Builder Harry James is not one to rely on general wisdom.
Defeated by incumbent Commissioner Art Searles in the July 15 Democratic primary, James was the first candidate to sign up for the special called primary that became necessary with Searles’ death Aug. 19. That experience, plus his presence at most commission meetings over the past two years, is basis, James says, for his holding the front-runner position over Gloria Gaines and Henry Brown.
“I’ve been attending the commission’s meetings for the last two years; I know what issues they discussed last week and the week before that,” James said. “I know about the national issues that affect us locally, and I know about the state issues that affect us.
“I’m prepared to be a part of this commission. I’m ready to step in and do this job. And the overwhelming support I’m getting from the community shows that a lot of people believe I’m ready, too.”
With the tragic death of Searles, there was a call by many in the community for candidates to step forward who would continue the work the veteran commissioner had been doing for the South Albany district. James says he’s not going to attempt to “be Art Searles,” but he expects constituents in the district to be pleased with the similarities.
“Mr. Searles was an icon, a giant at the helm,” James said. “You don’t fill the shoes of someone like that. What you try to do is move forward and do as well or better. I can’t finish Mr. Searles’ dreams, but the one thing I can do is try to help the people of this district. Because that’s where I think Mr. Searles and I are most alike. We both have the interest of the constituents in District 5 at heart.”
Since qualifying for the special primary, James says he’s become more involved in educating himself about the problems that his constituents face. On Sept. 11 he traveled to Atlanta to take part in a conference sponsored by the Fiscal Research Center at the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies to learn more about proposed policies concerning property taxes in the state.
“The state’s working on cutting $1.6 billion from its budget, and that’s going to affect us in Southwest Georgia,” James said. “We’re not going to be able to rely on government funds that we’ve gotten in the past, so we’re going to have to promote our county and region, take advantage of our own assets.
“And while it’s important to keep up with national and state issues that impact us, we also have to deal with our own issues. We have drug, crime and gang problems; we have to improve our infrastructure and cut wasteful spending. The national and state issues compound these local problems.”
James said he learned from his campaign against Searles, and he’s using those lessons as he prepares to take on Gaines and Brown.
“A lot of people have expressed to me that they thought I should have moved into Mr. Searles’ position because I’m the only one who ran against him,” he said. “But these people are giving me support and encouragement every day. A lot of people said they didn’t know what I was about when I ran before. Now they know, and they’re getting behind me.
“I think they’ve seen my desire and initiative. They’ve seen that I have a desire to represent this district. It’s what I’ve been preparing for for the last two years.”
