Columbia County Commission Vice Chairman Gary Richardson has announced he will run for the district 125 state house seat in the upcoming special election to replace outgoing Rep. Barry Fleming.
Fleming was recently appointed by Gov. Brian Kemp to the Columbia County circuit of Superior Court and will step down from his statehouse position once sworn in.
Kemp has yet to set a date on the special election, but it must come within 30 days of the General Assembly convening for the 2024 session.
A Butler High School and Georgia Southern graduate, Richardson and his family moved to Columbia County in 1994 where he runs his Sparkle Express car wash locations.
In 2015, Richardson ran for the unexpired term of District 3 Commissioner Mack Taylor and has since mainly run unopposed, holding the seat for almost a decade.
Richardson says he has been proud to work as a team with the other Columbia County Commissioners to build infrastructure and quality of life projects and keep the pace with the county as it continues to experience explosive growth.
“Originally, Columbia County citizens voted against the Transportation Improvement Act, but that was a regional vote, so I think we proved to the voters that we could spend that money wisely and when the TIA came up for renewal, the voters supported it,” Richardson said.
Columbia County has built the state-of-the-art Performing Arts Center, is about to cut the ribbon on the new Sheriff’s Office Administration Building and has purchased over 120 acres in the Washington Road-Hardy McManus Road area to develop a huge new public park. Richardson notes that in the midst of all that progress, Columbia County has rolled back the millage rate for seven of the past eight years.
Richardson, who will run as a Republican, says that once elected, he will push for “home rule,” and will fight against the state meddling in issues that should be settled at the local level.
“I am a consensus builder, but I also understand that a ‘blanket’ approach is not always the right approach. I will never vote for a state law that negatively impacts Columbia County,” Richardson said.
Columbia County Chairman Doug Duncan says he fully supports Richardson’s run for the statehouse seat, though he does have one bone to pick with his colleague.
“He doesn’t give me free car washes. I’m just kidding. Gary has been great for Columbia County and with this being his last term before being term-limited, this is a natural next step. Gary’s long service on the commission makes him uniquely qualified to represent us in Atlanta,” Duncan said.
Scott Hudson is the Senior Investigative Reporter and Editorial Page Editor for The Augusta Press. Reach him at scott@theaugustapress.com
