FORSYTH, Ga. — Monroe County has two Republican candidates, George Emami and Travis Daniel, running for District 4's County Commissioner. We went out to talk to the incumbent and to hear about what changes want to see in Monroe County.
"What keeps me doing this is-- it's those individual people who say, 'Thank you,'” George Emami says.
Emami is a realtor in Monroe County and is hoping to keep his seat as county commissioner.
"I love this county. I've got a good tactical and practical background of how to make good, daily business decisions,” he says.
Emami says he wasn't planning on running again, but he says he saw no candidate that held his values of honesty and transparency. If he wins, he wants to continue the work he's been doing for the county, like expanding internet access.
"A number of our constituents that are served by Georgia Power were sort of left behind with this recent rollout,” he explains. “I want to try to find a solution that will help them that won't involve a ton of taxpayer dollars.”
Travis Daniel is a plumber in Monroe County. He's running against George Emami for District 4 County Commissioner. He's declined to speak to us about why he's running, but Emami says he's concerned because Daniel has not shown up to a single county commissioners meeting since starting his campaign.
"I do have some questions and concerns about whether he knows what he's trying to get himself into. Should he defeat me, I'll congratulate him and shake his hand,” Emami says.
We took to the streets of Forsyth to see what people want to see change in their community.
Rebecca Walker has lived in Forsyth her whole life. She thinks Emami is doing a good job, but she wants to see more growth.
"I think we could allow for more people, more businesses to come in. I mean, more things for, like, my teenagers to be able to do. Like bowling, or just anything that'll help for the kids to be able to do,” Walker says.
Mitavious Ellis agrees with Walker saying that he wants more things for kids to do during the summer. He wants changes that’ll be positive to the community.
"When it storms sometimes, you're riding down the highway and you don't see nothing but water on the side of the road, so the highways around here are messed up. That's what I think we can try to work on around here,” he says.
Travis Daniel's public Facebook page says that he's lived in Monroe County since the 1980s and "he's no politician”. He says he wants to improve the area, but doesn't want to grow too fast.