Candidates are sequenced in alphabetical order by last name.
With one week until Election Day, the candidates for Baldwin City Council’s Post 2 seat say they feel optimistic as early voting for Habersham County’s only contested race winds down.
Post 2 was vacated by former councilman Joseph Satterfield in July.
Now, the two candidates vying for the seat are Baldwin residents Nancy Lehman and Mark Mullinax.
Like many counties across Georgia, Habersham County already has seen significant numbers in voter turnout, with more than 41.6% (12,725 of the county’s 30,581 active voters) casting ballots.
Nancy Lehman
Background/experience
Lehman, a resident of Baldwin for nearly 20 years, is a retired executive with GTE (now Verizon Wireless), where she worked for more than a decade. She’s been married to her husband, Ted, for 27 years. Together, they have three children and three (soon-to-be four) grandchildren.
Lehman said it was a desire to serve the community that prompted her to launch her 2024 campaign.
“I’ve enjoyed the 10 years of retirement I’ve just had, but I want to have a purpose, so I decided I wanted to give back to Baldwin by serving as an elected official,” Lehman said.
Top priorities
If elected, Lehman outlined her top priorities for the city as safety, carefully-considered development and overall quality of life.
In terms of safety, Lehman, an advocate for Centegix, said she’d like to see the remote alert system installed at Baldwin Elementary. She applauded the Habersham School System for the recent decision earlier this month to implement the system across all campuses.
“Until they’re actually installed, I’m still going to be bringing that up and being a proponent of those badges because they certainly were instrumental in saving lives and injury at Apalachee High School,” she said.
With Baldwin positioned along U.S. 441 and the GA 365 corridor, in the path of growth expected from the Northeast Georgia Inland Port, issues of development could take center stage in the years ahead.
Lehman said she favors “smart and managed” development considered on a case-by-case basis. Whether residential, industrial or commercial development, Lehman said the city should ensure proper infrastructure should be in place beforehand.
“Growth and development is a great thing for any community,” Lehman said. “But it needs to be smart and managed development, and you also have to have the infrastructure in place to support it.”
Lehman said she believes proposed numbers of units, lot sizes and existing regulations are vital factors to consider before approving future development.
“I’d definitely want to look at each (proposal) individually and make sure it meets the long term plan that Baldwin has,” she said.
Message to voters
As a message to voters, Lehman said she’s eager to represent the people of Baldwin if she’s elected. “I want to be there to listen to the community and address the needs of our local citizens,” she said.
Mark Mullinax
Mullinax, raised in Forsyth County, has lived in Baldwin for a total of almost 10 years. Married with three children and seven grandchildren, Mullinax works as a designer of cabinets and a salesman of life and health insurance here in Habersham.
Mullinax said a longtime interest in politics as well as a desire to serve inspired him to run for the Post 2 seat.
“The biggest deciding factor was – ‘What can I do for the people of Baldwin that have been so good to me and my family?” he said.
Top priorities
Mullinax, a self-proclaimed conservative, said his primary priorities revolve around public safety, growth/development as well as Baldwin’s future budgetary needs.
If elected, Mullinax said he’d see that public works and first responders have the resources they need to maintain the public’s safety – even if it means a potential millage rate hike to ensure funding is available.
Baldwin City Council voted to increase its millage rate Monday.
“I want to keep Baldwin a safe, nice little place for us to live and raise our kids,” Mullinax said.
Mullinax said that while he’s pro-growth, he favors a measured approach to development for the city of Baldwin. Like his opponent, Mullinax said adequate infrastructure should be in place beforehand. He said he’d also like to see future expansion of Baldwin’s water/sewer lines down GA 365 ahead of the Northeast Georgia Inland Port’s completion.
“I’m all for growth,” he said. “I will never turn down growth, but I think growth needs to happen in a correct and reasonable manner. I think you can outgrow yourself too fast. The first thing we have to do is prepare the infrastructure for growth…you can’t grow without sewage and water.”
Mullinax also said the city’s existing regulations should always be considered before approval of a proposed development or project. “I want to get in there and do the best job I know how to do,” he said.
Acknowledging past disputes between Baldwin and Banks/Habersham counties, Mullinax said he’d look to open lines of communication with each county entity to improve relations if he’s elected.
“I want to work with Habersham County and Banks County as well,” Mullinax said. “I feel like I need to work with officials from both sides of the road to make us a better place and help ease tensions between the counties and the city. I think Baldwin just kind of gets shuffled to the side sometimes, and I don’t want it to be that way. I want us to work hand-in-hand.”
Mullinax added that he’d reach out to representatives across all levels of government to bring positive outcomes for the people of Baldwin.
“I want to work with everybody involved to make sure we’re getting the best we can, and one hand washes the other,” he said.
Message to voters
Mullinax told Now Habersham that he wants voters to know his main objective is to “make Baldwin the best place to live, work and play.”
“We’ve got to focus on getting our city into a welcoming (place) – not just something that somebody passes through when they go from 365 to 441…I want a place where people want to stop.”
