Paulding Commissioner Stover resigns to run in May Primary Election for Commission Chairman

Post 4 Commissioner Brian Stover has resigned from his position on the board. Stover resigned from his post in order to run for Commission Chairman. Paulding Commission Chairman Dave Carmichael will relinquish his role this year after having served two terms.
Last week, from Monday through Wednesday, were the dates to qualify to be a candidate for Post 4 in the May 21st Primary election to be held in conjunction with the General Primary/Nonpartisan Election.
No less than six qualifiers lined up and confirmed last week to run for Stover’s Post 4 spot including Johnny Lee Shirley, Dean Schneider, and Scott Richards, who ran in the 2022 Republican primary for the Georgia House of Representatives to represent District 16, losing to incumbent Trey Kelly, Michelle Ray, James Allen III, and Judson Dee Dyer.
Qualifying for Commission Chairman runs through this week until noon on Friday.
Contacted by phone Stover confirmed his intent to run for Chairman. Stover’s role on the board also included being chairman pro tem and that designation has passed to Post 2 Commissioner Sandy Kaecher.
“I feel like we’ve come a long way in the last five years and I’ve been a part of that, working on transitioning our regulations and our UDO (development), economic development projects, bringing the mindset for business into the government world,” Stover said. “We’ve got a lot of growth coming and I want to continue the good work we’ve been doing that needs to be done.”
Stover characterized the current board as “a good group, we get along and have some common goals. We’ve worked on managing the growth as much as we can.”
He cited some modifications to building codes, and some DOT projects during his time on the board.
“I’d just hate to see all the stuff we’ve been working on for so long to not have someone in place with the same mindset,” Stover said.

Stover ran unopposed for Post 4 in the previous election. Current Commission Chairman Dave Carmichael served on the board initially in Post 1 before resigning to run for Commissioner. Since his election, Carmichael has served two terms and will pass the baton to a new Chairman in 2025.

By Richard Grant 
Dallas New Era Staff Writer