Black cuts ribbon on Southwest Georgia Area GOP headquarters

ALBANY — Georgia Agricultural Commission Chairman Gary Black was in Albany Tuesday to cut the ribbon to open the Southwest Georgia Area Republican Party Headquarters. Earlier in the day, he spoke to members of the Dougherty Rotary Club.

Black, who operates a cattle ranch in Commerce with his wife, Lydia, is serving his second term in office. In 2011 Black replaced Tommy Irvin as agricultural commissioner

While Black received a warm welcome, many in the crowd of Republicans were not happy with what’s going on in Washington and the nasty race for the GOP’s presidential nomination.

Gerald Smith, a realtor from Sumter County, said he was in town to support the GOP.

“I came down here to help show my support for the Georgia Republican Party,” Smith said. “And we have a lot of work to do to get Washington back on track. I’ve never see people this upset before. A lot of us are really most upset about is we have some politicians who have not kept their word. We feel betrayed and we feel have been misled.”

Former Albany Fire Department Chief James Carswell said, “I’m excited about opening of the new headquarters. But the real reason I am here is to guarantee that our voices will be heard. One thing for sure, this is a really interesting election.”

Diane Vann, who is running for Congress in the Georgia Second District Republican primary against Greg Duke and Bobby Scott, said she has never seen voters this angry.

“I really haven’t ever seen an election like this,” Vann, a Bibb County resident, said. “The voters are mad and fed up. And they have a lot more to be angry about.”