Jackson Commissioner race for Cashiers’ seat heats up
The battle of the Joneses is about to commence in Jackson County.
County Commissioner Mark Jones will appear on the ballot alongside challenger Marty Jones in November. Mark Jones is a Democrat, Marty Jones a Republican.
The Joneses will fight for the right to represent the Cashiers area.
Marty Jones and Mark Jones were on the opposite side of a heated countywide debate five years ago over mountain development regulations. Commissioner Mark Jones was part of the board that ushered in progressive regulations aimed at protecting the beauty and quality of life in the mountains.
Marty Jones, a real estate broker/owner, was a vocal opponent of the regulations, claiming they were too restrictive and deterimental to the economy.
He formed the Property Owners of Jackson County, a private-property rights advocacy group.
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“Everything we predicted came true,” Marty Jones said Tuesday shortly after filing as a candidate. “I am running because I want Jackson County to get back to work.”
He said he’d help ensure that by working with the sector most flattened, such as builders and real estate agents plus the county planning department.
Democrat incumbent Mark Jones first ran and won election in 2006 and again in 2008, defeating Republican challengers each time.
But that was then and this is now. During the last election, following 16 years of Democratic domination, Republicans Doug Cody and Charles Elders successfully won election. Chairman Jack Debnam, an unaffiliated candidate who received GOP backing and advertising support, also won against a Democrat incumbent.
A phone message left for Mark Jones went unreturned by press time.
