The doors of local courthouses had barely opened Tuesday morning before the first qualifiers for the upcoming countywide elections had flocked in and filed their papers.
Already, Lowndes County will see at least two new faces on the board of supervisors when the new term begins next year as two board members will not seek new terms.
So far, those two supervisor seats are the only races contested through two days of qualifying.
Michael L. Brock, Kevin U. Clark and Matt Furnari are all running as Republicans for District 1 supervisor. Longtime incumbent Harry Sanders will not seek reelection.
Brock has lived his whole life in District 1, and is the fourth generation of his family to live there, he said. He owns Shelter Insurance on Highway 45 North, where he’s worked for the past 23 years.
“My goal is to work with the board of supervisors to serve the people and help them better their lives here in the county,” he said. “I am here, I have been here, my family is here. We’re fully invested here.”
Brock said he had run for District 1 supervisor back in 1995.
“I was 30 or 31,” he said. “…It was the best thing that I did not win. I wasn’t mature enough to be able to handle that.”
Clark has lived in District 1 his whole life. He is a homebuilder and owns Kevin Clark Construction.
“I’ve debated running for years,” he said. “I’ve watched District 1 grow, and with growth there comes growing pains. Caledonia and Steens have been very good for me, I’ve made 80 or 90 percent of my living there, and I believe it’s time to give some of my experience back to my home.”
He described himself as “very fiscally conservative.”
“I’ve gone from minimum wage signing the back of a paycheck to making million-dollar decisions and signing the front of paychecks,” he said. “I make decisions everyday that affect all the people who work with me, and all my subcontractors.”
Furnari has lived in Caledonia since he was a small child. He owns a real estate company, Rapid Track Development, that mostly deals with apartments and storage units, and also Integrated Waste Service, which reconditions industrial trash compactors.
He is currently serving his second term on the Caledonia Board of Aldermen. If elected supervisor, he would have to resign from that position to serve as supervisor.
“I’m just at a good place where I can give my time to the position,” he said. “I feel with my background of experience with local government and business I can help out in the position. Lowndes County is really doing some good things and that momentum needs to continue.”
In District 3, two candidates, Chad Frasher and Andy Williamson, have qualified to run, both as Republicans. Incumbent John Holliman is not seeking reelection.
Williamson is a lifelong resident of New Hope. He worked for more than 25 years at 4-County Electric Power Association, starting as a laborer and leaving as purchasing, inventory and facilities manager. He has owned Williamson Electric since 2017, and is a licensed electrician.
“I feel with my network and my skill set I’m a good fit for this job,” he said. “At 4-County as a lineman and crew foreman in New Hope I got to meet a lot of people, and over the years I just built that network.
“(Holliman) leaves big shoes to fill, and I don’t want to see the county stall or take a step back,” he added.
The Dispatch was unable to contact Frasher by press time.
The deadline to qualify is Feb. 1. Primary elections are Aug. 8, and the general election is Nov. 7.
Incumbents who have qualified but do not yet have opponents include: Eddie Hawkins, Republican, sheriff; Teresa Barksdale, Republican, circuit clerk; Cindy Goode, Republican, chancery clerk; Greg Andrews, Democrat, tax assessor; Greg Merchant, Republican, coroner; William Starks, Republican, county prosecutor; Trip Hairston, Republican, District 2 supervisor; Jeff Smith, Democrat, District 4 supervisor; Leroy Brooks, Democrat, District 5 supervisor; Chris Hemphill, Republican, District 1 justice court judge; Ron Cooke, Republican, District 2 justice court judge; Peggy Phillips, Democrat, District 3 justice court judge; Chris Griffin, Republican, District 1 constable; Joe Ables Jr., Republican, District 2 constable; Willie “Sonny” Sanders, Democrat, District 3 constable.
No candidates have qualified for tax collector, which has been split into a separate position after formerly being combined with tax assessor; or District 2, District 3 or District 4 election commissioners.
Brian Jones is the local government reporter for Columbus and Lowndes County.
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