Oakwood City Councilmember Dwight Wood recently passed away at the age of 71.
Oakwood City Attorney Donnie Hunt said City Manager B.R. White let city council and staff know Thursday night about Wood's passing.
White could not immediately be reached for additional comment.
Wood had served on the city council since 2015. His public service followed that of his father, Donald T. Wood, who served as an Oakwood City Council Member for over 20 years, according to the City of Oakwood's website.
"Dwight was a giant for us," Mayor Lamar Scroggs told AccessWDUN. "He was a super good guy. You never had any problem knowing where he stood as he was serving on the city council. He was just a good ambassador for the city and for Hall County."
Scroggs said he encouraged Wood to run for the city council seat he held since 2015.
"We had an opening on the city council and I went to Dwight and asked him about running, and he said, 'Well, I don't know. I'll have to think about that a while.' And he did," Scroggs said. "I went back to him again, and then he came on in and signed up. So that was the start of his term serving on the city council here."
Wood was a 1969 graduate of South Hall High School and has three children.
He previously served as Superior and State Court Clerk in Hall County for 24 years between 1985 and 2008. He worked in county government for 33 years total.
"Mr. Wood says that as long as he is a council member, he will do everything he can to help the City of Oakwood move forward to make it a place where its residents and future residents would want to live and raise their families, just as his Mom and Dad did," Oakwood's website reads.
Hunt said Wood was up for re-election in November and had already qualified for the seat. He was running unopposed, with no other candidates qualifying for the seat.
"Under the Oakwood Charter, the mayor appoints, and the city council affirms a replacement until the end of Dwight’s term which is December 31, 2023, since less than 12 months remain in the term of office," Hunt said in a statement.
However, when it comes to an elected replacement for the seat, Hunt said qualifying must be re-opened for the position, due to Wood running unopposed.
"City staff will be conferring with the election office regarding the timing of qualifying or whether it can occur that quickly at all," Hunt said. "If no election can be held for several months until the March election date, the appointee would continue to serve until replaced."
