No Runoff for Bell This Time

After months of campaigning, Randy Bell effectively won the office of Post 1 Commissioner on Tuesday night against Tony Arbucci and Jerry Tuso.

Tuesday’s victory was a long-awaited triumph for Bell. In 2010, Bell was defeated by Danny Hall in a run-off for the post 2 commissioner seat. According to the latest election results, Bell won this time with 2762 votes, where Arbucci earned 1523, and Tuso, 1221. For Tuso, though, Tuesday’s election meant another defeat. Previously, Tuso had also lost a Post 2 Commissioner contest. When asked about Tuesday’s results, Tuso said he wished not to comment. Arbucci, on the other hand, seemed grateful for the opportunity to participate in the race.

“I want to thank all the people that had faith (in me) and voted for me,”

he said.

Responding to his victory, Bell told FYN that he also would like to thank all of his voters and looked forward to the opportunity to serve Gilmer County and do what’s best for the community.

Over the past several years, Bell has established the reputation through out the county as community watchdog. In this time, he has uncovered inconsistencies in operations at White Path Golf Course and investigated issues at the county airport, courthouse, and civic center.

In an op-ed piece last December, Bell explained his investigations into White Path, where he revealed that incomplete records exist for money paid out for the golf course by the county. The money paid, he emphasized, was at the cost of the taxpayer. Also, in 2010, Bell filed four ethics charges against former Gilmer County Chairman Mark Chastain. However, in October 2011, the grand jury returned a no bill, meaning Chastain was not indicted. Following the grand jury’s decision, Bell then requested a meeting with District Attorney Joe Hendricks, Rep. Doug Collins, Senator Steve Gooch, and House Speaker David Ralston to discuss how to craft legislation from preventing the allleged crimes of Chastain from happening again, which dealt mainly with misappropriation of funds. Although the meeting never materialized, Bell seem to assert his desire to protect the people of Gilmer County. His new post as commissioner, though, shifts Bell from the role of citizen-watchdog to government official.

Now, the question is: can the man with the reputation of taxpayer advocate and watchdog of Gilmer County continue to keep his eyes open.