Steve Jordan hopes his blue-collar work ethic will propel him onto the Cherokee County Board of Commissioners for a second time.
“If they want someone with a college education to do this commissioner job, I’m not the guy,” Jordan said. “But if they want a guy that can look at the problem and get it fixed, figure out a solution, I’m their guy.
“There would be a lot of things I would be (suited) for the county, and there’s stuff that I ain’t. Like the landfill up there, I’ve probably built 10 or 15 of them in my time, and I know how they work.”
Jordan is seeking the District 1 seat occupied by Commissioner Cal Stiles.
The Republican candidate doesn’t lack political experience. He previously served a four-year stint on the board of commissioners and has been elected to the Andrews Board of Aldermen – where he currently serves – five times.
Jordan might have better visibility than any other candidate running for local office. With his own campaign school bus, which he’s dubbed “The Cheese Wagon,” Jordan can be easy to spot driving around Cherokee County. He said his goal, though, is to take a back seat to the people.
“You work for the people of the county,” Jordan said. “That’s one reason I’m running. I just want to look out for our citizens.”
Jordan said places like Andrews have lost too much already, and he would like to preserve the high schools both there and in Hiwassee Dam. He would, however, be willing to consider a two-high-school, East-West plan.
“The main priority here in the county is going to be the future of our kids,” Jordan said. “When I was in school, they put us in school to learn a trade.
“Not everybody is cut out to go to college. They’ve got to have some block layers and carpenters, or 10 or 15 years from now there won’t be anybody to build a house.”
Jordan likewise is concerned about the lack of workforce in Cherokee County. He said even if the county could lure larger companies to the area, finding enough workers to fill jobs would be virtually impossible.
“If you had a big factory right now set up in Andrews, you would be lucky to find a quarter of enough people to run it,” Jordan said. “Andrews used to have the best work force of anybody.”
Jordan said he would have supported the funding of the new Emergency Medical Services Station 1 that was recently approved by the board of commissioners in a 3-2 vote. He likewise supports a new EMS Station 2 for Andrews.
“I went and firsthand checked them out,” Jordan said. “Our EMS people were living in dumps. I think a new clean slate will be good. I want our EMS to be comfortable, and I want them ready to go when people need help.”
Jordan is strongly against any zoning in Cherokee County. He said recreation is a priority, and he would like to see the campground in Hanging Dog reopened.
He does not believe enough has been done about the noise issue from the unenclosed crypto mine on Harshaw Road. The issue continues to be a focal point of county commissioners meetings despite construction of a partial wall around the majority of the facility. Local residents have said the wall has done little to dampen the noise and has even made it worse in places.
“The commissioners or someone needs to go talk to them and say, ‘Build a dome over these things,’ like (the facility) in Marble has got,” Jordan said. “A dome would be very cheap.
“You get people together, they can take care of business. I just think that people gather up in our community, and (the company) would be glad to put a dome over it.”