Sara Comander announces she will not seek re-election
By DOTTY NIST
Sara Comander has announced that she will not seek re-election to the District 4 seat on the Walton County Board of County Commissioners (BCC) in which she has served since 2006.
Comander made the announcement as she presented items under her name on the agenda for the Jan. 23 BCC regular meeting at the Walton County Courthouse.
Becoming emotional at times during the announcement, the 71-year old commissioner told the gathering that she had served "a wonderful 12 years," but had made the decision not to run due to "some rather severe health problems"--- and because she felt it would not be fair to run and, if elected, possibly not be able to serve another full four-year term because of those health issues.
Comander voiced "pleasure and pride," in what the BCC as a group had accomplished during her time on the commission. Thanking everyone she had worked with, she described herself as "fired up," to accomplish still more during the remaining months of her term---including making broadband available to all areas of the county where still needed (a project she has spearheaded), and giving her all to ensure that Walton County receives the RESTORE Act funds that the county is due. Comander also emphasized that she intends to remain active in the community once her term as commissioner ends.
"We still want you to be a part," District 2 Commissioner Cecilia Jones responded, jokingly asking if the BCC could just decline to accept Comander's "resignation." District 5 Commissioner Tony Anderson commented that Comander had been a friend for a long time and thanked her for being a mentor to him since his election to the BCC in 2016. County Commission Chairman Bill Chapman was supportive of Comander's taking her health into consideration and told her that he looked forward to continuing to work with her over the next 10-11 months. District 3 Commissioner Melanie Nipper was not present for the meeting.
The BCC District 4 seat, along with the District 2 seat, are among the offices up for election in 2018. Before deciding not to run, Comander had already pre-filed to run for re-election. She is currently the only candidate to have pre-filed to run for the District 4 seat in the 2018 elections.
