Henry Daily Herald

McDONOUGH — Voters will have one more chance to choose between Republican candidates bidding to win a seat on the Henry County Board of Commissioners.

There is a runoff on Aug. 21 in the District III Commission race between the top two GOP vote-getters in Tuesday’s Republican primary, Gary W. Barham and William L. “Bill” Toney, Jr. In the general election in November, the winner between Barham and Toney will face Sandra Vincent. The former McDonough councilmember was unopposed in the Democratic primary.

Barham, a former public works director for the City of McDonough, had 2,481 votes. Toney, owner of Jenco golf-cart manufacturing company, got 2,238 votes.

Toney, 65, credited his campaign supporters for doing “a great job” in helping him to secure a spot in the runoff. Their job, he added, is not over.

“We’ve just got to work hard,” said Toney. “Most people have to figure out if they want a government guy or a business guy. If they want a business guy, I’m their man.”

Toney, a business owner for 30 years, said he plans to focus on cutting down on spending. He hopes to help the county pass a budget without raising taxes, and then pass another budget with tax reductions included.

“We’ve got to reduce spending,” he said. “If we want to get the budget in line, we’ve got to get our spending in line. We do not need to be raising taxes.”

Barham, 57, has 31 years of experience with the City of McDonough. He plans to continue meeting with residents and employees to learn their perspectives on issues affecting the county.

“We appreciate everybody that came out to vote for us, and we hope they will vote for us again on Aug. 21,” said Barham. “It’s hard to get people back out to vote in these runoffs, but we think it’s so important for people to get out and vote.

“The employees are the backbone of this county,” Barham added. “We’ve got to move the county forward in a positive way, and I want to be part of a solution. I don’t want to be part of a problem.”

District III Commissioner Randy Stamey did not seek re-election this year.