Runoff Races Front and Center in Dawson, Lumpkin today
News, Politics July 26, 2016
DAWSONVILLE, Ga. — Georgians will head back to the polls today to decide key races, including several in Dawson and Lumpkin counties.
In Dawson County, voters will vote in a new sheriff and tax commissioner.
The sheriff candidates are veteran law enforcement officers Captain Tony Wooten and Major Jeff Johnson. Nicole Stewart and Andi Henson Juliette are competing for the tax commissioner job.
In Lumpkin County, voters will choose who they want to represent them on the county commission in District 2 and in the coroner’s office. Steve Shaw is the incumbent Dist. 2 commissioner and Bobby Mayfield is the challenger.
The candidates for coroner are Amanda Jones-Holbrooks and Jim Sheppard. Jones-Holbrooks was arrested earlier this month on a felony charge of first-degree forgery and is awaiting trial. Sheppard is a veteran law enforcement officer who will resign at the end of this year after 28 years of service.
Early Voting for Primary Runoff Races Ends Friday
News, Politics July 18, 2016
DAWON COUNTY, Ga. — Early voting ends Friday for the July 26 general election primary runoffs.
The races in Forsyth County are between Tony Wooten and Jeff Johnson to decide who will replace retiring Sheriff Billy Carlisle and tax commissioner where two newcomers, Andi Henson Juliette and Nicole Stewart, are seeking to fill the vacancy left by Linda Townley who is also retiring this year.
Early voting started July 5 and the Dawson County Elections Office reports that the turnout has beem much heavier than expected. As of Friday afternoon, 1,569 people had cast their ballots
“That’s much greater than we anticipated, especially for a runoff election,” said Dawson County Director of Elections and Registration.
Georgia law requires a runoff if no candidate wins a majority in a general primary.
Sheriff, Tax Commissioner Candidates Square Off
News, Politics July 14, 2016
DAWSONVILLE, Ga. — A standing-room-only crowd got one last chance to evaluate the candidates for Dawson County Sheriff and Tax Commissioner Tuesday in the Meeting Room of Fire Station No.2 on Dawsonville Highway.
Tax Commissioner candidates Nicole Stewart and Andi Henson-Juliette provided a tepid, respectful opening act for a slightly more combative performance by Sheriff candidates Tony Wooten and Jeff Johnson.
Henson-Juliette stressed her experience in handling multi-million dollar budgets while Stewart placed the emphasis on her customer service experience and community involvement.
Henson-Juliette is a former analyst for a Department of Defense contractor and the FBI and has managed budgets in excess of $50 million. She is a graduate of Dawson County High School and North Georgia College and State University.
“A lack of experience in the Tax Commissioner’s Office could be detrimental to taxpayers since 75 percent of the county’s budget comes from sales tax,” she said. “I’m the only candidate with experience managing budgets like that.”
Stewart said she has solid management experience. “I have effectively managed 8-10 people and have helped teach many small businesses how to manage a budget.”
She is a former banker with experience in the loan department. She is also an honors graduate of Dawson County High School and North Georgia College and State University who recently earned her Masters degree at Brenau University. Active in many community affairs, she was named Dawson County’s Outstanding Citizen in 2015.
The sheriff candidates did find some areas of agreement, for example no-knock warrants. Both agreed they were sometimes necessary for the safety of officers. They also agreed the county needs a strict policy to restrict high-speed chases.
But the tension began when Johnson implied that Wooten had made promises to deputies who publicly endorsed him in a half-page ad that ran in the local newspaper this week.
“I can say a lot of promises had to be made,” Johnson said. “They’re doing all they can to get their man elected.”
Candidates were given an opportunity to rebut their opponent’s comments and both men took full advantage.
Wooten bristled at Johnson’s remark, “They haven’t been promised a thing.”
When Johnson pointed out that he had more years of experience than Wooten, Wooten responded with “All the candidates in the race had experience. It’s not the number of years experience that makes you a leader. I’ve led five of the six divisions in the sheriff’s office.”
Early voting in both races will continue through Friday, July 22. Election day will be July 26.
Heavy Turnout Reported for Advanced Voting
News, Politics July 6, 2016
DAWSONVILLE, Ga. — Dawson County voters returned to the polls this week for advanced, in-person voting in key runoff races for sheriff and tax commissioner.
Glenda M. Ferguson, Director of Elections and Registration, said, “The first two days have been great, really excellent. We had 202 on Tuesday and so far, we’ve had 139 today. That’s much better than I can ever remember for a runoff election.”
Tony Wooten and Jeff Johnson survived a four-candidate race in the May primary to advance to the runoff. Wooten won by a sizeable margin 1,527 to Johnson’s 1,157 but neither man garnered the 51 percent plus 1 vote necessary to avoid the runoff.
The candidates in the race for Tax Commissioner are Andi Hinson Juliette and Nicole Stewart. Juliette received 1,212 votes to Stewart’s 1,026 to advance to the runoff.
Ferguson would like to remind everyone that this is a Republican runoff therefore, only those who voted Republican, nonpartisan or didn’t vote at all are eligible to vote in this Election.
The schedule is 8 a.m. until 5 p.m. Monday through Friday until July 22. Election Day is Tuesday, July 26 between the hours of 7 a.m. and 7 p.m.
There is one voting location for Advance Voting, all precincts will vote at the Dawson County Board of Elections Office, 96 Academy Avenue in Dawsonville. On Election Day, voters are to go to their assigned voting precinct.
Thurmond, Gaines and Nix Post Victories Sheriff, Tax Commissioner Races Head for Runoff
News, Politics May 25, 2016
DAWSON COUNTY, Ga. — Chairman-elect Billy Thurmond was taking a much deserved rest in Florida Wednesday after a landslide victory in last night’s General Primary election.
Thurmond received 3,041 votes to defeat his opponent Peter J. Hill by nearly a 3 to 1 margin.
“We worked real hard to pull this out and we’re very pleased with the results,” he said. Thurmond said his opponent called him to congratulate hi on running a clean race, something both candidates did.
When he returns on Saturday, Thurmond said he wants to get to work on a plan to improve employee retention. “We’ve lost a lot of people in the last five years. I know commissioners are looking at the pay scale not and that’s a good thing. I’m looking forward to working with them on a lot of things.”
Chris Gaines will be the other new face on the Board of Commissioners. Gaines, who will represent District 2, won a very close victory over Tim Davis with 2,015 votes to Davis’ 1,924.
District 4 Commissioner Julie Hughes Nix received 2,556 votes to beat Heather Hulsebus who had 1,495.
Elsewhere, there will be a runoff in the Sheriff and Tax Commissioner races.
Tony Wooten was the top vote getter Tuesday with 1,526 to Jeff Johnson’s 1,156.
The two will meet in the Jume 26 runoff.
Andi Henson Juliette led the way in the Tax Commissioner’s race with 1,212 votes. But Nicole Stewart was a close second with 1,025, enough to secure a place in the runoff.
Dawson Elections Chief Pleased with Early Turnout
News, Politics May 13, 2016
DAWSONVILLE — With the May 24th General Primary election day fast approaching, Director of Elections and Registration Glenda Ferguson and her staff have been kept busy during the advanced voting period.
“So far, as of 9 a.m. Friday, 990 ballots have been cast for an average of about 100 per day,” Ferguson said. “I always want to see more, but I’ve been very pleased with the turnout so far. ”
Ferguson said in 2012, about 40 percent of the county’s 15,800 voters waited until election day to cast a ballot. If that percentage holds true this year, total turnout could approach 8,000.
Among the key races to be decided are Dawson County Sheriff where Tony Wooten, Jeff Johnson, Jeff Perry and Frank Sosebee are the candidates.
Voters must also decide who will fill the Ninth District Congressional seat currently held by Doug Collins. Collins is facing a serious challenge from former 10th District Congressman Paul Broun, Lanier Tea Party Patriots founder Mike Scupin, White County educator Roger Fitzpatrick and retired Army and National Guard Brigadier General Bernie Fontaine.
At the state level, District 51 State Senator Steve Gooch of Dahlonega is being challenged by John Williamson, co-founder of the Gilmer County Tea Party.
Locally, voters must fill two vacant seats on the Board of Commissioners after Chairman Mike Berg and District 2 Commissioner James Swafford decided not to run again.
Bill Thurmond and Peter J. Hill will compete for the Chairman’s seat and Chris Gaines and Tim Davis are the candidates in District 2. In District 4, incumbent Julie Nix has drawn a challenge from Heather Hulsebus, former Chairwoman of the Dawson County Republican Party.
The Tax Commissioner race features four candidates, Andi Henson Juliette, Karin McKee, Johnny Glass and Nicole Stewart.
No Democrats have qualified in any of the races, so the winner of the General Primary will take office in January.
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Advanced Voting Begins Monday in Dawson County
News, Politics May 1, 2016
DAWSON COUNTY, Ga. — After months of political campaigns, voters will have a chance to vote for their favorite federal, state and local candidates when advanced voting begins Monday (May 2) in Dawson County in the May 24 General Primary.
Advance voting runs through May 20 (Mon. – Fri.). All advanced voting takes place at the Dawson County Board of Elections Office, 96 Academy Avenue, Dawsonville.
At stake at the federal level is the Ninth District Congressional seat where incumbent Republican Congressman Doug Collins has come under fire from conservatives for his support of President Obama’s Omnibus bill and former House Speaker John Boehner. The challengers are former 10th District Congressman Paul Broun, Lanier Tea Party Patriots founder Mike Scupin, White County educator Roger Fitzpatrick and retired Army and National Guard Brigadier General Bernie Fontaine.
At the state level, District 51 State Senator Steve Gooch of Dahlonega faces a strong challenge from John Williamson, co-founder of the Gilmer County Tea Party.
Locally, voters must fill two vacant seats on the Board of Commissioners after Chairman Mike Berg and District 2 Commissioner James Swafford decided not to run again. Bill Thurmond and Peter J. Hill will compete for the Chairman’s seat and Chris Gaines and Tim Davis are the candidates in District 2. In District 4, incumbent Julie Nix has drawn a challenge from Heather Hulsebus, former Chairwoman of the Dawson County Republican Party.
There is also a four-way race to replace retiring Sheriff Billy Carlisle and all four candidates have many years of experience in law enforcement. The candidates are Frank Sosebee, Jeff Johnson, Jeff Perry and Tony Wooten.
The Tax Commissioner race also features four candidates, Andi Henson Juliette, Karin McKee, Johnny Glass and Nicole Stewart.
No Democrats have qualified in any of the races, so the winner of the General Primary will take office in January.
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Tuesday is Deadline to Register for May Primary
News, Politics April 24, 2016
DAWSON COUNTY, Ga. — Much is at stake in state and local elections May 24 but you can’t vote if you’re not registered and the last day to register is Tuesday, April 26.
One of the most important races is in the 9th District where incumbent U.S. Congressman Doug Collins of Gainesville has come under fire from conservatives for his support of President Obama’s Omnibus bill. His challengers include former 10th District Congressman Paul Broun, Lanier Tea Party Patriots founder Mike Scupin, White County educator Roger Fitzpatrick and retired Army and National Guard Brigadier General Bernie Fontaine.
State Senator Steve Gooch of Dahlonega is running for reelection in the 51st District and has drawn a challenger in John Williamson, co-founder of the Gilmer County Tea Party.
There are two vacant seats on the Board of Commissioners after Chairman Mike Berg and District 2 Commissioner James Swafford decided not to run again. Bill Thurmond and Peter J. Hill will compete for the Chairman’s seat and Chris Gaines and Tim Davis are the candidates in District 2. In District 4, incumbent Julie Nix has drawn a challenge from Heather Hulsebus, former Chairwoman of the Dawson County Republican Party.
There is also a four-way race to replace retiring Sheriff Billy Carlisle and all four candidates have many years of experience in law enforcement. The candidates are Frank Sosebee, Jeff Johnson, Jeff Perry and Tony Wooten.
The Tax Commissioner race also features four candidates, Andi Henson Juliette, Karin McKee, Johnny Glass and Nicole Stewart.
Advance voting begins Monday, May 2 and runs through May 20 (Mon. – Fri.). All advanced voting takes place at the Dawson County Board of Elections Office 96 Academy Avenue, Dawsonville.
No Democrats have qualified in any of the races, so the winner of the General Primary will take office in January.
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Jeff Johnson, Candidate for Dawson Co. Sheriff
News, Politics April 15, 2016
To provide voters the information they need to make an informed choice in the May 24 General Primary election, Fetch Your News will work hard to present a profile of each candidate running for public office. All candidates will be contacted and offered an opportunity to respond to questions.
DAWSONVILE, Ga. — Jeff Johnson says if voters do a thorough job of researching each candidate’s credentials and will vote for experience, he will be elected Dawson County Sheriff next month.
While all four candidates have a tremendous amount of experience, Johnson says he has the most extensive experience in all facets of law enforcement.
“I’m not disparaging any candidate, but one of my opponents spent most of his career as a school resource officer, another on patrol and another in the detention prison system. I have the most expansive background of any candidate,” he said.
“I have supervised and commanded in detention, patrol, investigations, specialized assignments, government housing, internal affairs, courts, training, and administration,” he said
Johnson also served as a law enforcement instructor, teaching at the local, regional and state levels and he has over 3,000 hours of specialized law enforcement training.
Looking at today’s Sheriff’s Office, Johnson says its people are its strength. “We have many fine quality people working in the Sheriff’s Office. Our problem is retention. Our best officers are going to higher paying law enforcement jobs or into the private sector. To keep the good ones, we may need to look at increasing their pay.”
Johnson understands that it’s tax payers who foot the bill for pay increases.
But, he says, it is possible that salary increases could be funded by restructuring and reorganizing the sheriff’s office.
If not, he said he would have a frank discussion with citizens to determine the level of law enforcement they want. “If we need to increase the budget to provide that level of service then we need to look at that. But the community has to have a say in it.”
If he is elected, Johnson said his number one priority will be to increase public safety. “I’m a community driven type person,” he said. “We can increase public safety through good old community policing. I will rebuild our relationship with with the community.”
Johnson recognizes that Dawson County is in for a major growth spurt and that means more problems for law enforcement.
“Increased retail is certainly headed this way soon,” he said. “I’m also hearing the buzz about building more low-income housing in the county to support the retail base. That means we will likely see an increase in theft and other crimes as well as traffic issues We will need to work in partnership with the business community. But we’ll be ready.”
Sheriff’s Candidates Square off at Forum
News, Politics March 30, 2016
DAWSONVILLE, Ga. — With just 8 weeks left before the May 24 Republican Primary, Dawson County residents had another opportunity to evaluate the candidates for sheriff during Tuesday night’s forum at Dawson County Middle School.
The four — Jeff Johnson, Tony Wooten, Jeff Perry and Frank Sosebee — are all veteran law enforcement officers with many years experience. Sheriff Billy Carlisle has announced that he will retire at the end of the year, following 18 years as the county’s top cop.
Candidates agreed on many issues, like the importance of retaining good officers, community policing and fiscal responsibility.
Asked to cite their top priorities as sheriff, Johnson pointed to the need to prevent the flow of drugs into Dawson County. Sosebee said retention of good officers is critical. Perry said the next sheriff will have to address a staff shortage and Wooten cited crime prevention and pointed out that the county burglary rate had dropped by 36 percent in three years.
Sosebee, Perry and Johnson also agreed with a bill passed in the Georia legislature this year that would prevent civil forfeiture of property until after a suspect has been convicted of a crime. Wooten disagreed stating there is a strong system in place to protect the property of those who are found not guilty. “
Watch the Dawson County Sheriff Forum, Sponsored by Dawson County Republican Party, Foothills Republican Women, Dawson County TEA Party
Politics March 28, 2016
Dawson County Republican Party, Dawson County Tea Party and the Foothills Republican Women presents Dawson Sheriff forum March 29th. Below is the video of the Sheriff Forum.
Jeff Perry
Tony Wooten
Jeff Johnson
Frank Sosebee
Dawson County Chamber of Commerce Hosts Sheriff Candidate Forum
Politics March 17, 2016
Dawson County Chamber of Commerce hosted a Sheriff candidate forum 3/17/2016. The candidates are listed below.
Jeff Perry
Frank Sosebee
Jeff Johnson
Tony Wooten
Sheriff’s Candidates Debate in Dawson Co.
News, Politics March 17, 2016
DAWSONVILLE, Ga. — Dawson County will lose a wealth of crime fighting experience when highly respected Sheriff Billy Carlisle retires after 18 years as the county’s top cop at the end of the year. But residents can take comfort in the fact that four outstanding and highly experienced officers have stepped forward to campaign to become Carlisle’s replacement.
The four, Jeff Johnson, Jeff Perry, Frank Sosebee and Tony Wooten, presented their credentials and laid out their vision for the future during Thursday’s candidate forum sponsored by the Dawson County Chamber of Commerce.
Major Johnson, has 23 years of law enforcement experience with supervisory experience in internal affairs, detention, patrol and courts.
Perry is a graduate of Georgia Southern University and is currently pursuing a master’s degree in Criminal Justice at the University of North Georgia. He retired January 1, 2015 with 30 years service. The last 18 years of his career he was a Chief Parole Officer in charge of seven counties in northwest Georgia.
Frank Sosebee has worked in law enforcement for 32 years including stints at Hall County Sheriff’s Office, Dawson County Sheriff’s Office and the Hall County Correctional Institute where he is currently the chief of security. His responsibilities include training, hiring, background checks and internal affairs investigations.
Captain Tony Wooten has worked in the Dawson County Sheriff’s Office for 17 years. His experience includes managing the patrol division, investigations, public information, 911 communication, community policing, school resource officers, warrants and court services divisions.
All four were asked a series of questions, including what experience they had in managing a budget as large as the Sheriff’s Office $7.2 million budget.
Sosebee said he helped to manage a $4.9 million detention center budget in Hall County and that he would focus extensively on the budget if he is elected. But, he added, the county will need more officers and investigators. Crime, he said, is coming in from outside the county and we’ve got to reduce crime. “We need to have more community involvement. We need to involve our business owners and we all need to walk hand in hand.”
Wooten said he is a conservative. “I’m not going to ask you for your money until I spend all my money,” he said. “Until I’m sure I have utilized all our resources, I’m not going to ask for more. It may get to the point where I have to go to the commissioners but not until I’m sure I’ve done everything I can.”
Johnson said he has managed the detention center budget. “It’s the single largest budgetary component of the sheriff’s budget. Every day we’re finding ways to save the county money. When I took over in 2007, we were paid roughly $400,000 a year. Today it’s about $305,000. We’ve saved the county about $100,000 a year. If we get to the point we need to have an increase, I believe the people should have a say so.”
Perry said he would implement results based budgeting. “If we don’t get results from something we’re funding then we won’t fund it anymore,” he said. He added that he once managed three offices and had to make a tough decision to close the offices and let people work from home and take their cars home. “We were able to return $2 million to the general fuund,” he said.
Bearden, Sosebee Wrap Up Qualifying in Dawson Co.
News, Politics March 8, 2016
DAWSONVILLE, Ga. — Qualifying closed Friday in Dawson County with two more candidates tossing their hats in the ring. Incumbent Ted Bearden qualified to run for County Coroner and Frank Sosebee became the fourth candidate to qualify to run for Sheriff.
Ted Bearden Coroner
Sheriff Candidate
Tony Wooten
Jeff Perry
Jeff Johnson
Frank Sosebee
School Board Dist. 1
Doris Cook
School Board District 2 Candidate
Elaine Wilson
School Board Dist. 4
Roger Slaton
Tax Commissioner Candidate
Johnny Glass
Karin McKee
Tony Stewart
Probate Judge Candidate
Jennifer Burt
County Commissioner Dist. 2 Candidate
Chris Gaines
Tim Davis
County Commissioner Dist. 4
Heather Hulsebus
Julie Hughes Nix
Magistrate Judge Candidate
Lisa Thurmond
County Commission Chairman Candidate
Billy Thurmond
Peter Hill
Tax Commissioner Candidate
Andi Henson Juliette
Coroner
Ted Bearden
Candidate Qualifying Begins Monday in Dawsonville
News, Politics March 6, 2016
DAWSONVILLE, Ga. –It’s qualifying week for political hopefuls in Dawson County and all across Georgia.
Election Superintendent Glenda Ferguson said incumbents and newcomers seeking public office must officially declare their candidacy between Monday, March 7 and Friday, March 11. Qualifying will take place from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily except Friday when qualifying ends at noon.
Dist. 4 County Commissioner Julie Nix will seek a fifth term in office but two familiar faces will be leaving the Board of Commissioners. After 12 years in office, Commission Chairman Mike Berg said he will not seek reelection. and Dist. 2 Commissioner James Swafford, who served two terms, has announced he is stepping down also.
The county will also lose a veteran law enforcement officer in Billy Carlisle, who is retiring after 18-years of service as Sheriff. Jeff Johnson, Tony Wooten, Frank Sosebee and Jeff Perry have announced they will campaign for the open position.
Other county offices up for election this year include: Clerk of Court, Coroner, Surveyor, Magistrate Judge and Probate Judge. Both State Senator Steve Gooch, who represents the 51st District, and State Rep. Kevin Tanner who represents Dist. 9 are also up for reelection.