From all indications, Hamilton County residents voting in the March 1 Republican primary couldn't go wrong by electing any one of three candidates for assessor of property.
Two of them, Randy Johnston and Sterling Jetton, have deep experience in the office, while one, Hamilton County Commissioner Marty Haynes, has an equal amount of experience in private business, which is the route taken by Bill Bennett, the current assessor, and his predecessor, Claude Ramsey.
We believe Johnston offers voters the best option for using his experience in the office to move it forward.
The winner of the Republican primary will face unopposed Democrat businessman Mark Siedlecki in the general election in August.
Johnston was recruited to the office 31 years ago by Ramsey and rose to his current position of residential property supervisor, where he oversees the work of 10 appraisers. In his position, he also is assistant to the Hamilton County Board of Equalization.
He believes the assessor's office could benefit from cross-training employees, updated GIS (geographic information system) maps, an improved website, and improved transparency and accessibility.
Johnston, a late entry in the race, said he was approached by community leaders and asked to run. He said he initially hesitated, but after consulting with his family, he said he asked himself, "Why not me? Why not now?"
"It's an opportunity to lead," he told the Times Free Press.
Haynes, a sales executive for Porter Warner Industries since 2000, has provided consistent conservative leadership for District 3 (Hixson) on the Hamilton County Commission since first being elected in 2012. We especially salute him for going against the majority of commissioners who decided to pull $900,000 out of the county's reserves last summer when discretionary funds were not included in the fiscal 2016 budget.
He believes his skills in customer relations, communication, employee relations and budgeting are among the attributes he can bring to what he believes is largely a management post.
Jetton worked in the assessor's office for 27 years, the last few years part-time after he accepted the pastorship of a small church in East Brainerd. He left the office, as senior appraiser, several years ago to devote all of his time to being the church's pastor. Like Johnston, he said "running for office was not on my radar," but he said several employees from the assessor's office called to encourage him to make the race.
If he wins, he'd also like to cross-train staff, make better use of office's computer system, purchase GPS technology for cars for employees to use in the field, and create better efficiency and productivity in the office.
While we're certain Jetton and Haynes would provide excellent leadership to the office, we think Johnston's current familiarity with the office, his experience as the owner of a small business, and his plan for technological and efficiency improvements give him an edge.