Bleckley County Meets Commissioner Candidates

The residents of Bleckley County had a chance to get up-close and personal with the two candidates running for county commissioner Thursday evening.

The event called “Meet the Candidates” was hosted by Middle Georgia College Student Government Association.

Robert Brockman and Barbara Wright are the two candidates running for the position of Bleckley County Commissioner. They talked about their families, answered questions from a panel and explained their goals for the county.

The questions asked, varied from “Because you are finishing a vacated seat and will only have two years instead of four years to finished the term of office, what will be your one main duty that you would like to complete before your term is over?” to “What will be the best part of being commissioner?”

Although the answers were slightly different, the issue both candidates say is a top priority is the 2012 budget.

“The budget would be my main priority,” said Wright.

“We must stop the out of control spending,” answered Brockman.

Lawton Hart, a resident who attended the meet and greet says, “The biggest thing this county needs is more industry. We don’t have enough industry for our tax base, our property taxes are increasing because of the lack of tax income from industry.”

Brockman’s vision for the county is industrial growth to provide more jobs and income. Wright believes the city and the county need to work together to make improvements.

Bleckley is one of eight counties in Georgia that has a sole commissioner. Bleckley’s current commissioner is Kenneth Powell. Powell was appointed interim commissioner by Governor Sonny Purdue.

The special election for Bleckley County Commissioner will be March 15th.