Liberty County Planning Commission Vice-Chair Larry Baker has upset longtime Liberty County District 1 Commissioner Marion Stevens, who has served seven terms and almost 28 years in that seat since 1999. Baker, a Democrat, will face Republican Michael Cook in the Nov. 3 general election.
With all 9 precincts in District 1 reporting, Baker won the Democratic general primary runoff by 51.95% or 574 votes to Stevens’ 48.05% or 531 votes, a difference of 43 votes.
Of those votes, only 73 were cast on Tuesday – 48 for Baker and 25 for Stevens. In advance voting, Baker got 305 votes to Stevens’ 285. Baker also got 40 mail-in ballots, while Stevens got 25.
District 1, which includes 26,553 of Liberty County’s 45,143 registered voters, saw a turnout of 1,115 in this race – that’s 4.2% of the district.
All numbers are unofficial and incomplete until certified by the Georgia Secretary of State.
Baker said he intends to keep his appointed seat on the LCPC, but “put more attention on the county seat itself” while serving as commissioner.
“I asked that question before I qualified,” he said. “I asked [LCPC Executive Director] Jeff [Ricketson] and he told me I didn’t have to.”
Baker said he’s been using his time on the LCPC, “because I’m coming from a different set,” to learn how the county works. But the difference, he added, is “not too much. Because all the municipalities work well with the county, and then when LCPC puts their stuff in motion, we come out almost even.”
For example, “there’s drainage and water problems all over Liberty County. And then today, we had an LCPC meeting and it was water and drainage. But we got it taken care of. We don’t do anything to put the county in a position. When Jeff Ricketson’s team goes out, they make a good recommendation, and we usually follow their recommendations.”
Asked for his thoughts about the controversy over the Liberty County Development Authority’s membrane bioreactor wastewater treatment plant, which would send some highly purified wastewater to an as-yet undetermined discharge site, Baker said, “That water plant is something that is already in motion and there’s not too much I’ve got to say about that. Again, I’m in a looking and learning position right now.”
As for the issue of Riceboro as an afterthought in the discussion about where to send that discharge, Baker said, “In the last two weeks, I just got that information about the water. I said, I don’t really know anything too much about it. Again, looking and learning.”
Baker’s message to Stevens: “You ran a good race. It wasn’t nothing personal anyway; it was running for the position. I wanted to stay in politics, and again, District 1 goes into Walthourville, so I’m still there.”
Baker takes on a powerful new role in county government after losing the Walthourville mayor’s seat to longtime councilwoman Sarah B. Hayes in 2023. Since then, he was appointed to the LCPC, where former Midway mayor Levern Clancy also landed after losing that seat to Malcolm Williams.
Baker will report to almost 59% of the county’s registered voters. “This district is big!” he exclaimed. “But nobody comes out to vote. I think 1,000 people voted. And in the early voting, 2,000.”
Baker had prepared a victory speech, which read in part, “This journey was bigger than politics – it was about people, about fairness, transparency, and building a better future for District 1…. Thank you to everyone who made phone calls, shared flyers, spread the message, attended events, and stood proudly beside me. Because of you, our campaign was built on unity, hope, and a desire to see District 1 move forward together.”
The Current GA left a voicemail for Stevens seeking comment Tuesday night.
Despite his long tenure and his consistent pushing for infrastructure improvements, Stevens lost some votes after he and Valencia Stevens were arrested in April and charged with two felony counts of first-degree cruelty to children. Stevens continued to campaign but was unable to recover from the political damage.
Because the investigation is ongoing, no trial date has been set. A grand jury must consider all the evidence before deciding whether or not to indict either Stevens; both are considered innocent of the charges unless and until proven guilty in a court of law.
Stevens, a Midway native and Army Airborne veteran, worked his way up from machine operator, studying mortuary science and becoming a licensed embalmer and funeral director. He worked for Gulfstream Aerospace and retired from International Paper in 2017. A certified volunteer firefighter and medical responder, Stevens also served on the Liberty County E911 Board before winning his first term as District 1 commissioner in 1998 Governor Roy Barnes also appointed Stevens to the Georgia Probation Board that year.
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