Just less than 5 percent of Oconee County’s registered voters had cast a ballot before voting for the March 24 Presidential Primary was suspended by Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger at the end of early voting today.
The Presidential Primary now will coincide with the already scheduled May 19 party primaries and nonpartisan judicial elections.
Oconee County’s approach to guns became solidly embedded last Saturday in the upcoming elections for the Board of Commissioners and for Sheriff.
Carol Bennett and Johnny Pritchett, both seeking the Republican nomination for Chair of the Oconee County Board of Commissioners, attended the meeting of the Oconee County Gun Coalition at the Oconee County Library and endorsed that group’s desire to declare the county a Second Amendment Sanctuary.
The Oconee County Board of Education Monday evening tabled a proposal from school administrators that Oconee County Schools begin charging the county Parks and Recreation Department for use of school athletic fields.
Dallas LeDuff, director of student services for Oconee County Schools, presented the School Board with a revision of his proposal from a week earlier that phased in the usage fees across the three years of a new joint use agreement with the county.
Brian Patterson, acting District Attorney for Oconee and Clarke counties, told Oconee County Democrats last month that, if he becomes District Attorney on a permanent basis, he will resurrect a number of unsolved murder cases in the two counties.
He also said he will increase the investigation of organized criminal activity and gang activity, continue to prioritize crimes against women and children, and promote alternative court programs to keep people from having a criminal records for lesser offenses.
Democrats qualified for three Oconee County offices on Friday, setting up competitive races in November for the Board of Commissioners Chair and two Board of Education posts.
Eric Gisler, co-chair of the Oconee County Democratic Party, qualified for the Chair of the Board of Commissioners, Laura Williams Ormes qualified for Post 4 on the Board of Education, and Joan Parker qualified for Post 5 on the Board of Education.
Ryan Anglin, founder of the Oconee County Gun Coalition, appeared before the Oconee County Board of Commissioners on Tuesday night and asked that body to adopt a resolution declaring the county a Second Amendment Sanctuary.
Anglin spoke during the citizen comment section of the Board of Commissioners meeting and followed five speakers, including Marisue Hilliard, a volunteer with the Georgia Chapter of Moms Demand Action For Gun Sense In America, who anticipated Anglin’s request and spoke against it.
Four more candidates qualified for Oconee County offices Wednesday and Thursday, providing a second candidate in the race for Sheriff, a third candidate for Board of Commissioners Chair, a second candidate for Post 1 on the Board of Commissioners–all in the Republican Primary--and a third candidate for the nonpartisan Probate Court Judge race.
James Hale joined Jimmy Williamson in the race to replace retiring Sheriff Scott Berry. Both filings were expected, as the two have been campaigning for months for the May 19 primary and yard signs are already spread around the county.
