The DeKalb County Commission named a replacement last Monday night for the 6th District seat recently vacated by Justin Adcock last month. The commission voted for Andy Pack to fill the seat, until the August election when the position will be on the ballot.
In January, Administrator of Elections Dustin Estes announced that the District 6 seat will be on the August 1, 2024, election ballot. This election will be held in conjunction with the 2024 DeKalb County General Election.
Adcock was elected in August 2022, with his term expiring on August 31, 2026. The election will be held to fill the unexpired term of the vacant seat. County parties may certify a candidate by caucus by the qualifying deadline 12 Noon, April 4, 2024. Independents may now pick up petitions.
At the County Commission’s Meeting of the Whole on Thursday, February 22, three men stood before the commission telling why they would like to fill the temporary seat. Danny McGinnis, Bruce Parsley, and Andy Pack were each given three minutes to address the commission.
“I have been a resident of the 6th district all my life,” said McGinnis. “I was elected (county commissioner) in 1998 and served until 2002. I was where each of you are now. During that time, we elected a new county mayor and a new commissioner in the 6th district. During my tenure we built a school (Northside Elementary) and the jail (Jail Annex) and never raised property taxes. We also borrowed one million dollars to help (former Road Supervisor Kenny Edge) put the roads in better shape.”
Parsley then addressed the commission saying, “I live in the Jefferson community in the 6th district. I have been a lifelong resident of DeKalb County and in the 6th district for 40 out of 52 years. My wife and I have five kids and five grandkids, soon to be six grandkids. Most of you already know me and know where I stand on things. I just appreciate your vote.”
Pack then stood before the commission saying, “I live at 1685 Corinth Church Road. I have lived there all my life. I actually built a home behind my mom and dad’s place there now. I work at Middle Tennessee Natural Gas. I have been there 23 years. I have always wanted to give something back to my community, so I volunteer my time as a volunteer firefighter. I have done that for 18 years. I operate a cattle farm. We started out with three acres and are blessed to now have a 120-acre farm that my family and I operate. My wife and I have been married for 22 years. We have three children. One of them is a senior in high school. Another is a sophomore, and we have one in kindergarten. Throughout my career and the businesses on my cattle farm I operate, I have found you have to be in tune with loss prevention and planning. I have taken pride in that at my employment. I am on the safety committee. We try to recognize issues and before it becomes a bigger issue, we try to resolve those.”
In the end, the commission voted Pack to fill the vacated seat. In the first round of nomination voting, Pack received nine votes, Parsley three votes, and McGinnis one vote. In the second round of voting, Tony Luna, Larry Green, Beth Pafford, Tony Culwell, and Suzanna Cripps-Daughtry voted in favor of Parsley, while Tom Chandler, Daniel Cripps, Sabrina Farler, Myron Rhody, Tony Luna, Tony “Cully” Culwell, Greg Matthews, Glynn Merriman, Jeff Barnes, and Tim Reynolds voted in favor of Pack, with Pack winning the seat.
At the end of the meeting, the commission found itself in the same boat, when Tim Reynolds announced that he was resigning his seat due to personal matters. The commission will have to start the process over again to fill that seat until the August election.
