Newspaper Page Text
Continued From 1A
THURSDAY. APRIL 28. 2022 PICKENS COUNTY PROGRESS PAGE 13A
Forum
Introduction
• Rick Tucker - He was
brief in his opening. He
thanked the GOP for hosting
this event and thanked the
people who attended.
• Josh Tippens - A 23-
year resident of this county
and a graduate of Pickens
High School and Ap
palachian Tech. He has
worked for 17 years with the
same company, managing
teams for projects and in
leadership roles. He is run
ning to ensure Pickens
County is as good for our
children as it was for us,
making sure it “remains a
place we recognize.”
• David Shouse - He said
this county has come a long
ways in recent years. He said
all the candidates have very
similar views but different
ways of getting it done. “The
next two to three years will
determine the next two to
three decades” in this county.
Shouse commended the cur
rent county administration as
“doing a great job.” Shouse
said he would bring “outside
the box thinking” to the com
mission.
• Robert Watson -
Moved here to avoid the
metro growth but recognizes
that it is coming. He was the
first candidate to say specifi
cally that he is running as he
doesn’t “want us to be the
new Cherokee County.” He
stressed a county government
that can generate revenue
without a growing popula
tion.”
• Brian Cleghorn - A
more than 20 year resident of
west Pickens, his goal is to
see the county be like it was
“when I moved here for me
and my kids.” He said we
have to leave the next gener
ation “something to work
with.” He seeks to give us the
Pickens County we need, not
what everyone outside of this
area thinks we want.
• Dave Garner - Garner
said it is important to educate
voters on what role commis
sioners play as he has been
asked several times on the
campaign trail to comment
on issues not technically
county issues such as senior
tax exemptions for the
schools, Jasper’s Main Street
and Highway 515 issues
(where he later pointed out
that 13 of the 15 miles of the
fourlane in this country have
been annexed into the city
limits of Jasper). Gamer also
stressed the need to manage
growth.
• Josh Tatum - A fifth
generation native of Pickens
County, graduated from Pick
ens High and UGA, works at
a large nursery in Hickory
Flat. He doesn’t want this
county to become like Can
ton or Cobb County. “I want
to preserve the rural lifestyle,
not become another city,” he
said.
Below are some of the ques
tions and responses.
The first question posed
by Mora from the GOP and
Gary Norman with the
Conservative Alliance of
North Georgia was how the
candidates see the role of a
county commissioner?
Candidates were arranged
in a line and they moved
down the line with each get
ting a chance to answer
first on the questions.
• Tucker - The role is to
be sure that the citizens are
represented, to set goals for
the county. The county needs
to grow at a sustainable rate.
He would not favor any rais
ing of taxes and it’s also im
portant to find new water
services.
• Tippens - Primary role
to serve as checks and bal
ances for the chairman.
[Chair] Kris Stancil does a
great job but having addi
tional commissioners helps
recognize needs.
• Shouse - The role is
protecting taxpayers and pro
tecting the future of the
county. There is a need to
balance a desire for serenity
here with the desire for more
services and amenities that
will require growth.
• Watson - The role is to
represent the majority of the
voters, to represent what the
group wants and speak for
From left, Tucker, Tippens, Shouse, Watson and Cleghorn in the race for the west district commission. Garner and Tatum are seeking to fill an un
expired term with the east district commission post.
the people “whatever it may
be.”
• Cleghorn - First, repre
sent the people with the ma
jority setting the course. It’s
important to recognize that a
commissioner’s role is not to
handle day-to-day operations
but to set the issues and poli
cies and see that both sides of
issues are represented.
• Garner - “The short an
swer is leadership,” well
rounded, common sense
leadership. He said we can’t
outgrow infrastructure, and
that there are 14 different de
partments ranging from fi
nances to parks and
recreation. And all need to
represented.
• Tatum - It is important
to work with infrastructure
and issues like zoning to see
that we don’t lose our iden
tity here.
What is the prime ability
each candidate brings to
the role?
• Shouse - He said his
prime ability is as a “deal-
maker,” who can think out
side the box to solve
problems and get results. He
pointed to his success in lo
cating the VA clinic here as
well as the large dialysis of
fice on North Main. Shouse
said he “can figure out a way
to make things happen.” He
had one of the better one-lin
ers of the night that he has al
ways been successful in the
face of naysayers except for
when he ran against Stancil
for commission chair. “Got
proved wrong on that one.”
Shouse said one key to his
success is being open-
minded and willing to con
sider ideas from anyone.
• Watson - He said he
was a developer but not in the
traditional sense of the word.
He looks at resources avail
able and their best use. He
said his main thrust would be
to see the county generate
revenue without increasing
population. He elaborated
later that this relies on captur
ing a portion of the tourist
dollars that flow further north
along Highway 515.
• Cleghorn - His strength
is as a “numbers guy.” He
said he has the ability to get
out and talk with citizens but
it “all boils down to the basic
numbers.” He went on to de
scribe in business how it is
important to find the parts at
the right prices to success
fully quote jobs and to be
watching the bottom line at
all times. He contradicted
Shouse’s prior statement,
saying that he is not always
open-minded and at times is
immovable. Among these po
sitions is he will not let Pick
ens County be turned into
Cherokee County. “We want
to keep Pickens County,
Pickens County for a rea
son.”
• Garner - One of the
biggest skills he will bring to
the table is as a listener. On
the campaign trail, he has
talked and listened with aver
age people, business owners,
civic group members and
non-profits. He said it is es
sential to connect with people
on some level, whether per
sonal or professional. “I will
be a voice for the people but
also able to listen.”
• Tatum - Tatum empha
sized his financial skills, say
ing his work at the large
Buck Jones Nursery is on the
budgets and making sure the
numbers are solid. “I’m good
at that,” he said.
• Tucker - He cited previ
ous administrative experi
ence and his ability to work
with people to achieve goals.
He said he had a business de
gree and believes having a
solid management plan for
the county is essential. He
has the ability to ensure the
county works within their
budget.
• Tippens - For the past
10 years he has been in a
leadership position with his
job and has a track record of
bringing projects in. Part of
this is listening to people and
often the objective is to get
everybody to meet in the
middle at the end of the day.
On cutting taxes and keep
ing costs low:
• Watson - Used this op
portunity to elaborate on how
the traffic north on Friday
nights and then back south
Sunday mornings on High
way 515 shows a clear pat
tern of people passing
through Pickens County to
spend tourist dollars else
where. The tourism impact in
Fannin County is cited at
$273 million with $65 mil
lion in hotel and motel tax
every year coming to the
county coffers. This money
can be used in the place of
property tax revenue.
“We need to get these peo
ple to stop here instead of
driving through.” Have them
here as tourists without an in
crease in population.
• Cleghorn said in his line
of automotive work you ne
gotiate beforehand on any
purchase. You know what
you are paying for before you
ever start looking at a deal.
The cheapest is not always
the best deal, but neither is
the most expensive item nec
essarily the best. You don’t
hire people you don’t need
and you make sure the people
you hire are productive.
• Garner said it is a mat
ter of priorities and collabo
rating with the municipalities
so that everyone gets the
most from their resources.
• Tatum - It’s important
to control growth to keep
costs down. Increasing the
population means increasing
infrastructure and higher
taxes. The county needs im
pact fees implemented to be
sure whatever growth comes
pays for itself.
• Tucker - Controlling the
operating costs is the key.
There are finite number of
people who can be employed
and a really good manage
ment plan is important.
“Budget properly and spend
in the correct place.”
• Tippens said he would
first need to get in office and
really see the detailed infor
mation before he could elab
orate on where the budget
could be cut.
• Shouse disagreed with
Tippens saying he has filed
numerous open record re
quests and recently uncov
ered that the Economic
Development Office has
spent $700,000 in the past
three years and hasn’t created
one job, according to a re
sponse from his request.
“There is a lot of fat. We
need to get more bang for our
buck,” he said.
Have you talked with
county employees and can
you sum up their
feelings/attitudes?
• Cleghorn said he spent
4-5 years with the recreation
department and still has close
ties there. The biggest con
cerns are always pay grade
and funding to finish proj
ects. “Every single depart
ment has things they want to
do. They just don’t have the
funding to get it done.” He
said county employees give
110 percent every day.
“These employees honest-to-
God care. They don’t want
the community mad at them.”
•Garner said he has
talked with several employ
ees and knows they want to
do more. They want to be re
sponsible with a limited
budget. He said it’s important
that the commissioners rec
ognize the different needs be
tween areas of the county
such as Hinton and Hill City
and Bent Tree and Big
Canoe.
• Tatum - He hadn’t had
a lot of contact with employ
ees but believes that it’s im
portant that they feel job
satisfaction.
• Tucker - He had been
contact with employees. He
believes that among their
concerns for the whole
county are to have good
roads and also a park in the
western side of the county so
people don’t have to drive all
the way to Jasper to play ball.
• Tippens - He had been
in contact with several em
ployees and they generally
refer to fair compensation
and that they do care about
doing a good job. They want
the resources so they can be
proud of what they accom
plish.
• Shouse - He said it’s im
portant to trim the fat and
find new sources of revenue.
He noted that the county
gave 5 percent raises last year
and COVID bonuses but
even that didn’t keep up with
inflation. He believes that
with economic development
if you work with the right
businesses, they will come.
He added that using the
county park to hold events is
a great way to generate rev
enue. “Go outside and shout
in the parking lot, ‘parks and
recreation is the way to make
money for the county.’”
• Watson - He said it
seems that every department
is “at max.” He commended
the rec. dept, for keeping
costs down to make sure
every child can play. Growth
is catching up with us.
Key goals if elected
• Tatum - Do as much as
we can to preserve the
lifestyle here. We’re going to
have some growth but try to
encourage large tract homes
and family properties. The
lifestyle of driving to work in
the city but living in the
country is a good model.
Cherokee County has been
absolutely destroyed.
• Tucker - Supports a
recreation center on the west
of the of the county so par
ents and kids can play ball
without driving so far. He
would manage growth. Have
an economic study done for
sustainable business. Manage
growth to protect the water
shed and protect habitat. And
ensure adequate law enforce
ment.
• Tippens - Water is cru
cial to Pickens County as the
only county in the state with
no major lakes or river. The
problem we have with water
has to be resolved at some
point, maybe with access to a
reservoir or being able tap
into Carters Lake. Supports a
park on the west end of the
county, which could be a pas
sive park or one tied to a his
torical or cultural location.
• Shouse named parks and
infrastructure as top needs.
He said all the candidates
recognize the needs. He
wants to be known “as that
man who served us honestly
and well.” He wants to set up
the county for the future with
finances and infrastructure.
• Watson - Lower peo
ple’s property taxes through
tourism revenue. This could
be a huge source of new rev
enue for the county as recre
ation involving
farms/agriculture and in nat
ural settings is growing and
Pickens is a perfect spot to
capitalize off this. Water also
poses a big challenge that
must be tackled.
• Cleghorn - He would
work to complete Grandview
water reservoir plans. It
would be beneficial to every
one. Figure out a way to be
sure people who work for the
county are paid what they de
serve. He would support
commercial growth but not
growth that saddles people
with more taxes. He believes
the county must retain and
find good employees, which
is a challenge everyone is
facing at this time.
• Garner - Said he would
not raise taxes, believes that
growth is coming and that it
must be managed. He be
lieves that sewage and water
must be expanded to meet
needs. His goal would be to
see that citizens are the first
priority and county employ
ees would be his second pri
ority.
In a pair of more technical
questions (grouped together
here), the candidates were
asked their views regarding
sunshine laws and operating
within a three-person com
mission. Later in the meeting
they were asked whether they
felt a three-member commis
sion was sufficient for the
county.
Below are the responses
to the open meeting question
with all candidates voicing a
general belief that a three-
commissioner board is suffi
cient for the county at this
point - but all were open to
moving to a larger board
down the road. Several com
ments indicated that as the
county grows moving to a
five-person board makes
sense.
• Tippens - With three
commissioners, you can’t
have a quorum outside of a
public meeting, which means
you can’t talk individually
with another commissioner.
It’s about being transparent in
the public’s eye.
• Shouse - The rides are
in place for a reason. You
don’t want two commission
ers getting together and meet
ing with people or talking
about things. It protects the
county taxpayers from
abuses in the system.
• Watson - He supports
the rides. We don’t want to
get where what we see in
Washington D.C. is happen
ing here.
• Cleghorn - Supports
transparency and honesty - it
stops back door deals.
• Garner - Platform in
cludes leadership and trans
parency. Garner went on to
add that he doesn’t have ties
here, family or business, that
puts him “in anyone’s
pocket,” so he could operate
independently of pressure
from any personal ties.
• Tatum said the ride on
open meetings, “keeps us
honest.”
• Tucker said he believes
in an open door policy for all
citizens to “keep everything
on the up and up.”
All Computer Services & Repairs
On-Site Service Home or Office!
/ Viruses, Pop ups, & Spywar
/ Computer Repair & Par
/ Custom Build Ne^pt^ JjSbmputers
/ Software
/ Network [ W^Setup & Security
ears Experience
& Associates
Serving All of North Georgia
706-301-9148
24 hours a day - 7 days a week
Good Samaritan
HEALTH & WELLNESS CENTER
Restoring Health. Saving Lives.
All kinds of care for all ages.
All types of payments.
All under one roof.
Medical • Dental
Behavorial Health • Pharmacy
Open Monday - Friday.
Call 706-253-4673 for appointments.
75 Samaritan Drive • Jasper GA 30143
goodsamhwc.org
We accept a wide variety of insurance: Blue Cross Blue Shield,
Cigna, United Healthcare, plus Medicare, Medicaid & Veterans
Choice. Plus, we have a low-cost sliding fee scale for
ndividuals without insurance.