Skip to main content
Tuesday, November 10, 2026Nov 10
Subscribe
All Sections
Search
More

Walker County GOP calls for change in local government

Walker County GOP primary candidate Shannon Whitfield, right, hugs John Logan upon arriving at his party on primary election night Tuesday, May 24, 2016, in Lafayette, Ga. Whitfield beat opponent Mike Peardon for his party's nomination and will face incumbent and former GOP member Bebe Heiskell in the fall for Walker County's sole commissioner's seat.
Walker County GOP primary candidate Shannon Whitfield, right, hugs John Logan upon arriving at his party on primary election night Tuesday, May 24, 2016, in Lafayette, Ga. Whitfield beat opponent Mike Peardon for his party's nomination and will face incumbent and former GOP member Bebe Heiskell in the fall for Walker County's sole commissioner's seat. Walker County GOP primary candidate Shannon Whitfield, right, hugs John Logan upon arriving at his party on primary election night Tuesday, May 24, 2016, in Lafayette, Ga. Whitfield beat opponent Mike Peardon for his party's nomination and will face incumbent and former GOP member Bebe Heiskell in the fall for Walker County's sole commissioner's seat.

By Tyler Jett 2 min read

The Walker County Republican Party is calling for a binding vote to change the structure of the local government.

During a meeting July 19, members of the party passed a resolution telling local Georgia representatives and a senator to write a local act in the Legislature next year to create a binding referendum. The referendum would ask voters if they want to switch Walker County’s form of government from that of a sole commissioner to that of a board of commissioners.

photo Bebe Heiskell

If state Rep. John Deffenbaugh, R-Lookout Mountain, state Sen. Jeff Mullis, R-Chickamauga, and state Rep. Steve Tarvin, R-Chickamauga, pass a local act in Atlanta next year, the Republican Party is asking for the question to be on the ballot in 2018. That is when the next scheduled countywide race will take place.

The local Republican Party passed the resolution after the issue came up in a non-binding referendum on May 24. Seventy-five percent of the 5,985 voters said they wanted the form of government to change.

“The Walker County Republican Party County Committee views the result of the ballot question on the form of Walker County government on May 24, 2016, as a mandate by Republican voters in Walker County to advocate for a binding referendum,” the resolution reads.