Candidates for commission chair and post one fought for votes at McCaysville Saturday under a scorching sun. Sponsored by the Fannin County Republican Women and the Fannin County Tea Party Patriots and held at Horseshoe Bend Park, the event featured candidates running for a variety of races, with emphasis on county races.

In the commission chair race, Incumbent Bill Simonds faced stiff competition, competing against Billy Callihan, Randy Collins, Garnett P. Webb, Charles Fish, and Tommy Ledford. From the start, the themes of the debate were the economy and job creation, with a focus on infrastructure. As such, the first question set the theme, when candidates were asked if they favor tax breaks in order to attract companies into the county or encourage existing companies to expand.

Simonds said the county has done both of these things, trying to court business to come into the county and encourage existing local businesses to expand, although he did not say these were accomplished through tax breaks. He also added a caveat, saying that commissioners can only do so much. He explained that the economic development authority has more leeway than commissioners. Ledford agreed the county needs to help entice businesses into the area and assist local businesses grow. However, he was against

“giving way the county,”

and said “no” to big tax breaks for businesses. Callihan too said he was against giving large tax breaks to businesses. He explained that by doing so, the citizens would then expect similar if not the same tax breaks.

“We need to consider everybody,”

he said. Conversely, though, Collins said he would give as many tax breaks as possible to businesses coming into Fannin County. He went on to mention a current inventory tax in the county, which he said he would eliminate. For his part, Webb cautioned giving too many tax breaks, suggesting, rather, that

“The leaders of Fannin County, including the chairman, needs to be out of the courthouse and put on their selling shoes and go out (and) make presentations and talk about facts, figures, and ideas…to bring big companies into Fannin County.”

He added that he has already approached businesses in an effort to entice them into the area.

Post One Commissioner candidates also participated in the event. Candidates running for the office are Joe Webb, William C. Mitchell, Earl Johnson, Jerry L. Williams, and Clarence Farmer Jr. Like the chairman and most other elections this year, the theme of the debate was the economy and dealing with persistent financial strains in the county.

In an early question on favoring reducing the size of government to make budget, Mitchell said he was not in favor of reducing the size of government, because, for him, this meant

“Reducing jobs that local individuals here in Fannin County have.”

He asserted he would only reduce jobs as a last resort, saying that short falls can be handled in other ways, although he did not give examples of other ways to handle financial shortfalls. Williams and Farmer agreed with Mitchell. Farmer argued money management is the key to reducing government without reducing workforce. He cited his time on the school board when the board cut $1 million from the budget without furloughing teachers. Johnson offered a more business-like view.

“When the work is not there, you cannot keep working the people,”

he said. To retain workforce, Johnson suggested increasing versatility of current workers, giving them a wider range of responsibilities. Joe Webb saw the question, ultimately, of how to counter a declining tax digest. Webb’s answer to the problem was to reduce spending.

“We must roll back spending to the benchmark levels of 2006,”

he said,

“and then line-justify any increases from 2006 forward.”

He underscored his approach by saying that it is inappropriate to lay off people when management fails.

Video of debates coming soon.