Three District 1 candidates meet voters as Forsyth primary nears

Three candidates for Forsyth County Commission District 1 finally shared the same stage Monday, giving voters their first side-by-side look at a race that will help decide how fast the county grows, where it builds and who pays for it. The contest matters because the Board of Commissioners adopts the annual budget, sets the county property tax rate and makes the zoning and land-use calls that shape daily life across northwestern Forsyth.

District 1 covers the county’s northwest corridor, from the City of Cumming west to the Cherokee County border and northwest to the Dawson County line. Incumbent Kerry M. Hill is seeking another term after winning election in 2022 for the 2023-2026 term. Challengers Adam Rodes and Hank Sullivan are trying to unseat her in the Republican primary, while Vincent Wright is running in the Democratic primary.

Hill enters the race with inside knowledge of the county’s planning machinery. Her county biography says she previously served four years on the Forsyth County Planning Commission, and it identifies her as a software engineer and mother of three. That background could matter in a district where commissioners are constantly asked to weigh subdivision pressure, school crowding and the pace of development against what roads and utilities can handle.

Rodes is presenting himself as a longtime Northwest Forsyth resident and small-business professional, a profile that may appeal to voters looking for a challenger rooted in the same fast-growing part of the county Hill represents. Sullivan says he is running to restore cooperation, rebuild trust and return common sense to local government, a message aimed at voters frustrated by partisan sniping and the larger strain growth has put on county services.

The stakes are rising quickly. The U.S. Census Bureau estimates Forsyth County’s population at 282,805 as of July 1, 2025, up from 251,283 in the 2020 census. County leaders are already working under a 2022-2042 Comprehensive Plan and a 2024 Comprehensive Transportation Plan that looks 20 years ahead, was adopted Aug. 1, 2024 and is updated every five to six years. Forsyth’s adopted Fiscal Year 2025 budget totaled $650.5 million, a scale that shows how much power sits behind a single district seat.

Transportation will likely be one of the first tests for whoever wins in May. Georgia Department of Transportation says heavy construction on the SR 400 Express Lanes project is expected to begin in April 2026, with initial work in Forsyth County planned between McGinnis Ferry Road and McFarland Parkway. For District 1 voters, that means the next commissioner will not just talk about growth and congestion. The winner will help decide how the county responds when both hit at once.