May 5, 2022
By: Dwayne Page
Four years ago, ten new members were elected to the fourteen-member county commission. There will be at least six changes on the commission this year and perhaps more depending upon the outcome of the August 4th General Election.
As of this date, there will be one new member elected in the 1st, 3rd, 4th, 6th, and two new members in the 5th district.
The makeup of the commission as of September 1, 2018, was Dennis Slager and Julie Young in the 1st district, Myron Rhody and Sabrina Farler in the 2nd district, Bobby Johnson and Jenny Trapp in the 3rd district, Janice Fish-Stewart and Dr. Scott Little in the 4th district, Jerry Adcock and Anita Puckett in the 5th district, Matt Adcock and Jeff Barnes in the 6th district, and Bruce Malone and Beth Pafford in the 7th district.
Only four members from 2014 were re-elected in 2018 including Jerry Adcock, Jeff Barnes, Anita Puckett and Julie Young.
In January 2021 Shaee Flatt was appointed to fill the unexpired term of Dennis Slager who resigned in November 2020 as a 1st district member. Flatt did not seek election this year.
Susannah Cripps Daughtry was appointed to the commission as a 3rd district member in April 2021 after the resignation of Bobby Johnson the month before. She is now running for her first elected term.
In the primaries on Tuesday of this week, 3rd district member Jenny Trapp and 5th district member Jerry Adcock lost their bids for re-election and will be replaced by new members in the August election.
Fifth district member Anita Puckett and Commissioner Matt Adcock in the 6th district opted to run for County Mayor rather than seek re-election to the commission and will be replaced by new members this fall. Matt Adcock is still in the race for County Mayor and will be running against Mike Foster for the position in August.
Fourth district member Dr. Scott Little chose not to seek re-election to the county commission this year but will be a candidate for the Board of Education in August along with two others, Eric Ervin and Tony Poss.
The remaining commissioners from 2018 still serving, Young, Rhody, Farler, Stewart, Barnes, Malone, and Pafford are all seeking re-election, but all are facing contested races in August. The only sure thing is that Larry Green and Glynn Merriman in the 5th district, who won their primary races Tuesday will be joining the commission this fall as they have no opponents in the August General Election.
The field of county commission candidates in each district for the August General Election are as follows:
First District: Julie Young (Democrat), Bennett Armstrong (Republican), Tom Chandler (Republican), and Daniel Cripps (Independent). Two are to be elected.
Second District: Myron Rhody (Democrat), Sabrina Farler (Republican), and Jim Pearson (Republican). Two are to be elected.
Third District: Susannah Cripps Daughtry (Democrat), Jack Barton (Democrat), Tim Perricone (Republican), and Tony Luna (Independent). Two are to be elected.
Fourth District: Janice Fish Stewart (Democrat), Greg Matthews (Republican), Tony (Cully) Culwell (Republican), and Wayne Cantrell (Independent). Two are to be elected.
Fifth District: Larry Green (Republican) and Glynn Merriman (Republican). Both are to be elected unopposed
Sixth District: Jeff Barnes (Democrat), Danny McGinnis (Democrat), Doug Stephens (Republican), and Justin Douglas Adcock (Republican). Two are to be elected.
Seventh District: Beth Pafford (Democrat), Bruce Malone (Republican), and Timothy Reynolds (Republican). Two are to be elected.