Challenger Patrick Garner makes push for Dougherty Commission seat

ALBANY — As he’s navigated the long, drawn-out election process that started with qualifying in March and is set to end with the Nov. 4 general election, District 4 Dougherty County Commission candidate Patrick Garner has stuck to his guns when it comes to his platform.

“The three issues that I based my candidacy on the day I qualified — opposition to the Sabal Trail pipeline, better management of drainage ditches and the county’s mosquito population, and higher pay for first responders — are still the primary focus of my campaign today,” Garner, an assistant professor at Darton State College, said. “These are issues, I’ll remind you and voters, that go beyond party. These are local issues, not party issues. They’re community and economic development issues.

“I guess the one thing that’s changed most since I started campaigning is that the natural gas pipeline is probably the No. 1 issue in Dougherty County now. It’s exploded.”

Garner, a Democratic political newcomer who is trying to unseat incumbent Republican Ewell Lyle, said a lot of Johnny-come-latelys have jumped on the anti-Sabal Trail bandwagon in recent weeks as opposition to the 465-mile natural gas pipeline and accompanying compressor station has grown. He lists Lyle among them.

“My opponent in the election has basically rolled over for Spectra Energy,” Garner said. “Mr. Lyle has talked about bringing the issue up to the County Commission first, but he hasn’t done anything to oppose the pipeline. If I were in Mr. Lyle’s position, I would at the very least push an ordinance that would make it tougher for the company that wants to build the pipeline. What’s the point of having a local government if you’re just going to always defer to the federal government?

“Plus, I was stunned to look in The Albany Herald and see Mr. Lyle climbing aboard a Nathan Deal cheerleading bus a few days after the paper published an article talking about how the governor had accepted thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from the company that wants to build the pipeline.”

Garner made his way to the general election showdown with Lyle by scoring a convincing (767-420 vote) victory over Tracy Taylor in the May 30 Democratic Primary. The Democratic candidate said he’s taken the same campaign approach as he’s worked to unseat Lyle.

“Myself and others working with my campaign knocked on more than 2,000 doors leading up to the primary,” Garner said. “I plan to knock on those doors once again and others I haven’t gotten to in the next three weeks. It’s ambitious, but my goal is to go to every home in the district before election day.

“The people are responding to my priority issues, but they’re also talking to me about the crime rate, unemployment, working to cut the dropout rate in our community. Those are issues that will be an important part of Dougherty County’s future over the next four years.”

Garner said he’s not concerned that he’s considered an underdog in his race against Lyle.

“As an incumbent, he should run on his record,” the challenger said. “That will be hard for Ewell Lyle, because there’s not much evidence that he’s done anything during his four years in office. I believe I’ll do more in my first four months in office than he did in four years.

“I’ve become very much a part of the fabric of Dougherty County. I attend every area 5K and 10K race, I’m on the board of the City of Albany Kiwanis Club, I volunteer with Keep Albany-Dougherty Beautiful and the Meals on Wheels program. It’s sad, but I have more name recognition than Ewell Lyle, who’s been on the commission for four years.”

Garner said he’s looking forward to working with commission newcomers Chris Cohilas, who will replace Jeff Sinyard as chairman of the commission, District 6 Commissioner Anthony Jones, who defeated long-time incumbent Jack Stone, and District 5’s Harry James, who ran unopposed for the District 5 seat vacated by Gloria Gaines for an unsuccessful run at the chairmanship.

“I’ve spoken with those guys, and we’re all excited about working together on the commission,” Garner said. “We will have an opportunity to redefine this commission going forward.”

Garner said he’s disappointed that Lyle chose to “attack me personally” in an article that appeared in The Albany Herald.

“I’ve been very critical of Mr. Lyle for his political ineptitude, but I’ve never attacked him personally,” Garner said. “What he tried to do to me by calling into question my character was nothing short of attempted character assassination. That goes beyond politics into defamation. He made some serious accusations.”

Garner said he knows the politics of party pervades on the national and state scenes, but he asked District 4 voters to consider the candidates offering for office when they mark their ballots.

“I know some Republican voters crossed over in the primaries to vote in Democratic races, and I hope those voters will vote for me again,” he said. “It would be an absolute tragedy if someone who does not even know who Ewell Lyle voted for him simply by putting a check by the ‘R’ box.

“I’ve seen his signs out that say ‘Re-elect Ewell Lyle,’ and I laugh. What has he ever been elected to? Between the two of us, I’m the only one who’s ever won a political race. He has not served the people of Dougherty County well. I will.”

Advance voting for general election races starts today at 8:30 a.m. at the Dougherty elections office. It will continue weekdays — and on Saturday, Oct. 25 — through Oct. 31. A week of early voting will also be conducted at the Riverfront Resource Center Oct. 27-31.