CLEVELAND, Ga. — A standing-room-only crowd elbowed its way into the Roy Ash, Jr. Community Building last night for the candidate forum hosted by White County News and WRWH Radio on the final week before the May 24 General Primary election.

The three contested races in White County this year are the Board of Education chairman’s race between incumbent Kendyl Brock-Hunter and Missy Jarrard, Sheriff Neal Walden and challenger Aaron Autry and the Board of Commissioners race between District 4 Commissioner Craig Bryant and Shawn Henderson.

The biggest surprise of the evening was that neither school board candidate was asked about the federal guideline issued last week by the Obama Justice and Education departments. That guideline directed school systems to allow transgender students to use bathrooms and dressing rooms consistent with their gender identity. The guideline does not carry the force of law, but administration officials have hinted that school systems that fail to comply could lose millions of dollars in federal funding.

After the forum ended, Fetch Your News caught up with the two candidates to ask where they stand on that important issue. Both were adamant that the federal government should butt out and that this is a local issue.

Hunter said, “Bottom line this is a local issue, not a federal issue. This is not something that needs to be mandated by the federal government. Let the local people decide. As a board member, I am part of a whole. So it would be something collectively we would discuss and decide on.”

Jarrard said, “This decision coming down from the federal government is just another example of how the federal government needs to stay out of local school systems. To me this is an issue that needs to be argued with the state. Let the voters go to the polls and vote on it. I don’t believe at the federal level they should be making any directives to a local school system. I personally would oppose it.”

Henderson said he would like to improve county government’s communications with its citizens. “I want to find new ways to put what we’re doing out there,” he said. “I want you to know what’s going on ahead of time.” He also said he would consider hiring a public information officer.
“I personally believe in term limits,” he added. “I believe after you have served a certain amount of time, you should stop and give somebody else a chance to serve.”

Bryant, who has served on the board for 14 years, said his greatest qualification for the office is his ability to deal with the public, “I’m a people person. I have the ability to talk to the people I’m sitting in front of. I’ll tell you the truth. I’ll tell you what you need to know, not what you want to hear. Right now the county is running as smooth as it has in a long time. We’ve got money in the bank and we’re still offering services.”

Sheriff Walden, who has served White County for 37 years, including 25 as sheriff, said his staff is highly experienced and has brought White County law enforcement into the 21st century.

“My command staff collectively has about 200 years of experience,” he said. “They have the pulse of the county. We’ve taken more than $6 million worth of drugs off the street in the last four years and made over 360 arrests. That’s stomping on the drug dealers’ toes.”

Autry, who has 22 years of law enforcement experience, said the county needs a work release program. “If you sentence someone on a child support charge, how in the world is he going to do that? If we had a work release program, which will pay for itself, it will help the person being sentenced but it will also help the family. That’s an issue we need to address.”

CLEVELAND, Ga. — The candidate forum scheduled for 6 pm in Cleveland Monday could be one of the most interesting and entertaining of this political season in light of last week’s joint guideline issued by the U.S. Education and Justice departments.

There are only three contested races on the ballot in White County’s May 24 General Primary election. School board races are generally considered a “down ballot” race but not this year.

When the Obama Administration issued guidelines last week that dictated local school districts to allow transgender students to use the restroom and dressing room that matches their gender identity, school board races took on a greater importance. The guidelines do not carry the force of law but it is accompanied by a stern, if unspoken, threat that a school district’s failure to comply could lead the federal government to withhold its federal funding.

Tonight’s attendees will be permitted to ask questions of the candidates and they are certain to want to know where incumbent Kendyl Brock Hunter and challenger Missy Jarrard stand on this important issue.

Proponents of the guideline say there is no room in schools for discrimination of any kind, including discrimination against transgender students.

But opponents counter that it is up to Congress to write laws not the Obama Administration and that this is the kind of issue that should be decided by local school boards, communities, students and teachers.
Hunter is in her third term as chairman. An occupational therapist by profession and owner of Benchmark Physical Therapy, she is also a member of the Georgia School Board Association’s (GSBA) Board Chair Advisory Council.

Jarrard is a former educator with 23 years of experience, including nine years as a teacher at the elementary and middle school level and 14 years as a School Counselor. She holds a Master’s Degree in School Counseling from the University of Georgia

In the race for White County Sheriff, incumbent Neal Walden is being challenged by Aaron Autry.

Walden is a veteran lawman with 37 years of service to White County. He has been the county’s sheriff since 1991 and is past president of the Georgia Sheriff’s Association and Chairman of the Appalachian Drug Task Force.

Autry has 22 years’ experience, including stints with the City of Cleveland, Hall County White County and the City of Atlanta. He has worked with the North Georgia K-9 Task Force and is SWAT certified.

In the county commission race, Shawn Henderson is taking on Incumbent District 4 County Commissioner Craig Bryant.

The 40-year-old Henderson is owner of Henderson Family Insurance, an Independent insurance agency and an officer in the Georgia Army National Guard. He earned a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science from the University of North Georgia and will earn a Master’s Degree in Organizational Leadership this month.

Bryant is an insurance agent He said he’s proud to have served on a Board of Commissioners that has built a new firehouse, soccer complex, road department and jail and has enlarged the senior center, added three new firetrucks and four full time firefighters.

Each candidate will be allowed a two-minute opening statement and brief closing and they have agreed to answer questions from the audience.