Pictured from left to right are:
District 1 Commissioner Bill Pullen
District 2 Commissioner Phillip Hartline
Dade County Executive Don Townsend
District 3 Commissioner Bob Woods
District 4 Commissioner Melissa Bradford
The Dade County Board of Commissioners for 2025 held their first workshop and scheduled meeting Thursday night, getting right to work with the standard business at hand while appointing a new County Clerk and Commission Vice-Chair.
The need for a new county clerk was immediate with the recent ascension of former longtime clerk Don Townsend’s as Commission Chairman after winning the recent election. Townsend conceded in the earlier workshop session that whomever is hired to succeed him would likely need a six month acclimation to the demanding position.
Toward the conclusion of the regularly scheduled meeting, the board debated whether to consider the county clerk hiring topic privately in executive session or publicly within the current proceeding. In the spirit of transparency, the board chose to discuss the position and applicants publicly with a motion from Chairman Townsend to appoint Gidget Knight as the new Dade County Clerk.
Townsend noted Knight’s 33 years of experience with the Better Business Bureau in a variety of roles as well as her longtime civic engagement beyond her employment.
Commissioner Bob Woods concurred with Townsend’s motion, noting Knight’s continuing community service to Trenton United Methodist Church as a greater prerequisite for the job.
The motion to appoint Knight was unanimously approved, as was the designation of Commissioner Woods as Vice-Chairman of the board.
In other housekeeping moves, Commissioner Melissa Bradford was appointed Dade County’s Legislative Coordinator for the Association of County Commissioners of Georgia.
The board also approved a $1.2 million TAN line of credit, due by year’s end. The TAN or Tax Anticipation Notice proceeds will go to the general fund for county expenses.
By Vince Lennon
Watch the full meeting here