Jeff Tatham was a relatively late entrant into the Cherokee County Board of Commissioners race. He hesitated at first because he felt like the District 1 race already featured two contrasting choices.
“I actually had a lot of people come up to me and basically said, ‘I know where you stand on things and you offer something we’re not going to get on the ballot as it stands,’ ” Tatham said.
“I thought about that, prayed about it and ... I think the more choices people have, the better off we’ll be.
“The biggest thing for me personally is the issue of private property rights and zoning. I feel like that issue is about to come to a head and for me it was important enough to throw my hat into the ring.”
Tatham is seeking the District 1 seat occupied by Commissioner Cal Stiles. The Republican candidate currently is a member of the Cherokee County Board of Education. He said he jokes about the fact that he’s the only candidate in District 1 who has always been a Republican, but also has vocal support from Democrats willing to cross the aisle to vote for him.
“I do feel like I’m the most conservative candidate in this District 1 race,” Tatham said. “Then there are other issues where I think I’m probably the most progressive candidate. I just take every issue and ask, ‘What’s best for the citizens?”
Tatham was raised in Andrews and today works for Western Carolina University.
“The town (of Andrews) has issues,” Tatham said. “And that’s another part of why I want to run for commissioner, I feel like the town has not been represented well.”
One seemingly common fear among residents is that the planned high school consolidation would be yet another significant blow to the town. Tatham voted for consolidation after initially opposing it. He believes the move could actually help Andrews in the long run.
“What we have now is a lot of times families will move to Murphy so they’re in Murphy district,” Tatham said. “If we only have one high school, then there’s no more concern about that.
“You’ll still have a K-8 in Andrews, and if you like Andrews and that’s where your home is and that’s where you want to raise a family, you don’t have to worry about district lines or getting on a particular sports team or taking a certain class.”
Tatham believes education and recreation opportunities are two key factors to growth. He pointed to the fact that Cherokee County is losing students to other areas such as Union County, Ga. Falling behind is a recurring theme in Cherokee County that’s not just limited to the school system, he added.
“At some point you have to make investments in your infrastructure and your people,” Tathum said. “When you have infrastructure needs like an EMS station, if you delay that, costs are naturally only going to rise.
“I want to see local government dollars go toward services back to citizens. What I don’t want to see is local government putting more burdens and regulations on citizens.”
Tatham also sees crime and safety as a pressing issue and would like to see the sheriff’s office have enough funding to provide more patrols around the county.
When it comes to the hot-button issue of crypto mines in Cherokee County, Tatham feels like a noise ordinance may be the best solution. However, he worries that the language in the current proposed noise ordinance amendment may be too vague and could lead to a variety of problems.
Tatham opposes a recently discussed planning committee for Cherokee County.
“A planning board doesn’t necessarily mean zoning, but you cannot legally have zoning until you have a planning board,” he said. “People need to know that is the first step.”