The scheduled November general election to fill the position of mayor and two council members in Richmond Hill will not be necessary, according to City Clerk Dawnne Greene.
Greene said Thursday there will be no election because there were no qualifying candidates to run against incumbent Mayor Russ Carpenter and incumbent council members Kristi Cox and Robbie Ward, thus the trio will retain their respective offices.
Qualifying began Tuesday and concluded at 4:30 p.m. Thursday.
Carpenter, a two-time council member before being elected mayor in 2017 when he also was unopposed, will be serving his second and final term as Mayor. The position is term-limited under the city charter.
This election is a repeat of that 2017 election when Carpenter, Johnny Murphy and Tara Baraniak ran unopposed. Murphy later died while during his term and Baraniak resigned due to moving out of state.
Cox (Post 1) was elected in March 2019 to complete the remainder of Murphy’s term while Ward (Post 2) was elected in November 2019 to fill Baraniak’s seat.
The past decade saw Bryan County as the fastest growing county in the state with a 48% growth in population. Much of this growth has taken place in Richmond Hill and south Bryan County. Carpenter with his 12 years in elected office has observed and helped manage much of that growth.
Despite the ongoing COVID-19 issues, there are no economic indicators to make anyone believe this growth, especially in South Bryan County, is going to abate which will making the coming years challenging for elected officials.
Under Carpenter’s stewardship he and council have worked to manage and control this growth while seeing to it that Richmond Hill is not victim to the urban sprawl which is often found in other communities who have experienced similar growth and development.
A native of Richmond Hill who is a government teacher at Richmond Hill High School, the mayor’s focus has been on overseeing growth while maintaining the city’s integrity, small-town feel and continuing to improve city services while avoiding tax increases.
“I think growth is good but we want it to be good for the city,” Carpenter said in an earlier interview. “Growth for the sake of growth is not always good. Quality growth is what you push for.”
Cox and Ward are both looking forward to serving a full four-year term and believe they have much to contribute in the years ahead.
A major challenge, of course, has been dealing with the pandemic and its impact in particular on Richmond Hill’s small locally owned businesses.
“We have faced unprecedented times with the pandemic while maintaining a high level of service to our residents regarding the daily operations and projects and keeping the health and safety of each person, as well as the livelihood of each business as top priorities,” Cox said. “I feel it is an honor to serve and I am thankful I have this opportunity.”
Cox, the current mayor pro tem, spent her career in the field of social services and is currently employed with Covenant Care Adoptions as a client caseworker. She cited several accomplishments under Carpenter and the current council of which she is most proud.
The first which she cited was the hiring of Brendon Greene as fire chief and hiring of additional firemen and purchase of additional equipment which has led to the city having one of the top-rated fire departments in the state for its size.
Cox also noted the completion of Boles Park which honors lifelong Richmond Hill resident Harry Lee Boles who died in Vietnam, the Richmond Heights drainage project and improvements to J.F. Gregory Park.
“Ensuring we have appropriate and adequate infrastructure throughout the entire city, as well as appropriate and adequate fire and police services,” Cox said in addressing what she sees as one of the major challenges facing the city in the near and foreseeable future.
For the next four years Cox said her priorities for the city are safety, strategically planned infrastructure, drainage and working with stakeholders to ensure everyone has a voice and working with community partners to ensure the city is providing the highest level of service and quality for its residents.
Ward is a lifelong resident of Richmond Hill who has a highly successful business background. He founded and owned Ward’s Auto Painting and Bodyworks which had locations in southeast Georgia and north Florida with 200 employees before he sold it in 2016. He remains active in business and is involved with several organizations dedicated to growth and development.
“There are several things I am proud of,” Ward said of his time on council. “Most importantly is my role in getting the three-year long lawsuit with Bryan County settled.
“I have been able to help with the management of growth without any increase in the tax rate which has been the case for over 13 years. As far as the future of the city, my main objective that I want to see through until its end is to keep the two older (Interstate-95) exits viable as we grow at the new exit (82).”
Among his priorities for the next fours years, Ward cited safety for all residents and said a major challenge is the amount of residential rooftops versus the city’s commercial base.
“We need to focus on attracting commercial business for the diversifying of our tax base as well as the sales tax component,” Ward said. “I will always vote on the side of small business and will keep working on new ways to keep fees and taxes low.”
This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Richmond Hill council, mayoral seats unopposed in November in fastest growing county in state
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