Incumbent Howard Sanders and challenger Britt Brooks are on the Republican primary ballot for the District 1 seat on the Oglethorpe County Board of Commissioners.
Sanders, who has held the seat since June 2022, is a poultry farmer in the Salem community, while Brooks owns a construction company in Crawford.
Early voting for the general primary election will begin Monday, April 27 and continue through Friday, May 15 at the Oglethorpe County Board of Elections at 41 Fairground Road in Lexington. Polls will be open from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. There will be two Saturdays of early voting: May 2 and May 9. The general election is scheduled for Tuesday, May 19.
The Oglethorpe Echo spoke with Sanders and Brooks about their campaign and plans, if elected.
Comments have been edited for length and clarity.
Q: What inspired you to run for this position?
Sanders: Just trying to get the best qualified people in office that we can to try and make sure the county is headed in the right direction.
Brooks: I’m just not happy with the way things are going with people’s property rights. That’s the main thing.
Q: What would be your top priority if elected?
Sanders: Do everything that we can to maintain low taxes for the citizens.
Brooks: Property rights, for sure.
Q: How will your previous experience help you serve as commissioner if elected?
Sanders: I was assistant director for the ambulance service for a number of years and also worked as a medic on the ambulance. Also, I was deputy coroner for about 20 years and coroner for about six years, so I’ve worked in leadership capacities for the county for a long time.
Brooks: Honestly, I think common sense would pretty much do it.
Q: What are your thoughts on how Board of Commissioners meetings are run, including their location?
Sanders: I agree that the smaller location is not enough room to seat people in. But, when we moved it to the courthouse, there was a problem with people being able to hear. That’s just an agenda that we’re going to have to work on and try to come up with the best possible remedy.
Brooks: I would say they need to be down in the courthouse, where everybody can come. If they need a different sound system, then they just need to get it so everybody can fit in there if they want to attend the meeting.
Q: What are your thoughts on economic development within the county?
Sanders: I’m all for economic development up to a certain stage. But we are a farming community, and that’s the reason people have moved to Oglethorpe County — because they like the quietness here. I am for bringing in industry in certain areas of the county to help with the tax burden.
Brooks: I think people are open to it, if it’s handled properly. There’s a lot to that as well, like what I said about handling property.
Q: What do you think are the main challenges that District 1 and the county as a whole will face in the next few years?
Sanders: Trying to keep the taxes in a manageable range for people. That’s the main thing that we’re facing now. Everybody’s grocery bill has gone up, the fuel bill has gone up. But the tax bills, we’re doing our best to keep them down. So, that’s going to be our biggest challenge.
Brooks: Growth, and then like I said before, doing something about these property rights.