Craig Bryant

by Eric Tiongson

White County News

Craig Bryant never thought he would work in government.

He came to White County in 1997 from Smyrna, with plans to run a car wash. By 2002, he was elected to the Board of Commissioners, thanks to an urge to help people.

“In my opinion, the commissioner’s job is to help people, and that’s the reason I run,” Bryant said. “I still have so many people call me all the time, and they just want to vent, they want somebody to talk to, and I’ll always listen to them, I’ll always call them back.”

Bryant is running for re-election on the White County Board of Commissioners as the commissioner of District 4. He believes his experience in this role and eagerness to help make him an ideal candidate for the job.

“It’s a learning curve, you can’t do half of what you thought you could do,” Bryant said. He added, “I just want to represent District Four and White County as best as I can.”

Bryant emphasized that while he’s running as District 4’s commissioner, he wants to serve the whole county. He has gotten to know many people from Helen and Sautee Nacoochee, but he’s also interacted with people from all across White County.

“I get just as many calls outside of District 4 as I do inside of District 4,” Bryant said.

Should Bryant be re-elected, there are a few projects in progress that he would like to see completed.

Building a new public library and White County Fire Station No. 9 are at the top of Bryant’s to-do list. He also wants to pave some dirt roads and try to keep housing affordable in the area.

“It’s gotten so expensive to live here,” Bryant said.

Beyond those projects, Bryant wants to keep an open mind and be ready for whatever he may be asked to do.

“I don’t have anything in particular that’s coming out, other than to take it a day at a time,” Bryant said.

In his previous terms, Bryant is proud of his work with the Parks and Recreation Department, such as the creation of new ballparks and upgrades to other facilities and services. He’s also proud of being able to put more money into the police department, and hopes to continue doing that in the future.

The small town feel is what originally brought Bryant to the area 27 years ago, and is what makes it special to him.

“We live in the best part of the whole state,” Bryant said. “I know every county says that, but we do.”

Bryant likes to spend his free time hunting and exploring White County.