As expected, Athens-Clarke County Commissioner Jerry NeSmith will be running for re-election, he announced today.

NeSmith has represented District 6, the Atlanta Highway area mostly outside the Loop, since 2013. 

"The Sixth District has become more economically stable," he said in a news release. "We are at the threshold of a renewed Sixth District that is ripe for commercial redevelopment. Neighborhoods in District 6 remain very healthy, overall, with active citizen participation in business/neighborhood issues, county activities and policy-making."

In his announcement, NeSmith called for lowering ACC's property tax rate and giving preference to locally owned businesses in procurement, especially for the 11-year, $300 million SPLOST 2020.

"I will continue to facilitate creating collaborative alliances among business and neighborhood leaders—coalitions that inform my actions and speak with a unified voice," he said.

The retired UGA information technology director is a former ACC planning commissioner and helped start the Athens Farmers Market. He serves on the board of Advantage Behavioral Health Systems, is active on the Ben Epps Airport Authority and Oconee Rivers Greenway Commission, and is a member of the Athens Anti-Discrimination Movement. 

His son, Jason, is well known locally as frontman of the band Casper and the Cookies and guitarist for the Pylon Re-enactment Society.

NeSmith ran unopposed in 2016, but this year he'll face progressive activist Jesse Houle in the May 19 nonpartisan election.

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