Korey Anderson has announced his intention to run for Hall County Commission District 1 in 2026.
Anderson announced his candidacy Thursday, saying he will run as a Republican for the seat currently held by Kathy Cooper. Cooper, who is also a Republican, said Thursday evening that she does intend to seek re-election in 2026.
Anderson, a lifelong Chestnut Mountain resident who works as a realtor and with his wife's dental office, said he wanted to run for the seat in 2022 but chose not to as he and his wife raised a young child at the time. He said he's been frustrated with the state of the board of commissioners.
"I feel like a lot of what's happened, especially in District 1 in South Hall, has been for the betterment of developers and not for the betterment of the constituents and the taxpayers," Anderson said. "The last election, our current District 1 commissioner ran unopposed, so I feel like our people did not even get an option."
Cooper did not face Republican primary opposition in 2022, but did initially face a Democrat opponent for the General Election in Laura Colaninno. Colaninno, however, ultimately dropped out of the race in September of that year.
Anderson said controlling residential growth would be a priority for him if elected.
"I think unbridled residential growth is a problem. If anybody gets out on the roads in South Hall, the last thing on their mind is 'you know what, we need more people,'" Anderson said. "But then, you see our county commission voting on more neighborhoods, and the ones they've already voted on are not even built out. Our roads, our infrastructure, our school system, everything is strained right now. It doesn't make sense to me."
Anderson also said he believes county property taxes have gotten too high and wants to curtail county budget spending.
"I don't think we need to go up on property taxes, I think we have a collection problem," Anderson said. "There are some irregularities with short-term rentals, with the hotel/motel tax with the county...It's a mess."
Anderson said his campaign is in its early stages and he does not yet have a campaign website. He is the first candidate to publicly announce his candidacy for the District 1 seat, although Steve Gailey announced earlier Thursday that he plans to run as a Republican for the District 3 seat on the board of commissioners.
Anderson is a 2000 graduate of Johnson High School and graduated from Augusta State University with a degree in marketing.
