Wayne Noha won the Republican primary to represent District 1 on the Chatham County Commission with approximately 58% of the vote. Noha is from Burnside Island and is a former fire chief.
No Democrats are running for the position, and Noha will serve as chairman. He said Noha has attended nearly every county commission meeting since 2014 and has deep institutional knowledge of the county.
“(This is) probably the biggest emotion I've ever felt at one time in my life,” Noha said in an interview Tuesday night. It's been two months of suffering doing everything I can to let people know that I'm there and I'm going to serve them. ”
Noha watched the results on Tuesday being announced at Sandfly's Driftaway Cafe, a venue she chose because of its central location in the district. She beat Austin Hill, a local real estate executive who campaigned on preserving historic districts and a small-business approach to local government.
“I am humbled by the incredible support I received in this election, believing in my message of running Chatham County like you run a small business,” Hill said in a statement to the Savannah Morning News. I am very grateful to the voters who gave it to me.” “I look forward to using all the connections and knowledge I’ve gained over the past few months to further improve our amazing community.”
District 8 Committee
The Democratic primary for the District 8 Commission seat is a three-way race that is now heading to a runoff. Lorene Boles, a Carver Village resident with extensive experience on city planning commissions, will face West Savannah Neighborhood Association President Marcia Buford in a June 18 special runoff election.
On Tuesday night, only 35 votes separated Mr. Boles and Mr. Buford, with each candidate receiving about 35% of the vote. There was a third candidate in the race, Deedrick Cody of Garden City, who received 31% of the vote.
Boles' key campaign priorities included economic inclusion, housing security, and environmental justice. For Buford, her priorities were worker housing, public safety and traffic congestion.
tax commissioner
One of the countywide seats was decided Tuesday night for tax commissioner.
In the Democratic primary, incumbent Sonya Jackson defeated challenger Kimberly Godsden with 86% of the vote. There are no Republicans running, so Jackson will win the post for a second term.
Jackson ran on a platform highlighting first-term accomplishments, including reducing wait times and improving employee processes.
Evan Lasseter is city and county government reporter for the Savannah Morning News. Contact him at ELasseter@gannett.com.
