County Commission Candidates Appear At Forum

Stephens County Commission Post 2 candidates speak to voters in advance of the May primary.

All five candidates running for the seat spoke at Thursday’s town hall meeting at the Schaefer Center in downtown Toccoa, sponsored by the Toccoa-Stephens County Chamber of Commerce and WNEG Radio.

Incumbent Debbie Whitlock said a lot has been accomplished in Stephens County in the last four years.

She acknowledged that there were a lot of budget cuts, but said things are looking up and if things can be added back into the budget, there are a number of additions she would like to see.

“A retirement package for our employees, better health insurance,” said Whitlock. “Also, I think we need to continue making sure we have money to get these roads and bridges repaired. We are making a lot of headway there but we need to continue and I think, really though, if there was money to be added to the budget, I would like to see that money to go back to the taxpayers in a decrease to the millage rate.”

Meanwhile, Jonesy Haygood said he is running for the seat because he wants to see Stephens County grow.

Haygood said that will require the addition of sewer along the southern end of Big A Road and around the Toccoa By-pass.

“SPLOST has put $2 million in sewage around the by-pass,” said Haygood. “We have grants at $1.9 million around the by-pass. Yet we are still sitting on it and hoping to get more. You will never get any more money for that and if we keep waiting, we are going to lose our grant money.”

Larry Krul said if elected, he wants to do more for county employees that he said have had to do more with less during the lean times of the past several years.

“The dedicated people who stuck it out when things got tough and did more with less, they need to be rewarded for that and if you look at it, their wages have not kept up with inflation and the cost of living,” said Krul. “The longer they stay here, the less and less they are making compared to the rest of the state.”

Henry Moore said he is a pro-business candidate.

As part of that, he said he has concerns about some parts of the land use ordinance that the county has implemented over the past couple of years.

“I am pro-business and if somebody wants to use their garage to start a business, I am all for it,” said Moore. “Some of the farm stuff we have, when you get to looking at it, is ridiculous, maybe past that point.”

Meanwhile, Kenny Yearwood said he feels that if elected, he would be a good steward of tax dollars, calling for zero-based budgeting.

“I do not know how the budget actually works but I do not think it is right to add three percent to the budget every time one is approved,” said Yearwood. “You ought to go back to a zero-based budget and start over and see where you are at. You will be able to see where you are at every single time and see if some departments need as much money as they say they do.”

All five of these candidates are running as Republicans for the Post 2 seat, so whoever wins the primary will be unopposed in November.