East Hall businesswoman Shelly Echols will be the newest face on the Hall County Commission next year after she defeated incumbent Scott Gibbs for the District 3 Post on the board Tuesday.
Echols defeated Gibbs handily by winning 71.64% of the vote; she has no Democratic opposition in the General Election in November.
In an election night interview on WDUN, Echols said she got into the race because of concerns she heard from Hall County employees.
"You know, these people are looking for someone to watch out for them and to do what's right for them...and see if we can move Hall County forward for them," Echols said.
She said the tax increase imposed last year by the county commission also drove her inaugural run for public office.
"Here's the problem - we raised taxes, we cut services and the county employees didn't see any benefit from any of that," Echols said, noting that she's not in favor of raising taxes. "But I am in favor of when we do have to raise taxes, we put that money toward something that matters. In the past, we've not done that."
Echols grew up in the Tadmore community, according to her campaign site, and graduated from East Hall High School and North Georgia College &State University (currently the University of North Georgia). Echols is a former high school teacher, who currently operates her own business Daniel's Educational Tours.
Scott Gibbs has served on the Hall County Commission since January 2011.
