Forsyth County Candidates Speak Out Post-Election

Now that the primary runoff elections are over and the candidates have had time to catch their breath, Cumming Patch thought readers might be interested in their post election comments.

In the hotly contested sheriff's race, former  surprised a lot of people in defeating his former boss, .

Piper won by a razor thin margin of 341 votes or just over two percent. He did say, "he is honored and humbled by the confidence voters showed in him."

"For those who voted for me I'm grateful and for those who voted for someone else, I promise to do my best to win your support and to provide the most efficient and effective law enforcement possible," Piper said. "This was an 11-month effort and I would be remiss if I didn't thank my volunteers for all the hard work and effort they put in. I'm especially grateful to the Forsyth County Tea Party. They got behind me going in and without their support, this would not have been possible."

A top priority, the sheriff-elect said, will be moving manpower around and reorganizing the sheriff's office in areas that will better serve the public and breaking up the old bureaucracy that exists.

"Reducing the budget is also a top priority for me. For the first year, I'll be working under a budget that was approved before I took office. But reducing the budget is very important to me," said Piper.

Calls to Sheriff Paxton were not returned as of this writing.

, who received just fewer than 67 percent of the vote, to defeat incumbent Patrick Bell, said she was particularly appreciative of the fact that she received almost the exact same number of votes in the runoff as she did on July 31st.

"The numbers usually drop off significantly in the runoff, but I'm very appreciative that nearly all of my supporters came back out and voted again," she said.

Mills said the last two days have been filled with congratulatory phone calls and e-mails.

"I'm doing my best to respond to everyone," she added.

Mills told Cumming Patch she would be attending as many regular commission meetings and work sessions as possible between now and her swearing in ceremony.

"I want to listen and learn as much as possible before I take office," she said.

Mills also plans to attend the commissioners' training session in Athens in December.

 said, "I'm honored to have been given the chance to be a part of the American process. I have no regrets about my time in office nor the campaign we ran."

Bell reached out to Mills after the election.

"I called Cindy after the results came in and congratulated her and offered to assist her in any way I could. Now it's time to get behind the commissioner-elect and make sure there is a seamless transition," said Bell.

, who defeated in the runoff for county coroner said, "I'm really honored the citizens of Forsyth County were willing to go out and vote for me. I promise to be the very best coroner I can be. I want to bring a high level of professionalism, dignity and compassion to the office."

Organization is high on Pais' list or priorities.

"Getting my team of deputy coroners together will be a top priority along with making a streamlined transition. I want to upgrade the office so that we get rid of the pencil and paper and bring some software into it.

"Pais said she won't change anything until she figures out how she can make it more efficient and effective.

Bennett said, "I was a newcomer to the political process. I thought we ran a good race – evidently it just wasn't good enough."

He also hinted that this might not be his last campaign.

"I'm going to look at the political process in general in Forsyth County and keep my eyes open and my ears tuned in for future opportunities," he said. "I'm not going to close the door to anything."

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