Augusta Commission candidate forum sees races for districts 5 and 9

AUGUSTA, Ga. (WRDW/WAGT) – Georgia’s voter registration deadline is Monday, April 22, and the May primary is one month away on May 21.

There are races this May for sheriff, district attorney, and Augusta commissioners.

Candidates for commission districts 5 and 9 filled up stands at the Alleluia Community School Saturday night, to hear from incumbents and challengers trying to secure commission seats.

For District 5, Commissioner Bobby Williams, and challenger Don “DC” Clark, both talked about tonight’s biggest recurring topic: keeping Augusta-Richmond County clean.

Bobby Williams said, “If you’re at home you want to clean your house, pretty much like being in Augusta, Georgia, it’s our home, it’s where we stay, we gotta keep it clean, we have the up-keep…”

Don Clark said, “I think we need to hold people accountable. We have the services in place, we have it built into our budgets to maintain our facilities. You wouldn’t build anything without ensuring that into your budget.”

Super District 9 candidates, Commissioner Francine Scott, and former Commissioner Marion Williams, also spoke about keeping the county clean.

This super district seat looks over districts 1, 2, 4, and 5.

Francine Scott said, “We have different departments doing the same thing. And what I think we need to do is consolidate those type of services.”

Marion Williams said, “I’m looking at the cleanup in Augusta, how, one side of Augusta looks one way, the other side of Augusta looks the other way. There’s trash all over the street…”

Mayor Garnett Johnson also made an appearance at Saturday’s forum and spoke about bringing voting power to the mayor’s seat at commission meetings, rather than just being a tie-breaking vote.

Mayor Johnson said, “It provides accountability to the only at large elected official in our entire government. For them to be able to take action to get things done. As you see, the abstention rule has prevented progress in Augusta Richmond County.”

Early voting gets underway Monday, April 29, and the Georgia primary voting day is on Tuesday, May.

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