Board management and county growth are some of the hot topics in the Republican primary race for Walker County chair, as a former county employee challenges the incumbent facing voters for the third time.
Incumbent Shannon Whitfield was first elected as sole commissioner in 2017. In 2021, he took office as chair of the first Walker County Board of Commissioners for its four-year term. He is being challenged by Angie Teems, a retiree from the health care industry and former county employee.
The primary is May 21, and early voting runs through May 17. There are no other candidates qualified for the Nov. 5 general election.
Whitfield bested two candidates in the 2020 Republican primary with just over 52% of the vote, according to the Georgia secretary of state’s website.
In late April, both the Walker County Chamber of Commerce and the county’s Republican Party held candidate events that Whitfield and Teems attended.