally, no matter their race or sex,” he said.
West said he supports the Highway 49 Recreation Center and would like to see it used more. He said he has kept up with what is going on in the county by watching the meetings online.
“I’m comfortable in a leadership role in my job. I want to do the best for everyone, and I understand the commitment for training and meetings that comes along with the position,” he said.
The candidate said he is familiar with the issues of the sales ratio, and no one wants to pay more taxes. He said he supports the TSPLOST and hopes the people in the county will support it.
West said he wants to work with the City of Gray as well as the other commissioners.
“We all need to look out for the county. Let’s do something different; we can’t do the same thing and expect different results,” he said. “We need to put on our thinking caps and approach things in a different way.”
West said a lot of people are wanting to move to Jones County.
“We need to position ourselves to take advantage of that,” he said.
The candidate said he believes the governing body should be looking 10-20 years down the road.
“The people before us did that and we need to do the same for someone else’s kids, whether they are ours or not,” West said.
