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Commissioner James E. Allen III to resign after accepting White House appointment; board to call election
Summary
Commissioner James E. Allen III announced he has accepted a White House appointment as senior adviser at HUD and will resign; the board authorized the elections office to call a special election and reassigned committee duties.
Commissioner James E. Allen III told the Columbia County Board of Commissioners on Aug. 5 that he has accepted a White House appointment as senior adviser to the Department of Housing and Urban Development and will submit his resignation to Governor Kemp to create a vacancy for his District 2 seat.
“I have been offered and have accepted a White House appointment to serve as senior adviser to the Department of Housing and Urban Development, Washington D.C.,” Allen said during the meeting. He said he will maintain residency in Columbia County but that the appointment requires work in Washington and that he will not be able to continue offering his district the level of service he believes constituents deserve. Allen said he had worked with county counsel and staff on transition planning and sought to save the county the expense of a stand‑alone special election by coordinating timing with an upcoming public‑service commission vote in November.
The board approved a motion that, upon the governor’s acceptance of Allen’s resignation, the board of elections shall issue the call for the election to fill the vacancy. The board also voted to assign Vice Chair Couch to replace Allen on the MIS and DES committees. Commissioners thanked Allen for his service; no legal or personnel controversies were raised in the public record during the announcement.
Next steps: Allen will submit a formal resignation to the governor, the board of elections will set the special‑election timetable after the governor accepts the resignation, and staff will update committee assignments as approved at the meeting.
