After facing no opposition in the July primary, Democrat Franklin Goldwire’s bid for Effingham County Commission chairman at-large now begins in earnest.
Joined by family and other supporters, Goldwire officially kicked off his campaign Monday with a news conference on the steps of the historic Effingham County Courthouse.
“Effingham County has been good to me and my family. I feel that I should repay the many positive things I have received from this county and from our nation with offering myself for public service,” he said.
Goldwire said he would bring to the county commission the leadership qualities he acquired rising through the ranks in the military and in his career in education.
He cited his three years in the Army, including a year in Vietnam for which he was awarded a Bronze Star for exemplary service. He later joined the Army National Guard in Springfield and then the Air National Guard in Savannah, holding command posts in several squadrons and retiring as a lieutenant colonel.
After four years as a science and math teacher, Goldwire was named principal of Central Junior High School/Effingham Middle School, a position he held for 18 years. He became the first principal of South Effingham High School, where he remained for seven years until his retirement in 2003.
“I have spent my entire life in leadership,” Goldwire said. “Running for a public office is a little different than my previous professional experiences, but I believe the leadership skills I have gained from my professional experiences are skills that will assist me in serving the citizens of Effingham County.”
Goldwire pledged to work with the other county commissioners in a team effort to resolve the county’s water and sewer controversy, develop a balanced budget and collaborate with the city governments of Rincon, Springfield and Guyton to prevent services from being duplicated.
“I will support a growth plan which does not negatively impact the county’s ability to meet the demands of service — a plan that will promote businesses as well as attract commercial and industrial businesses, creating opportunities and jobs and economic growth,” he said.
Goldwire, a self-described lifelong Democrat, will face Republican Wendall Kessler in the Nov. 6 general election.
“I want the citizens to know that I am a very conservative Democrat, a fiscally conservative Democrat,” Goldwire said. “Good values and good morals and a heart to do the right thing because it is the right thing to do are non-partisan.”
Prior to Goldwire taking the podium, six members of the community — Pete Lancaster, Tommy Exley, Jack Garvin, Michael Moore, Martha Zeigler and Lamar Crosby — addressed the crowd in support of him.
“I assure you one thing – if we elect him as chairman of the Effingham County Commission, we will bring a great dignity and respect to this position,” said Lancaster, who serves alongside Goldwire on the Effingham YMCA board of directors.
Zeigler called Goldwire a “great educator and community leader” and Crosby described him as “eminently qualified to be the leader of our county.” Moore, a colleague of Goldwire’s for more than 30 years in the school system, expressed a similar sentiment.
“I always found Dr. Goldwire to be honest. He was a hard worker, he had integrity, he always tried to do the right thing and he treated people well,” Moore said. “He will do those same things when he becomes county commission chairman.”
Garvin, chairman of the Effingham County Democratic Party, said he was “delighted” when Goldwire decided to run for county commission chairman.
“Dr. Goldwire, as you all know, has been a leader in this whole community,” Garvin said. “When we have people like this running, it evens the playing field and the Democrats are not dead in Effingham County.”
