Mcdonald to be interim election chief
♦ The board is beginning the hiring process again as the previous hire called to say he’s not coming after all.
Pete Mcdonald will take over as the sole interim elections supervisor after the person set to start work in that position this week decided not to take the job.
James Stephens was set to begin his first day in the role as Floyd County elections supervisor on Thursday. On Wednesday, the county announced he declined the position, reopening the search for a new elections supervisor.
Mcdonald, who had served as interim elections supervisor along with Steve Miller, brings years of experience to the role as he steps in.
“Working together, the staff and elections board will deliver a well-run May primary, runoff and general election in November, plus run-off if needed,” Mcdonald said.
Mcdonald previously served six years as the chair of the Floyd County Board of Elections and Registration, where he functioned as the superintendent of elections.
A former president of Georgia Northwestern Technical College, Mcdonald retired from that position in 2019. He has also served as a past chair of the Rome-floyd Chamber of Commerce and a vice chair of the Rome-floyd Development Authority.
The announcement Wednesday came as somewhat of a surprise. Stephens had already begun training to become certified to run an election. He recently attended a Georgia Association of Voter Registration and Election Officials conference in Athens with the rest of the newly appointed county elections board.
WBHF radio in Bartow County reported that the Euharlee City Council had met to recognize Stephens for his work there, but then announced that he had changed his mind.
The radio station reported that the city offered him a contract through 2025, which he accepted.
“I am grateful. I am sorry for the rollercoaster,” Stephens said at the meeting on Tuesday night. “I think the steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord — and I don’t mean to sound overly religious, but I believe I am supposed to stay here and I am grateful y’all are permitting it.”
Stephens told WBHF he decided to stay earlier that day after having breakfast with elected officials. He said they discussed their vision for the future of Euharlee, and he realized he wasn’t done with the city.
CALLED MEETING THURSDAY
The path to hiring an elections supervisor — a newly formed position and an upgrade in pay from the former chief elections clerk position — has been a rocky one.
Floyd County commissioners officially approved Stephens as the new county elections supervisor at their March 22 meeting.
During that meeting, three people spoke in opposition to Stephens’ hiring on the basis that he has no experience running an election. Those same speakers voiced support for Interim Assistant Elections Supervisor Vanessa Waddell, who had been recommended for the position last summer by the former elections board.
What followed was a contentious public participation session as people in support of Waddell spoke in her favor and others spoke against hiring her in that position.
Commissioners declined the recommendation to permanently hire Waddell, citing a desire to see a more inclusive process, and asked the board to cast a wider net.
The now defunct board began interviews for the position after municipal elections in 2021, but postponed the hiring process after local lawmakers introduced legislation in November to create a new five-member election board.
However, instead of just expanding the board as the three members had requested, the legislation dissolved the group and replaced it with a restructured five-member board.
The County Commission appointed five new board members and, in late February, they restarted the hiring process for a new elections supervisor.
The elections board interviewed what Chair Jerry Lee described as “under a dozen” candidates in early March.
On March 8, the board spent about 20 minutes in closed session with County Attorney Virginia Harman and County Manager Jamie Mccord and announced Stephens as their recommendation.
The Floyd County Elections Board will meet Thursday at 4 p.m. to discuss the status of its search for a supervisor — in a session closed to the public. The rest of the meeting will be open. The board meets on the second floor of the Floyd County Administration Building at 12 E. Fourth Ave.