Mecum to seek Hall County Commission chairmanship

GAINESVILLE - Former Hall County Sheriff Dick Mecum has declared his intentions to run for the Hall County Commission chairman's office.

Mecum served for three terms as sheriff of Hall County. He was elected to the post in 1980, the first Republican elected to a public office in Hall County in modern times.

In 2002, Mecum was appointed to the top U.S. Marshal's job in Atlanta by then-president George W. Bush. People in such posts serve at the pleasure of the President and last year President Obama replaced Mecum with an appointment of his own.

Mecum joins former Hall County Commissioner Steve Gailey as the only announced candidates for the post now held by Tom Oliver.

(AccessNorthGa.com's Ken Stanford contributed to this story.)