It has been 10 years since Polk County has filled the seat of surveyor by election.
No one ever qualified on the ballot (in recent memory) for the post, and thus by law it has to go to someone and thus it has for the past decade been filled by appointment.
Robert Cannon seeks to change that.
A local surveyor out of Rockmart, Cannon qualified for the one constitutional office that has otherwise been unfilled by voters in a long time.
He wasn’t immediately available to provide more information, but expect additional to come next week once qualifying concludes.
A County Surveyor per the Association of the County Commissions of Georgia (ACCG) are in charge of determining the boundaries of the county and district lines. Essentially, the position goes out and when maps are drawn to decide where the boundaries District 1 of the County Commission lies, it could mean property sits within one of the three districts based on the survey that is conducted.
Additionally, they are in charge of keeping plats for every survey made, and conducting other surveys for the county as required.
Since the position has been unfilled, the law allows for a qualified surveyor to be appointed by the county’s probate judge every four years.
Updates on Monday qualifiers
With the pending retirement of Jack Browning as District Attorney and Jaeson Smith having previously announced his intention to run for the seat in 2023, his qualification was expected and completed on Monday.
Smith, who serves currently as Chief Assistant District Attorney, is seeking the seat as a Republican and does not yet have any competition on the primary ballot, or a November challenger.
Polk County also has another elected member coming off a board in this election cycle. District 5 School Board Member Kristy Gober confirmed this morning that she plans to step down at year’s end. She comes off the board after putting a term in office.
Currently, former interim superintendent and central office administrator Greg Teems is seeking the seat and has no opposition.
Additionally, no primary challenger has come forth to face Judge Andrew Roper, who also qualified to keep his seat on the Superior Court for another four years in office. His judge’s seat along with Chief Judge Mark Murphy are both on the ballot in 2024, and neither has competition for the seat.
Still waiting
Polk County’s Board of Education still has District 3 and District 6 seats up for grabs in 2024, and JP Foster and Chris Culver represent those districts. They have yet to sign up for new four-year terms, nor have any potential challengers.
Additional information about qualifying can be found by visiting the Board of Elections website.
The only contested race so far remains the District 1 County Commission GOP primary for the seat held by appointment by Jordan Hubbard (who is running as a Republican) along with James Vines, who has tried for the seat twice before against Scotty Tilley and Gary Martin.
The deadline to get on the ballot for the primary in local and statewide elections is Friday, March 8.
