Board of commissioners will have two women for first time
Peachtree – Jeana Conley and Sue Lynn Ledford will make history Monday, when their pro forma appointment to the Cherokee County Board of Commissioners will mark the first time more than one woman has been serving on the board.
It may also be the first time the board has had two members with doctorate-level degrees.
Conley and Ledford were selected by the Cherokee County Republican Party Executive Committee to replace two commissioners who lost in the March 3 primary – Dan Eichenbaum to Ledford in District 4 and Cal Stiles to Conley in District 1.
Conley is the retired superintendent of Cherokee County Schools who volunteers with multiple nonprofit agencies. Ledford is executive director of Four Square Community Action Inc. after a career as a health director.
“Both candidates have demonstrated a strong commitment to serving our community,” according to a release issued Tuesday morning by the party.
The Cherokee County Board of Commissioners will hold a special called meeting at 5:30 p.m. Monday at the Cherokee County Courthouse in downtown Murphy to affirm the GOP committee’s recommendation and appoint the two to the board.
The GOP committee has played a pivotal role in the board, recommending three of the board’s five members – Ledford and Conley and, in December 2024, District 2 Commissioner Mark Stiles to fill a vacancy.
The committee also recommended Chris Wood as sheriff after Dustin Smith resigned in February.
“We’ve done this several times in the last year,” said Mark Kephart, chair of the GOP executive committee. “We know pretty much how this works.”
Ledford is running unopposed in the November primary and will remain in office after December. Conley faces Democrat Rex Cable in the general election Tuesday, Nov. 3, with the winner of that race taking office in December and Conley filling in until then.
Asked about what they learned while campaigning for office, both agreed that education, economy and public safety are top priorities, with planning being the path forward and transparency and listening to the public being the standard.
Conley said she would be a “voice of the people” in her Andrews Valley district, “to make sure folks in Andrews have a voice.”
Ledford said, “There’s a lot we can accomplish, but we’ll have to do it together.”
The new board will have three new members by December and two – Mark Stiles and Chair Alan Bryant – with just two years tenure on the board by that time.
Voters have punished incumbents on the board during the last two elections, ousting Jan Griggs and Randy Phillips in the 2024 elections. District 3 Commissioner Ben Adams chose not to run for re-election.
School board member Steve Coleman won the March primary for the seat and will face Democrat Judith Bodley in November.