Since former Bulloch County Seat 2-A Commissioner Curt Deal resigned his seat effective Monday, Oct. 21, local judges appointed Ray Davis, already de facto commissioner-elect, to fill the final two months of Deal’s term, and Davis was sworn in Friday morning.
Davis, 70, a farmer active in the Stilson and Leefield areas, had unseated Deal for the next four-year term, which will begin in January, by capturing 62.6% of the District 2 votes in the May 21 Republican primary. Although technically still a candidate in the Nov. 5 general election, Davis has no Democratic opposition and so was in effect already elected to the new term.
Then Deal sent a resignation letter Oct. 18 to Georgia Gov. Brian Kemp.
“As my family and I are moving from our home in Bulloch County to another community in Georgia, I hereby resign from the Bulloch County Board of Commissioners, effective Monday, October 21, 2024,” Deal wrote.
“I have been honored to serve the past eight years with my fellow commissioners,” he continued. “I am extremely proud of the accomplishments of this Board and that of Bulloch County as a whole. I am confident that Bulloch County will continue to thrive and wish all the best to the great citizens in the future.”
The day Deal submitted that letter, a current county commissioner called Davis with the opinion that he could go ahead and be appointed, Davis said Friday. That other commissioner did not want to be identified as having made this call but indicated other commissioners were supportive, Davis said.
“When I got wind of this I wasn’t too overly excited about it, but then when I woke up the next morning, I felt like I really didn’t have any choice but to accept it,” Davis said in a phone interview. “I mean it’s just two months longer in the term, and the people had elected me to serve in that capacity.”
Governor’s message
Kemp replied to Deal with a letter Monday, Oct. 21, formally accepting his resignation. Copies went to Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger, Bulloch County Probate Judge Lorna DeLoach, Bulloch Commissioners Chairman Roy Thompson and County Manager Tom Couch.
The Deals and the Kemps are family friends. A copy of the letter obtained from the county shows that someone, apparently the governor, crossed out the last name in “Dear Mr. Deal,” to write “Curt” by hand in the address line and wrote, “Thanks for your service! God bless!” next to Kemp’s initialed signature.
With the governor’s acceptance, the question went to Chief Judge F. Gates Peed, of the Bulloch County Superior Court and Ogeechee Judicial Circuit, whether to leave the seat vacant until Davis’ new term begins in January or appoint a commissioner for the remainder or the unexpired term.
Meanwhile on Monday, Davis talked to Peed and told him he was willing to serve if that was what he wanted.
Judges’ decision
All four of the circuit’s Superior Court judges – Michael T. Muldrew, Lovett Bennett Jr., Ronald K. Thompson and Peed – signed the order issued Thursday, Oct. 24.
“Whereas, Ray Davis meets the qualifications for the office of Bulloch County commissioner, having been elected to represent District 2-A in a primary held on May 21, 2024,” the order states, in part.
“Whereas, a majority of the Superior Court judges of the Ogeechee Judicial Circuit consent to the appointment…,” it continues. So, Davis was appointed to fill the remainder of Deal’s term, to Dec. 31.
Probate Judge DeLoach swore Davis in at 10:30 a.m. Friday in her office. He then attended an 11 a.m. meeting including Roy Thompson, Commissioner Timmy Rushing and staff members at the County Annex.
With three commissioners present – not four, which would be a quorum – this wasn’t an official Board of Commissioners meeting. Davis said it was mainly about the Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax. Thompson said it was meant to bring Davis up to speed on this and other issues. A SPLOST renewal referendum is slated for March and requires agreement among the county and municipal governments.
Early experience
Davis said he now sees advantages to taking office early, since the seat had become vacant.
“Just sitting in this meeting on the SPLOST tax, there’s certainly a lot of information there and moving parts,” he said.
“Experience is the greatest teacher in life, and I have very little experience as a county commissioner. …,” Davis added. “I’m getting a little jump on things, and I get to work with some experience from some of the county commissioners, like Roy Thompson. He won’t come back as a commissioner because he wasn’t re-elected, but I’ve got two months to rely on his experience and things he can tell me.”
Thompson lost his re-election bid for the countywide chairmanship to David Bennett in the Republican primary and so will leave office at the end of the year. Bennett and Davis were part of a wave of challengers elected over incumbents in the primary, reflecting a widespread citizen reaction against a 2023 property tax increase, the county’s support for supplying water wells to Hyundai Motor Group Metaplant America, and other development-related decisions.
However, Thompson and Davis have been friends for years, and spoke of each other in terms of mutual respect.
“I did not call and I’m not aware of who did,” Thompson said. “But I’m very supportive of it. Ray and myself have been friends for a long, long, long time, and I hated to see Curt resign, but I understand he had to, and Ray will do a good job.”
Thompson said Davis could also step into Deal’s role as vice chairman until the end of the year. Who has that role during 2025 will be decided by the new board at the beginning of the year.
Deal did not reveal in his letter exactly where he was moving and was not reached with calls Friday.
The online media site Grice Connect, in an Oct. 18 story about his resignation, noted that Deal’s daughters, who operated Max + Molly Children’s Boutique in Statesboro, have moved their business to Greensboro and Watkinsville and that his wife, Jenni, is currently on the kidney transplant list at Emory in Atlanta, with the family planning to live near Emory to facilitate her treatment.