Polk County Commissioners are going to be sitting and listening to a group who have sought to join their ranks in a forum this evening, and it’ll likely take a little while to get through the session with seven people being given time to talk.
The board will begin the forum this evening at the County Commission meeting room at the Polk County Police Department (73 Cline Ingram Jackson Drive, Cedartown) starting at 6 p.m. to hear from the candidates.
Three women and four men have stepped up for consideration for the District 1 seat left open by the passing of Commissioner Scotty Tillery at the beginning of the year.
The County Commission will have until month’s end to make a decision on who they’ll select to take over the remainder of the year’s time on the seat. Tillery would have faced election this coming November for a new four-year term, and any of the seven chosen for the seat will have the same challenge this year.
In alphabetical order, these are the seven who are under consideration:
Andrew Carter
The voice of many of the Cedartown High sports broadcasts local residents listen to every day, Andrew Carter is the Station Manager of WGAA Radio 1340 AM/106.1 FM in Cedartown, as well as the Music Director for First Baptist Church of Rockmart.
He previously served two terms on the Cedartown City Commission before he finished out his term in office in 2023. He’s also been involved in a number of community organizations throughout the past years.
Carter hopes to apply his two terms of experience in local government toward serving as the District 1 Commissioner, plus his long ties to both Cedartown and Rockmart, to the benefit of the County Commission if selected.
Deborah Connelly
A tax professional and local produce grower, Connelly is a Marietta native who moved to Polk County in 2006. She came to the area after starting her business DAC Tax Services in 1997 in Annapolis, Maryland.
Connelly and her husband Hank shared their lives together in Polk until he passed away in 2018. Even though she lost her “backbone in the garden” she continues to work in the soil and dive into numbers.
She hopes to use her experience in the business world to ensure the county government remains fiscally responsible and utilize her problem-solving skills in moving various issues forward with productive results for all.
Janet Jolly Edwards
A former educator with the Polk School District, Edwards spent 30 years in the classroom and continues to work with children locally via Murphy Harpst Children’s Center in Cedartown. A native of Anchorage, Alaska, her family moved to Cedartown when she was a child following the end of her father’s service with the military.
She and her husband Mark love the outdoors, with interests ranging from mountain climbing to long distance running. She decided to get involved and seek the appointment as another effort to help the community, and seeks first to learn what residents need from local government.
Her hopes if appointed is to maintain a fiscally responsible government and work with organizations like Keep Polk Beautiful to ensure a clean and happy community.
Jordan Hubbard
A former Cedartown City Commissioner like Carter, Jordan Hubbard also previously served as chair of the City Board and despite the past several years out of local politics, has kept busy. He’s a local entrepreneur with several business interests (including Ideal Bakery) as well as an adjunct professor for dual enrollment courses for Georgia Northwestern Technical College and Georgia Highlands College in Politics and History at both high schools.
He is seeking to get back into politics after he came off the Cedartown board when he and his wife Jessica moved out of the city limits and into a new home in 2019. He was first elected to office in 2013 to the City Commission.
Hubbard told Commissioners in his letter of intent he seeks to continue in the positive work underway by the County toward bettering the lives of local residents.
Jose Iglesias
From 2017 to 2018, Jose Iglesias already held the post of County Commissioner for District 1. He was an appointee, taking over the spot left vacant when former Commissioner Jason Ward stepped down from his seat.
Owner of Taxes de America in downtown Cedartown, Iglesias and his wife and children have called Cedartown home for decades and has bee involved in a number of community organizations and boards. His most current posting has been on the Cedartown Planning Commission.
He believes his service to the board would be a benefit since he has already gone through training, has a deep understanding of many of the issues still facing the board and is keep up with current projects underway for the county as well.
Derinda Stephens
A wife, mom, real estate broker, volunteer, and community leader. Derinda Stephens has worn many hats throughout a lifetime in Polk County and has been the first person many new families meet when they first come to the area.
She’s the founder and also a broker at Integrity Realty, which opened in 2012 to sell properties across the county and around the region. Her community service includes Polk County Leadership Academy, the Take Back Polk program, the Rotary Club of Polk County and Kiwanis. Stephens has also served on the Polk County Board of Assessors for the past 5 years.
Her hope if selected is to be a voice for local residents in county government and continue her tradition of service to the community.
James Vines
A previous Commission candidate, James Vines is seeking his third opportunity to serve the residents of Polk.
Vines and his wife run a rental property business in Polk following a career in military and law enforcement. He remains active with the Polk County Republican Party, the Rockmart Cultural Arts Center, the Polk County Chamber of Commerce and other organizations around the area as well. He served in the U.S. Navy before spending a career law enforcement.
He hopes to bring a strong work ethic and belief in community service to the position as he told commissioners in his letter of intent.
Check back for Monthly+ Subscriber-only Video coverage of Monday’s forum for the District 1 seat.
