Forsyth County’s northeast district will feature a new county commissioner.
That is because current District 4 Commissioner Cindy Jones Mills announced earlier this year she will not seek reelection.
After winning the Republican primary in May, Mendy Moore advanced to the general election.
Now, she will be running against Democrat Kat Jewell for the commission seat on Nov. 5.
Jewell said her background is that she grew up in Detroit and worked for Microsoft for 10 years.
One of her inspirations for running was seeing her waiter at Waffle House start to cry because she could not afford rent in Forsyth.
That led to her running on the Democratic ticket against Moore.
“Mendy thinks she’s coasting on easy Republican votes from God,” Jewell said.
Jewell said that Moore wants to cut government spending, but at the same time she claims Moore wants more federal funding for Section Eight-style housing in Forsyth.
Jewell’s solution to the issue is a public-private venture for Tiny Houses that people can rent to own.
“I’m going to critique her a little bit here and call her your run of the mill establishment Republican candidate,” Jewell said.
Jewell also wants more robust resources for mental health and better spending within the county budget.
“Mental health here, that’s another big issue,” Moore said.
Moore was not available to reach for comment by AccessWDUN, but according to her website she also wants less spending and less “sprawl” within Forsyth County.
Moore’s plan is to keep the millage rate within the county low. She also wants to ensure responsible growth, protect Lake Lanier from the “effects of neighboring development,” and fight for “conservative values.”
There were over 4,000 total votes in the Republican primary for the District 4 seat when Moore beat Brian Estes by 361 votes. The total for the Democratic primary? Just over 650.
Jewell attributed that to Democrats in the area not showing up due to no opposed Democratic primaries in the county.
Jewell, a transgender woman, is also the only known transgender person currently running for public office in the region.
Jewell noted the amount of support she has gotten, but there has also been some resistance.
“It makes it hard to do campaign events or even fundraise here as a trans person, because every single business that I go to and I’m like ‘can I run a fundraiser here?’ is either right-aligned or they’re afraid to because they don’t want the backlash from the community for openly supporting,” Jewell said.
On Moore’s website, she has a statement for voters.
“As a wife, mother of four, Forsyth homeowner, Republican chairman, and corporate CFO, I am uniquely qualified to defend and deliver for Forysth families and taxpayers,” Moore’s campaign website reads. “As your commissioner, you won’t have anyone more committed to fighting for you than me.”
Jewell noted that voters should not give up hope, because District 4 has a track record of pumping out good candidates for local office.
