Commissioner candidate Shannon Whitfield has asked state-level politicians to help change Walker County’s form of government.
Whitfield, the Republican nominee for commissioner, said in a press release that the local representatives and senator should pass a resolution to put a binding referendum on the 2018 ballot. That referendum would ask people if they want to change Walker County’s government from a sole commissioner structure to that of a board of commissioners.
If the item were on the 2018 ballot, and if it passed, the form of government would change in 2021. Voters would pick a board in 2020.
Whitfield’s urging comes three weeks after 75 percent of voters said in a non-binding referendum that they wanted to change the form of government. That referendum on the May 24 ballot was supposed to serve as a measuring stick, showing politicians how voters felt.
“The vote was crystal clear,” Whitfield said in the release. “The citizens of Walker County want a board of commissioners, and they are looking for Shannon Whitfield to be the last sole commissioner.”