The Henry County Board of Commissioners should be at full strength by its next regular meeting.
As Dee Clemmons had been absent from meetings for more than three months and finally submitted her resignation in May, the other five members of the board voted to appoint Neat Robinson as the interim commissioner in District II until a special election can be conducted later this year.
The appointment was carried out under the guidelines set forth by state law, which allows the board to appoint a commissioner temporarily under these circumstances. The outgoing commissioner’s political party was instructed to submit nominations for consideration, and in this case it was the Henry County Democratic Party which recommended Robinson as its sole nominee.
A Stockbridge resident for nearly two decades, Robinson is a former member of the Stockbridge City Council. She has served on various boards and initiatives throughout the community.
County officials said Robinson is expected to take office upon being sworn in at the next scheduled Board of Commissioners meeting, which is June 20.
Clemmons was elected to represent District II in 2016 and then won a second term in 2020. All five districts in the county were redrawn after the 2020 census and underwent substantial geographic changes.
Clemmons spent more than six years in office, but during the six years immediately preceding her election the District II seat saw more than the usual amount of turnover.
Rick Jeffares won the 2008 election but then resigned in late April of 2010 to qualify for a State Senate race, which he won. Monroe Roark was named interim commissioner for the remainder of 2010, with Fred Auletta winning the special election in November of that year.
Auletta stepped down in February of 2012 to accept an appointment as county manager. Brian Preston, who at the time was the District II member of the Henry County Board of Education, was named interim commissioner and then won a full term later that year.
Preston resigned in the summer of 2016 as he was making plans to move out of the county. The board did not make an interim appointment at that time, but appointed Clemmons in November only a few days after she won the election. She became the first black woman to serve on the board.
