Henry Commissioner Cannon holds onto seat in special election

Incumbent District 3 Commissioner Charles "Greg" Cannon won a special election Tuesday to hold onto his seat in Henry County.

Incumbent District 3 Commissioner Charles "Greg" Cannon won a special election Tuesday to hold onto his seat in Henry County.

Incumbent Henry County Commissioner Charles “Greg” Cannon held on to his seat in a special election Tuesday in the south metro Atlanta community.

Cannon, a Republican, received about 3,400 votes to represent residents in Henry County’s District 3. Democratic candidates Sarita Dyer and Briana Clay received around 1,100 and 160 votes respectively. Only the 38,000 or so registered voters of the district were allowed to cast a ballot in the election.

The seat became vacant in March after the death of District 3 Commissioner Gary Barham from COVID-19 complications. Barham, a Republican, had been the commissioner of the district since 2013 and spent 31 years working for the city of McDonough before his death.

Cannon was the choice of Republicans to fill the position temporarily after state legislators earlier this year pushed through controversial legislation that allowed the party in control of the seat to name a successor until the special election.