Jackson, seeking a second four-year term, is emphasizing his strong conservative voting record and staying in touch with residents in District 5, which includes Roopville and Whitesburg and the rural areas in the southern part of the county.
Jenkins, making his first run for a public office, pledges to be responsive to people’s concerns and to work for more jobs.
Since no candidates qualified in the Democratic Primary, the winner of this Republican Primary will run unopposed in the Nov. 6 general election.
Jackson said his campaign has a mailer going out this weekend and he is going to be on the phone, reminding people to go to the polls on Tuesday.
“I have a very strong conservative voting record in one of the most conservative districts in the county,” he said. “I keep a pulse on the citizens in my district and I’m in tune with what they want. That’s how I make my decisions.”
Jackson defended his record of sometimes voting against the board majority.
“I’m absolutely an independent thinker,” he said. “I haven’t fallen into anybody’s buddy system. I’m going to vote for what’s in the best interest of the people in my district.”
Jackson said he feels the economy and ways to create jobs are the major concerns facing Carroll County.
“We absolutely need a conservative to do that,” he said. “I have a very good record on that. I’ve proposed cutting the chairman’s budget three times since I’ve been in office and have succeeded once. I think that speaks highly of my level of conservatism.”
Jenkins also has a mailer coming over the weekend and said he’s mainly out knocking on doors during the final campaign days.
He said he gets a lot of calls from people concerned about roads and other problems in the district.
“I want to be the type commissioner they can call and I will respond to them,” Jenkins said. “You can be conservative all you want, but if someone calls and wants a road fixed, you should get out there and do what you can. People want to have a response from somebody when they call.”
Jenkins said Carroll County needs more jobs and the Board of Commissioners needs to sit down together and explore avenues it can take to help the economic situation.
Jackson, 42, was born and raised in the Roopville area. He attended Central High School and received his GED diploma in 1987. He began work in high school with utility contractors and has worked the past 10 years with Carroll EMC as a journeyman lineman.
Jackson said he became active in politics about 15 years ago, working in state and national campaigns of conservative candidates. Six years ago, he became active in a campaign to prevent the Wolf Creek development from being built and said that led him into seeking the District 5 seat.
Jackson and his wife, Patrice, have been married 23 years and live in the Whitesburg area. They have two sons, Dustin, who is currently serving with the U.S. Army in Afghanistan, and Casey, an apprentice electrician. They have two grandchildren.
Jenkins, 36, was born in Carrollton and grew up in a home next to Central High School, where he graduated in 1995. After graduation, he attended Thomas Technical College in Thomasville, where he graduated in 1997 with an associate degree in agricultural technology.
He worked 14 years with Pike Electric and has worked as an electrician with CBS Outdoors since March, 2011.
He and his wife, Cassie Shadinger Jenkins, have been married 10 years and live in Roopville. They have three children, a daughter, Carlee, 16, a student at Central High School, and two sons, Collin, 9, and Caden, 6, both students at Roopville Elementary School.
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