DOUGHERTY COUNTY, Ga. (WALB) — Dougherty County voters will choose between incumbent, Russell Gray, and challenger, Anthony “AJ” Patterson, for the District 4 seat on the Dougherty County Commission on Election Day, Nov. 3.

Background on the candidates

Gray has held the seat for eight years. He said he first got involved after speaking out against a rezoning issue as a resident, and was later appointed to the board after his predecessor, Ewell Lyle, resigned and asked the board to appoint him.

“I said, ‘I’m too busy. Probably find somebody else who can fill that role.’ But after some consideration and prayer and talk with other people, they were really in favor of me filling a role like that and I felt compelled to lead,” Gray said.

Patterson is an Eagle Scout who said he believes it’s time for a new face on the commission.

“I looked it up and I saw that this current seat hadn’t been contested in about eight years. So I started doing some research on the seat and some local issues and I felt like I could fill the void that I felt wasn’t properly filled,” Patterson said.

Dougherty County Jail repairs

One of the county’s challenges is the Dougherty County Jail, with an estimated $44 million needed in mechanical fixes. Gray said the county has spent the last two years assessing the facility’s needs, but differences among commissioners have slowed the process.

“Preferentially, I would have liked to have worked toward bonding out a big project like this rather than pay out of our pocket when we’re already cash strapped as a government and our budget is still in a deficit position. Even though it’s growing,” Gray said.

Gray said the county didn’t fully understand the extent of the jail’s problems until two years ago. Patterson said a preventative maintenance plan should have already been in place.

“I’d like to see reporting mechanisms and how the jail, the Sheriff’s Office, is able to tell us what are some issues. If there continues to be deadlock, I want to be that new, ambitious voice that delivers it for the county,” Patterson said.

Property assessments

Property assessments have also been a concern for residents, with many reporting increases in their values. Patterson said residents should have been informed before notices went out.

“I feel like people should have known that there hasn’t been a reassessment done in years and when the county was informed by the Board of Assessors on July 20th that we could have held town halls before the notices went out. That way, the community would have been informed instead of going to social media and these other outlets and getting information from each every way and not knowing what to know and what to believe,” Patterson said.

Gray said he and the board knew notices were going out, but were not told how much values had increased.

“No commissioner had that type of information or else they would have had a town hall. Now obviously with administration, if they were scrubbed into things, they probably should have said, ‘Hey, we’re going to have a public facing crisis here. We need to get ahead of this and we need to use our PO to have meetings to or put out information to educate people on the reasons why it jumped the way it did.’ So at the end of the day, it’s a messy process working in government and nothing’s perfect,” Gray said.

County spending and priorities

Gray has been a critic of county spending and said he wants to keep reminding the county to be more careful with taxpayer dollars.

“I’ve coined the term, ‘giverment.’ There’s a lot of things that the county does that tends to really go against good financial policies and principles and cash management strategies. And that’s taking money that you haven’t budgeted and giving it away,” Gray said.

Patterson said he would prioritize emergency preparedness and review cuts to services provided through the law library.

“One thing that does hit home for me was when, in 2018, when Hurricane Michael came through and it took out infrastructure for the city and the county. So I definitely would like to see the emergency preparedness management team fully staffed and have everything that they need to provide services to the people,” Patterson said.

Gray said his priority going forward is making county government more accountable and affordable.

“Manage our money more wisely. Be conservative with what we do. Dougherty County, we haven’t cut back on expenses. We continue to grow our budget. But are we delivering service better? Are we delivering it more efficiently? And are the taxpayers getting what they’re paying for, essentially?” Gray said.

Patterson said he would bring new energy to the position and focus on getting results for residents.

“I believe people should choose me because I’ve shown the ambition and energy a county commissioner should show. Without actually occupying the position, I’ve gotten potholes filled, alleyways regraded, trash picked up,” Patterson said.

Voters will decide between the two candidates on Election Day. Early voting continues for one week before Election Day. Voters can find their polling location on the Secretary of State’s My Voter Page.

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