Murray County sole commissioner candidate David Ridley believes preparing for the future through building infrastructure and managed retail growth are the county’s most pressing needs.

Ridley is running against Rick Pritchett in the July 15 Republican primary. Democratic incumbent Jim Welch and Democrat Greg Hogan are also running. The annual salary for the position is $94,248.

“Right now we’re losing thousands (of dollars) to Whitfield (County), Gordon (County), Cleveland, Tenn., and even Ellijay with the way it’s growing,” Ridley said. “We have to have infrastructure in place to facilitate our own needs and also to draw economic growth to Murray County.”

Ridley said the infrastructure needed is the type that would support retail ventures. His plans for paying for new infrastructure would include a Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST). The current SPLOST is paying for jail expansion, improvements at the recreation department and expansion at the public library.

“I believe a SPLOST tax would be the best way,” Ridley said. “We would not look at raising taxes as far as property goes, but I believe we could look at spending and find areas we could be tightening up on.

“If elected, I would do an evaluation of all our expenditures and try to find areas where we could tighten up on spending. Without being in office it’s hard to say, but public safety would be one of the last — we have to protect our citizens, first and foremost.”

Ridley is married to Christy Roe Ridley and they have one child, Lana. He is the former director of both the Murray County Fire Department and Murray County Emergency Management Agency. He left public service in 2004 due to the death of his father, he said, and family and business concerns. He ran unsuccessfully for state representative against Judy Poag in 1990.

Ridley owns several poultry houses in contract with Pilgrim’s Pride, and has also operated and managed North Georgia Mini Speedway. He cites “experience in preparing budgets and managing allocations of resources” as qualities that will help him govern Murray, as well as managing a department of 150.

Ridley pointed to the Spring Place bypass project as an example of the way infrastructure can be utilized.

“It’s taken us seven or eight years to get the project going, but it’s my understanding that plans are already being made to implement growth with the bypass,” he said.

“It looks like we’re making headway, and this is the type of project I would be interested in seeing us do to help with infrastructure needs,” he said. “I think we need to have the most cost-efficient operations as possible.

“I gave the county 20 years of my life working in public service, and I want to give another 20 years to the people of Murray County.”