Walker County voters are just a couple of short steps away from getting to vote on their form of government.
Right now, the county is one of only eight in Georgia governed by a sole commissioner. In a non-binding referendum on the state’s primary ballot last May, 75 percent of voters said they preferred a board of commissioners to a sole commissioner.
If the state Senate, as expected, approves the bill, it will go to Gov. Nathan Deal’s desk. If he signs it, residents would vote on the issue in 2018. If they vote for a board of commissioners, that board would, in turn, be elected in 2020. The bill already has been approved once in the Senate, 52-1, and 150-0 in the House.
For all concerned, we believe a board of commissioners is more representative than a single commissioner. A sole commissioner winds up with too much responsibility and too much blame and no one to play devil’s advocate.
Feisty Bebe Heiskell was Walker County’s sole commissioner for 16 years until being unseated by Shannon Whitfield in November. As the sole decider on county business, she took on too much debt, many voters believed, and left Walker in precarious financial shape.