UPDATED: Thomas wins seat on Whitfield County Board of Commissioners in runoff

Apr. 14—Relieved and excited.

That's how John Thomas said he felt when he realized he had won Tuesday's special election runoff to fill the unexpired term of the late Roger Crossen for the District 3 seat on the Whitfield County Board of Commissioners. The term expires Dec. 31, 2022.

"I and a lot of other people worked hard for this, and it has paid off," he said.

Thomas, a realtor and former member of the Whitfield County Board of Education, defeated Shane Day, global sales director for Tiarco Chemical in Dalton, by 587 votes (52.98%) to 521 votes (47.02%).

Only residents of District 3 could vote in the race, which had a 6.78% turnout.

"It was close," Thomas said. "I knew it would be close. I didn't go in expecting a win or a loss. But I'm very glad it was a win."

Day and Thomas finished first and second respectively in a five-person special election on March 16. Day received 467 votes (29.37%) and Thomas 430 votes (27.04%). Because no candidate received more than 50% of the vote, state law called for a runoff.

Thomas received endorsements from two of the three candidates who didn't make the runoff: Shannon Bearfield and Chad "Bubba" Young. The third candidate, Jonathan Bagley, remained neutral.

"From the bottom of my heart, I thank each person who voted for me, each person who supported me," said Thomas. "I'm going to be the District 3 commissioner, but it's the people who voted for me and worked for me who put me there."

Chief Registrar Mary Hammontree said the results should be certified by late Wednesday afternoon.

Thomas said he does not know when he will be sworn in.

"I just know that it will be before the commissioners' (May 10) meeting," he said.

Thomas said he will be reaching out to other commissioners during the next few weeks.

"I want to talk to them and see what I need to do to be ready for that first meeting," he said.

Day said he called Thomas to "wish him the best."

"I said, 'John, you are going to be my commissioner. I'll be praying for you. I'll be supporting you, and if I have questions, I'll be giving you a call,'" he said.

Day said the results were "disappointing."

"I want to thank anybody who voted for me, anybody who made a phone call or talked to a neighbor, who knocked on a door," he said. "A lot of people worked hard for me."

Asked if he might seek elected office again, Day said, "It's too early to say right now. That's something my wife and I will pray about."

Thomas said he hopes he can live up to the standards set by Crossen.

"Roger was a good man and a good commissioner," he said. "If I can be just three quarters of the commissioner and the public servant he was, I will have accomplished a lot."