With all 5 precincts reporting, Liberty County District 6 Commissioner Eddie Walden handily defeated challenger McKesson Stafford in the Democratic primary. No Republican ran in District 6.
Walden got 65.63% or 550 votes, to Stafford’s 34.37% or 288 votes.
Walden says he will continue to defend development, particularly on the east side of the county. Above all, he says, he wants to bring jobs to Liberty County: “I think if we can put people in jobs indoors, in a controlled environment, and they make a decent salary, and with benefits, and can go home and be with their family, I think that’s what you need to do. That’s what I think more than anything.” Walden says he loves coastal living but that some property owners want to keep their little corner of paradise private and off the tax rolls. Walden also said residential development is hobbled by the lack of water and sewer lines, and that he’d like to get rid of all septic tanks between the railroad overpass and the coast. His dream amenity is a county aquatic complex.
Stafford has accused Walden of being missing in action during recent candidate forums, saying, “In District 6, we have a ghost commissioner. He’s never around.” He also questioned how a commissioner can get infrastructure and broadband money from the state without going to the workshops and training required of elected officials. Stafford, a Desert Storm veteran who worked in IT in the Army and for the Georgia Department of Labor, owns a video production business. He says the county should put in a local government access TV station, “so we can put the information out, instead of [citizens having] to look at something else.” Stafford also said he knows people are tired of gas stations and fast food restaurants and that the county needs affordable housing. He has served on the Hinesville Development Authority alongside Lovette, former Hinesville mayor and real estate agent Allen Brown, and Hinesville City Manager Kenneth Howard.
All results are unofficial until certified by the Georgia Secretary of State.