For most of the history of the county, Chattooga County local elections were dominated by the Democratic Party.  That all changed when voters elected State Court Solicitor Sanford Buddy Hill to office in 2012.  That was the same year that longtime Democratic State Representative Barbara Massey Reece was defeated by Republican Eddie Lumsden.  Since that time, most county officials have switched parties or ran initially as Republicans. 

Now, the first elected Republican in the county, State Court Solicitor Hill, says that he is concerned with the direction of the local Republican Party after party officials say that they will require candidates to be vetted by a five-person committee to determine if the candidate is a “true conservative”.   Hill spoke with the Chattanooga Times Free Press over the past weekend (See related story from WZQZ) saying candidates wishing to run as a Republican can simply bypass the party and qualify directly with the county election officer – which in Chattooga County is Probate Judge Gary Woods.

Hill was also interviewed by a reporter from the Atlanta Journal-Constitution this week and said, “If they decide I’m not Republican enough and they try to disqualify me from running, I’ll fight it. It’s just not right,” Hill said. “It denies the voters their power to elect who they want”.   Hills, whose elected position is part-time, says that in his capacity as a private attorney, he is willing to help other candidates as well.

At the state level, Republicans shot down a proposal to establish a committee to vet statewide candidates.  That hasn’t stopped Pickens County Republicans and Chattooga County Republicans from establishing committees to pre-qualify candidates before qualifying takes place.  Chattooga County Party Chair Jennifer Tudor told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution, that local candidates “…make decisions on what happens to tax money taken from you. In many cases they have the ability to create or vote on laws that can possibly change your lives. It’s really common sense”.

Still some local Republicans are questioning why five people will get to determine who is a “real Republican” instead of allowing voters to decide.  According to the AJC, in Pickens County, the only other county party to establish a vetting committee, their committee is comprised of thirty-two people, including the county executive committee and precinct leaders.

That’s compared to just five people in Chattooga County who would be making the decisions on qualifying candidates for office.