Jack Bernard Announces Candidacy
Jack Bernard of Turtle Cove has announced his intention to seek the District 3 County Commission seat, and he says he will be running on the Republican ticket.
Mr. Bernard graduated from Cartersville High School in Bartow County. He attended the University of Georgia, Georgia College & State University, and Georgia State University. He holds a bachelor’s degree in political science and masters in government administration from Georgia State, from which he graduated with honors.
He is married to the former Linda Billue of Milledgeville and Irwinton, where she is the co-owner of a 400-acre farm that has been in her family for generations. They have three children and seven grandchildren. Mr. and Mrs. Bernard have owned a home in Jasper County since 1997.
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Mr. Bernard is retired, with his last employment being a senior vice president of corporate accounts for Medassets, Inc. in Atlanta. Prior to that he worked for a San Diego, Calif. based company, Premier, Inc. He had a 10-year tenure with American Healthcare Systems, also from San Diego, Calif.
He worked for National Medical Enterprises of Dallas, Tex., and Humana, Inc. in Louisville, Ky. He began his professional career with the Georgia Department of Human Resources (DHR) in Atlanta.
He said he has been a high-level business executive, having been employed by both large corporations and small businesses. He has done community organization and planning an a number of locations in Georgia, he said, including Jasper County. He helped to form the Full Information on the Environment and Reservoir (F.I.R.E.) Coordinating Committee, which as been active in the fight to obtain information regarding the controversial proposed Jasper County investment in the Newton County reservoir located at Bear Creek.
Mr. Bernard said he believes the county has numerous unmet needs that must be addressed including water, growth, animal control, roads and taxes. He said that he believes that there is an obvious lack of vision and planning by county elected officials as well as inadequate implementation of previously declared goals.
Mr. Bernard cited the lack of progress on animal control over the last four years as a long-standing complaint of county residents as just one example of the frustration that voters feel with the county commission.
“We as a community must determine how best to spend our tax revenues,” said Mr. Bernard. “Over the last four years, the inflation rate has been nearly flat while our county taxes have risen. If anything, county services have declined during this period while our elected officials have procrastinated.
“The time for excuses is long gone…it is now time for action from our county officials. A business oriented fiscally conservative approach is what is required and that is the direction that I will take when I am elected county commissioner.
A campaign committee was formed to support Mr. Bernard’s candidacy. Nancy Fountain is chairman and Sandra Sliger is treasurer.
