5th District Race: Candidate promises to be a fresh voice
By SARAH FAY CAMPBELLsarah@newnan.com
Hayden Marlowe believes he will bring a unique perspective to the Coweta County Board of Commissioners.
Marlowe, 22, is running for the Fifth District seat on the commission. He is running as a Republican and challenging incumbent Commissioner Al Smith, a Democrat.
Marlowe, who said he leans a bit Libertarian, wanted to run as an independent, but found the petition signature requirements to get on the ballot to be insurmountable. “It’s extremely hard,” he said of meeting the signature requirements.”
Marlowe thinks he can attract younger voters, and that’s “important in playing the role of getting people involved in government and politics.”
A major issue that inspired Marlowe is the county’s ordinance that regulates how tall grass can be in a residential subdivision. A proposed expansion of the 12-inch height limit to all residential properties in the county was met with opposition by some Cowetans and some commissioners, and hasn’t been brought back up for action.
“Personally, I don’t believe government should get to that point of interference with personal liberties,” Marlowe said. He wants the existing regulation repealed.
Marlowe is a fiscal conservative, and doesn’t like seeing the county dipping into reserves to balance the budget.
“We shouldn’t have to do that,” he said. Instead, he’d like to continue to grow the surplus.
Marlowe wants to see the government stay away from regulations infringing on personal liberty.
He would, however, like to see the county offer some more opportunities for getting people physically active. He’d particularly like to see a disc golf course in Coweta. “If we can find a way to make it work within the county budgetâ ¦ it would be a great thing.”
But he would first like to see those sorts of things approved by voters at the ballot box.
Marlowe is a 2008 graduate of Newnan High School. He attended Andrew College in Cuthbert, where he played baseball. Marlowe began working full-time with his father’s vending company after the birth of his daughter, Ava. He bought a home last year and is continuing his college education while working.
If he’s elected, Marlowe said his father can work with his schedule. “I can always make time” for county business, he said. “I’m a very hard working person. Hard work gets you a very long way. It can get you where talent can’t take you.”
Why should people vote for Marlowe?
“I know that everybody says this, but I really am going in there for the right reasons,” he said. “I want to represent the people of this district properly and not make decisions based just upon my own opinion. I would take the responsibility to go out and try to poll as many people as I could, personally, just to get everybody’s opinion, everybody’s viewpoint, so that the proper decisions can be made.”
His election would make the commission completely Republican, “which could work in favor of getting something done on the county level.”
Marlowe said he’s doesn’t have a problem with the representation at the local level, and is not running “against” Smith.
He’s excited about running for county commission.
“But it’s not just for my own benefit. I believe that it could be for the benefit of everybody. I do believe that the way I could do things is a very positive thing.”
