Editor’s note: This is one in a series of surveys answered by candidates in the November general election.

The District 1 seat on the Bryan County Board of Commissioners is up for grabs in the Nov. 6 general election, and voters there will choose between three candidates when casting their ballots.
Democratic incumbent Joe Kendrick and challengers Noah Covington, Republican, and Rufus “Ed” Bacon, an independent, all seek the seat that represents Pembroke and parts of Ellabell.
Kendrick is running for re-election to the seat because he wants to continue working with the commissioners on several projects he has seen started during his time in office.
Bacon, a former District 1 commissioner, says he wants to serve again because he believes county resources are not currently being distributed fairly.
Covington seeks the seat because he wants to do his part to eliminate tax burdens on residents and bring jobs to the county.
Early voting is under way from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. Monday-Friday through Nov. 2 and 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Oct. 27 at the Voter Registration Office in Pembroke and the County Administrative Complex in Richmond Hill. For more information about voting, call the Voter Registration Office at 653-3859.
The candidates’ surveys are as follows:

Joseph “Joe” F. Kendrick
Board of Commissioners District 1
Democrat

Age: 72
Contact information: 1833 Wildwood Church Road, Pembroke, 653-3329.
Family: Helen Kendrick, wife.
Work experience: I am currently a business owner and am also a retired ironworker.

Rufus Edwin Bacon
Board of Commissioners District 1
Independent

Age: 67 (May 2, 1945).
Address, contact information: P.O. Box 817, 52 West Smith St.; phone: 912-653-2635 or 912-429-7200.
Family: Married to Jean Bacon (44 years). She’s enjoying retirement after working for the U.S. government for 30 years and the Bryan County Development Authority for 10 years. We have three children, all graduates of Bryan County High School and Georgia Southern University; and we have six grandchildren.
* Tina, a middle school teacher, lives in Mount Pleasant, SC with her husband, Max, and children Matthew and Stephen.
* James, a CPA and Chief Financial Officer for ALTA, lives in Peachtree City, GA with his wife Brittain and twins Ben and Maddie.
* Kenneth, an Account Executive for Lamar Advertising in Savannah, lives in Pembroke with his wife, Jodie, and children Kennon and Ragan Cate.
Work experience: 35 years military experience, enlisted and commissioned officer (a field artillery officer in the Georgia Army National Guard/Army Reserves, and served as an enlisted long range reconnaissance patrol, Army Ranger team leader in Vietnam); 29 years as civil service employee (planner for USDA Soil Conservation Service for five coastal counties, survey party chief for watershed planning party, forestry technician and National Guard training technician; and 10 years as public works director for the city of Pembroke.

Noah Covington
Board of Commissioner District 1
Republican

Age: 43
Contact information: P.O. Box 1381, Pembroke, Ga., 31321; noah@pemtelco.net.
Family: Kim Covington (wife 24 years), Justin (21) Benjamin (19).
Work experience: Pembroke Advanced Communications (21years), plant manager (13 years) – as plant manager I oversee more than 20 full- and part-time employees and manage inside and outside plant operations. This includes a full fiber to the home overbuild of North Bryan County.

Read more in the Oct. 20 edition of the News.