WARNER ROBINS, Ga. — Zachary Ivester, Shane Gottwals, and Steve Williams are the Republican candidates hoping to become the Post 2 Houston County commissioner. The men each say if they are elected, these are their priorities:
"One of the biggest things that a commission does is spend money, it funds departments. It keeps everything running, and if I’m not there doing that, then I don’t need to be doing something else, so that’s really going to be the focus, making sure all the departments have what they need, making sure the employees are served well and make sure they all have a worth,” Gottwals said.
"I want to focus on employee recruitment and retention as well as public safety. We have some department needs that we need to focus on through Houston County Fire Department, sheriff’s office, Department of Public Works. There are some influential things that are going on in today's time, today's problems that are going to be tomorrow's problems and we can't cover it up with a Band-Aid," Ivester said.
"Work together with our municipalities because they’re a part of that with Robins Air Force Base with the other large industries in our area and small businesses those are integral to the growth and success of Houston County,” Williams said.
We asked the candidates what they believe are the major issues facing Houston County. Gottwals believes it's growth, Ivester says employee retention, and Williams wants to focus on public safety.
"I need to make sure that I’m not redirecting the ship and that we're keeping things going in the right direction so when it comes to our roads to just business development and all the different things that come with a booming and thriving economy, I got to make sure I’m prepared to keep that ship sailing in the right direction,” Gottwals said.
"It’s employee recruitment and retention, but we need to manage the growth responsibly and respectfully at the same time, which they kind of go hand-in- hand. We have to manage growth responsibly and respectfully through infrastructure, through development, through more opportunity more services and more growth,” Ivester said.
"Our sheriff's department, they are low on staff and we definitely need to do something to encourage folk to come work in Houston County and to support them. Those men and women put their lives on the line each day for the safety of our citizens and we need to make sure were supporting them," Williams said.
The winner of the Post 2 race in the May primary will face Democratic challenger Tim Riley in the November general election. Early voting runs until May 20th. Election Day is May 24th.