Five file for open commission seat

Five people have filed to run for the open seat on the Whitfield County Commission. Roger Crossen, the former District 3 commissioner, died in November 2020 from complications with COVID-19. The five candidates:

› Jonathan Bagley, 48, is a director of purchasing. In an email, Bagley said he’s running “to help promote and improve the community that I grew up in and love.”

› Shannon Bearfield, 42, has a doctorate in pharmacy and works with a lab that services pain management patients and COVID19 testing. Bearfield, after saying Crossen’s “service to his community and his life were cut entirely too short,” is running to help bridge the gap between residents and the leaders in Whitfield County. “We need to lead by example and build a relationship with our residents built on a mutual respect for one another,” Bearfield wrote in an email. “As someone who works in the medical community, we need our residents and the Board of Commissioners to support us during this pandemic so we can in turn provide them with the care they require.”

› Shane Day, 49, is the commercial sales director for Tiarco Chemical. Day does not have any previous political experience but said he is running on the platform of bringing “common sense, better accountability and transparency to our local county government.”

› John Thomas, 57, is the co-owner of Coldwell Banker Kinard Realty. Thomas serves on the

Whitfield County Planning Commission and the Dalton Whitfield County Hospital Authority and previously served on the Whitfield County school board from 2007 to 2010. “I enjoy serving others and want to help Whitfield County continue to grow economically,” Thomas wrote in an email. “I want to help ensure that taxpayers’ money is being used wisely.”

› Chad “Bubba” Young, 40, is an insurance agent and retirement investor with New York Life. Young worked on Gov. Brian Kemp’s campaign in 2018. Young said he is running for commissioner “because of the love I have for the citizens of Whitfield County and the city of Dalton.”

Whitfield County will hold a special election on March 16. Crossen’s term expires Dec. 31, 2022.

County Administrator Mark Gibson said in December that if the remainder of Crossen’s term had been less than 12 months, the other commissioners could have appointed someone to fill it.

“Because the remainder of the term is greater than 12 months, a call for a special election will be done,” Gibson said. “The seat will remain empty until the election is held.”

The election will be nonpartisan, although candidates will be able to list their parties.

Crossen represented District 3, in the northwest part of the county. Candidates for the commission seat must live in the district they represent.