The candidates in the May 21 primary election attended a forum last week to answer questions from members of the community. For those who were not able to attend, the forum was live streamed and is available to be viewed on the Jones County/Gray Chamber of Commerce Facebook page.
The April 23 event was presented by the Chamber, Jones County Republican Party and The Jones County News. It was held at Butler Hall, and William Mathews served as moderator.
All eight candidates attended the forum.
Incumbents in two county commission districts have challengers in the primary election.
District 2 Commissioner John Wood is challenged by Micah Harley, and District 3 Commissioner Wendy Vaughn is challenged by Dan Howard.
Both the incumbents and their challengers registered as Republicans, which means the races will be decided in the May 21 Primary Election.
Coroner Matt Jarrett is challenged by Steve Johnson. They also registered as Republicans, so that race also will be decided in the May election.
The final two candidates are running for Board of Education District 2. The incumbent, Alfred Pitts, did not run for re-election.
Rice Adams and Brady Skinner are running to fill the position. The Board of Education contest is non-partisan and will be decided May 21.
The county has one other contested race.
Incumbent District 4 Commissioner Daylon Martin, Democrat, is opposed by challenger Alton West, Republican.
That race will not be decided until the Nov. 5 General Election.
All questions posed to the candidates at last week’s forum were submitted in writing. It is not possible to print all the questions and responses, but the following is an overview of the highlights. Before the questions began, each candidate gave opening statements.
When the questioning began, Mathews directed the first questions to the coroner candidates.
Johnson and Jarrett were questioned about managing their time as coroner with their fulltime jobs, relationship with law enforcement, whether they would keep the current deputy coroners and why their ran for the office.
The candidates agreed they would keep the current deputies and their chief motivation for running was to serve the community.
Johnson said he is comfortable in the role as a pastor, his employment by a mortuary and as a chaplain. Jarrett said he has served the community first as deputy coroner for over a decade and was appointed coroner in 2018.
Board of Education candidates were questioned next with the first question about the importance of public education.
Adams said public education is the backbone of society.
“It’s exceedingly valuable to educate children,” he said.
Brady said all Jones County Schools are succeeding, and it’s important to support teachers.
When asked about cell phone use in schools, Brady said he was against it, and it was a distraction to education. Adams said he thought a total ban was excessive.
Commissioners
All four commission candidates received the same questions. The first was about input from firefighters and law enforcement officers before decisions are made pertaining to them. The answer to that across the board their input was important.
Other questions included how to attract industry, reduce taxes and what the candidates see as the biggest challenge for the county.
Wood talked about the cost of building roads and the need to construct them correctly.
Harley talked about the constantly changing community. Vaughn brought up the growth in the county and the need to take the burden off roof tops, and Howard said the biggest challenge would be different for everyone.
When asked why they wanted to run for office, Harley said he had a lot of business experience and felt he could make good decisions. He also said he wanted to give back to the community.
Wood said the first time he ran, he lost by 20 votes, but he came back in four years and won.
“I’ve served the community since I was 18,” he said.
Vaughn said she got into it because she has a heart for the community and wants to do what is right for Jones County. Howard said he is unbiased and listens.
“I want to work for you; how can I help?” he said.
The forum concluded with closing statements from each candidate. The video of the questions and complete answers of the candidates can be found at bit.ly/jc2024forum.
Early voting for the primary election started April 29 and will continue until May 17. Early voting is held in the Elections Office at the Government Center from 9 a.m. until 5 p.m. All Jones County Voting Precincts will be open May 21 from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
Examples of sample ballots for the primary election can be found on the Secretary of State’s website, sos.georgia.gov/ elections. Voters can verify their voting status on the My Voter page, also located on the Secretary of State’s website.
Election questions may be directed to the Jones County Elections and Voter Registration Office at 478-986-3222 Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 5 p.m.
