Two District 1 Republican candidates skip Forsyth forum, Hill appears alone

Voters in Forsyth County’s District 1 saw only one candidate answer for a seat that helps shape taxes, development and public spending after Hank Sullivan and Adam Rodes skipped a public forum and incumbent Kerry Hill stood alone on stage.

That matters because District 1 is not a symbolic post. The five-member Forsyth County Board of Commissioners is elected by district to four-year terms, and its decisions reach into the county budget, land-use fights and the public resources that affect everything from roads to growth pressure. District 1 covers the northwestern part of the county, stretching from the City of Cumming west to the Cherokee County line and northwest to the Dawson County line.

The forum was held April 15 and was intended to give residents a direct look at the candidates before the May 19 General Primary and Nonpartisan General Election. Instead, Sullivan and Rodes were absent, leaving Hill as the only District 1 candidate who appeared before voters. Leadership Forsyth, which says it has worked to connect and develop leaders in the community for more than 35 years, hosted the event.

Hill entered the race with the advantages of incumbency and experience. She was elected in 2022 to serve the 2023-2026 term and previously spent four years on the county Planning Commission, along with time as president of her neighborhood HOA. Hill has made government spending and tax-allocation data more accessible to the public, a message that fits a seat where commissioners help steer major county decisions from the County Administration Building in Cumming.

Rodes, meanwhile, has framed his campaign around growth, traffic, property taxes and county spending. His campaign material says Forsyth County is at a crossroads and that taxpayers should come first, while also criticizing recent commission decisions and arguing that county spending has grown faster than population growth. Sullivan’s absence meant voters did not get his answers on the same set of questions.

The timing makes the no-shows harder to ignore. Qualifying for county offices ran March 2 through March 6, and the county elections office says its mission includes encouraging voter participation and maintaining public confidence in the voting process. In a race for a board that will help decide how Forsyth County manages growth and spends public money, showing up was part of the test.