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Cumming announces candidates ahead of municipal elections By SHELBY ISRAEL shelby@appenmedia.com
FORSYTH COUNTY/PROVIDED
A 2022 site plan shows the Whole Health Building, left, on the future Forsyth County Administration Campus. County commissioners denied additional funding for the facility Aug. 22 at a work session.
Forsyth County officials divided over use of new health building
By SHELBY ISRAEL shelby@appenmedia.com FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — Forsyth County commissioners blocked additional funding for a future county health facility in a split vote, reaching no consensus following a two-week postponement. A motion to secure an additional $20,325 in design services for the Whole Health Building failed in a 2-2 vote Aug.
22 at a Board of Commissioners work session. Commissioner Cindy Jones Mills was absent from the meeting. County staff said the change order would cover medical office space and examination rooms, with $11,000 of the total reserved for a sexual assault nurse examiner, or SANE, unit. But, some commissioners expressed concerns about the facility being used for the SANE services, which
would supplement the County Sheriff’s Office and district attorney investigations. County Commission Chairman Alfred John and commissioners Kerry Hill and Laura Semanson argued the scope of the building has expanded since its conception, resulting in a higher bill for the government facility.
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FORSYTH COUNTY, Ga. — The Cumming City Council has three incumbents and one new candidate on the ballot for its elections this November. Four candidates qualified between Aug. 21 and 23 to fill City Council posts 3, 4 and 5. Post 3 City Councilman Joey Cochran is seeking reelection and does not have a challenger. Cochran, a second-generation city councilmember, was first elected in 2019. He is a lifelong Cumming resident and managed C&W Auto Sales, a familyowned business, on Dahlonega Highway. Councilman Christopher Light, who holds Post 4, is also seeking reelection unopposed this fall. Light was first elected in 2015 and to a second term in 2019. He works as an attorney for Cumming-based law firm Lipscomb, Johnson, Sleister, Dailey and Smith LLP. A third candidate, Linda Ledbetter, is seeking reelection for Post 5. Ledbetter was also elected in 2015 and again in 2019. She is the executive director of Age Well Forsyth, a county nonprofit. Susie Charles-Carr, who is running for Post 5, is the only candidate who is not a sitting city councilmember. Charles-Carr works as a special education teacher for Forsyth County Schools. The Cumming municipal election will be held Nov. 7. The deadline to register is Oct. 10. More information on voting in the city elections can be found at cityofcumming. net/news.
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