Richmond Hill businessman Buck Holly running for County Commissioner
Buck Holly’s eyes were closed but his mind had yet to shut down for the night. The sound of toilets flushing and footsteps were all too common for the budding entrepreneur who lived in the back of his commercial property, C&H Precision, which manufacturers firearm parts for pistols. Having just a small chunk of change in his pocket, Holly could not afford an apartment for himself and his child, so he was forced to live on site until he made a decent profit.
Those long-past days are what fueled him to run for chairman of the Bryan County Commissioner, but his venture into politics is a stark contrast from his view on politicians years ago.
“I never thought I would enjoy doing it,” said Holly. “But when I saw my company grow, add employees and I got to do more and more things to help families, I came to the realization that maybe my calling was to help people raise their quality of life. If I can do it for 50 families, why can’t I do it for 15,000?”
Don Montgomery, solicitor general of Bryan County, spoke highly of the veteran, saying, “We need Buck Holly.”
“Bryan County deserves a Chairman of the County Commission that will lead us with honesty and transparency,” said Montgomery. “Buck Holly is a leader who will bring his business background to the table, making county finances transparent. His focus is on managing budgets wisely and cutting down taxpayer burdens. In Buck Holly, we’ve got a candidate who isn’t just talking about hearing everyone out, but actually lives and breathes inclusivity, making sure every single person in our community feels heard and valued.”
Holly’s campaign platform is built on:
● Fostering positive relationships with local cities, surrounding counties and state officials.
● Collaborating on projects and policies to benefit the community.
● Ensuring effective communication and cooperation between different levels of government.
Holly is not worried about those who doubt his inexperience in politics, either.
“I have been the janitor. I’ve done marketing, accounts payable. I’ve negotiated contracts and I’ve been human resources,” said Holly. “All the things that I do are directly relatable to the job of a politician. If you compare my experience to my competitors’ experience, if you put it on paper, I’d be willing to bet that I have more experience than he does, but he can claim that he has political experience.”
Holly’s running mate is incumbent Carter Infinger, who has held the seat since 2016.
County Commissioner Patrick Kisgen is president of C&H Precision, but Holly said he does not think there is a conflict of interest there since the commission chairman is not allowed to vote.
“I cannot influence him,” said Holly. “I’ve known him for 15 years. He is one of the most admirable and respectable men I know. There is not enough money in the world to get him to change his vote.”
Holly went on to say his business itself would not benefit from him being chairman since a good percentage of his business comes from outside Bryan County.
“Our target market is not here,” said Holly. “These are broad numbers but 40% is ecommerce, 25% is military and law enforcement across the U.S. — there is nothing I can do as chairman to improve my business standing. I’m not a heating and air guy or real estate guy where I can influence people.”
His first order of business under his leadership would be fixing the torn relationship between North Bryan communities and county government.
“They feel like the red headed stepchild,” said Holly, who lives in Richmond Hill. “I do know there is a larger share of that tax base that is diverted to the north end but they don’t see it or feel it. That stems from the fact that their voices are not heard. Politicians do not go to the McDonalds to sit and hear issues on the north end unless its election season. If you enter the lion’s den and you make yourself vulnerable, you can take that data back to your commissioners, you can look at it, examine it and see what can be done.”
Holly pointed out several deficiencies on the north side, such as the lack of an urgent care facility and the amount of time it has taken to secure funding for the Hendrix Park gym after the tornado in April 2022.
“Can you honestly look me in the eye and tell me that if the gym on the south end got bulldozed by a tornado, that they’re somehow miraculously wouldn’t have been some big inflatable put up that was temporary, so they could play basketball or soccer or tennis or whatever indoors until the new facility went up?” said Holly. “I’ve asked several commissioners, why did we not get ahead of this? They said in the paper we might have to fund some of this ourselves until we finally settle with the insurance. We could have been doing this two years ago. This is why people on the north end are so frustrated. They feel like they don’t get anything.”
Although Holly understands and welcomes the enormous task of managing growth in rural communities, without his vote, he would have to rely on council to meet residents halfway. His goal is to lend his ear to a community that has faced quality-of-life issues, such as traffic congestion, stemming from Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America and the abundance of warehouses in the area.
“Growth is inevitable and it is headed that way,” said Holly. “When we talk about responsible growth, we have to have transparency. There needs to be community meetings to see what’s acceptable and what is not to the folks that live out there. I’m in staunch opposition of massive housing developments where they remove any natural resource characters. I would try to mediate acceptable solutions for the majority.”
Latrice Williams is a general assignment reporter covering Bryan and Effingham County. She can be reached at lwilliams6@gannett.com.