There’s a two-way race for Jefferson mayor next week between the incumbent mayor and a former city councilwoman.
Mayor Jon Howell is seeking reelection, facing a challenge in the form of former District 2 City Councilwoman Dawn Maddox.
Howell’s website states he is running to continue lowering taxes, keep the city safe and maintain the highest quality of life in North Georgia while also managing population growth.
“I’ve vowed to keep taxes low, and our council has led the charge to prevent the backdoor tax increases through increased appraisals that many other Georgia communities are seeing. In a second term, Jeffersonians can expect that same focus on keeping taxes low,” Howell said on his website. “There’s no more important role of local government than keeping people and property safe, and as our population grows, so will our public safety resources. Already, we’re building a new fire station that will equip our first responders to act more quickly to emergencies throughout the city.”
Since taking office, Howell has helped lower the city’s millage rate every year, achieving an overall reduction of more than 23% while also leading the adoption of the largest budget in the city’s history.
“Together, we’ve built a thriving community that people want to come to,” Howell said on his website. “Our schools are the envy of the region, our children have top-notch recreational opportunities, and we’ve strategically invested in the infrastructure, like water resources, that are critical to quality of life. “I will run this campaign for re-election the way that I have served as mayor: with an open door and an extended hand. I will share my vision for the city, but I will also listen, because we’re in this together. I will work every day to earn your trust and your vote.”
To learn more about Howell’s campaign, visit his Facebook page, Jon Howell for Mayor, or his website howellformayor.com. Howell can also be contacted through his phone number (678) 938-4777.
Maddox said she resigned from the city council earlier this year after an investigation into the police department and the city manager. Maddox said the city manager asked Mayor Jon Howell and the city council to indemnify an officer involved in that investigation.
“When I did my own research on that, I could not justify the indemnification,” Maddox said. “Unfortunately, we had already voted on that, and I felt that I owed the people of Jefferson an apology, so I publicly stated that on July 14, and I resigned my seat because I felt like we misused taxpayer dollars.”
Maddox reviewed the Georgia Bureau of Investigation report but could not find evidence to confirm that the officer was a whistleblower for the police department.
“There were discrepancies in what our city manager had told us, and I felt like what I had done was an injustice, so I told the people the truth. I said I was sorry for misusing their dollars and for not doing all of my due diligence ahead of time,” Maddox said.
Maddox put in her two weeks with the council, and after that, she received an outpouring of calls, emails and messages asking her to run for mayor.
Maddox stated that Mayor Howell does a great job of running meetings and has influence at the state capitol. Still, she feels that no one in Jefferson is using the influence of the mayoral seat to better the city.
“That’s what I want to be, whether that’s with the [Department of Transportation], whether that’s looking into the ongoing issues that we have with lack of oversight at City Hall,” Maddox said. “Holding our city manager accountable for projects where I know that we are spending taxpayer dollars two and sometimes three times, I want to put in the hard work to make sure that when I leave Jefferson, it will be better off than how I found it.”
She proposed solutions to downtown traffic, including lane changes and a diverging diamond interchange.
“While I was on council, I was also a substitute teacher at Jefferson City Schools. I was in P.E. substituting one day, and one of the coaches came to me, his wife, Miss Carla Fowler. She’s an amazing mathematician. She had come up with a solution for our downtown traffic in two areas right on Main Street,” Maddox said.
To learn more about Maddox, visit her Facebook page, Maddox for Mayor of Jefferson, or visit her website, dawnmaddox.com. Maddox can be contacted by phone at (770) 530-7007 or by email at dawnmaddox165@gmail.com.
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