Peach County Commissioner At-Large Post 5

Thanks for your support in 2016 and your support once again on November 3, 2020! I will continue to represent the entire county to the best of my ability along with the other commissioners I am serving with.

I believe as a county government we should perform our duties (county and municipalities departments) like athletes and not as bodybuilders; one trains body parts to work together, the other trains body parts separately.
The two methods of training lead to two very distinctive outcomes; the one's body parts look very impressive, especially when flexed but is very clumsy in movement, the other moves with agility, speed, efficiency and economy of movement.

Direct email wade-yoder@peachcounty.net
Phone number 478.955.1999

First and foremost: I want to be a part of any and every solution that will help make Peach County and its citizens as healthy as possible, (both physically, mentally and fiscally). My platform the citizens of Peach County and our employees. I believe if this is the lens I form actions through, I can better assist the other commissioners is returning a good value for the tax dollars invested in our county. I will also stand to protect our freedom of choice here in Peach County, so long as that freedom of choice is not bringing harm to another.

Be a good steward of county taxes: I believe the main objective of a commissioner is to be a good steward of not only maintaining a balanced budget but also how county taxes are spent and to maximize the value of these taxes for the citizens of Peach County. This helps increase the value of services while potentially lowering taxes on our tax base. As a business owner I believe in getting a return on investment, this is how your tax dollars should be looked at and our job is to get you a good return for tax dollars spent (in the form of services and quality of life in our county).

Increase business and industry interest in Peach County as well as interest in existing businesses here in Peach County: We can do this by showing our strengths, and increasing business visibility, but mostly good communication on what would make things better for bringing them in and for solidifying their future in Peach County.

Expanding our tax base: increase commerce by increasing the amount of people coming into our county (whether it’s tourism or simply to trade with flourishing businesses) lowers the tax burden on everyone. It especially bothers me what the elderly go through that are on fixed incomes and have seen a steady increase of taxes on their property over the past 20 years with very little increase in their income.

Tying together the strengths of our county: I believe it should be the commissioner’s mission to tie the strengths of our county together like the spokes in a wheel connecting to a common hub. When we do this, the different facets of our county government (though operating independently), will have ways they will add to each other and compliment each other.

Education: I believe our education system is directly connected to the present and future economic health of our county so it should concern each and every one of us enough to get involved if we care about our county’s future. Whether it’s county commissioners, city counsels, development authorities, police departments, sheriff department, Main Streets, chamber of commerce or citizens of our county, we all are like spokes in a wheel that should be connected to the same hub. When the ones in our education system (that are working hard to turn things around) feel the support of the entire county behind them, I believe they will be able to build a school system that will work like a magnet at drawing people to Peach County!

Comprehensive planning: I believe in flexibility but I believe the comprehensive planning for Peach County should be used as a road-map. The people on these committees work really hard in forming strategies for long term growth to benefit the whole county. We should not let personal interests or agendas deviate us from these action plans.

Commissioners should work together as a body: and not act like divided body parts. Concentrating on what makes an individual muscle group look good (instead of training muscle groups to work together) causes a person to move like a clumsy bodybuilder instead of the agility of an athlete who has trained their body parts to work together for the good of his or her mission on track and field.

Partisan politics: I dislike partisan politics especially on a local level and believe it does nothing but cause divisiveness in communities that need every-one of their leaders, citizens and resources working together.

To work for the whole county (not for personal or group interests): putting nice makeup on personal or corporate interests to create or change policy that is not beneficial to the whole county is nothing more and nothing less than crony capitalism and is something I despise.

A work ready county and visibility: continue to do everything I can to help build a viable workforce in Peach County and help give these workers visibility to market their skill set(s). I serve on the Middle Georgia Workforce Development Board, Peach County High School Local Governance Team. The reason I was selected to serve was because of my support and work for the C.T.A.E. (vocational training) at our high school.

Accessibility: I’ve had a business in Fort Valley since 1992. It’s owner operated, so I’m easy to find. My apartment is in the back of my business, so I'm an easy commissioner to find.

If re-elected: I will continue to consider myself as working for you and be an ambassador of Peach County to my highest ability. Along with the other commissioners I will do everything I can to advance Peach County! Wade Yoder Personal Bio ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Peach County Work Report Card


These are the projects that I am or was personally involved with to get done. Some are finished, some are in the works or simply in the concept phase…
  • Live streaming our county meetings. Videos are also archived from prior meetings on the county’s Facebook page. (Done)
  • Turn lane on 247 Connector for Autumn Cove Subdivision. (Done)
  • Fire Station Norwood Springs Rd. got the old fire station on Lakeview sold to help fund a much needed fire station on Norwood Springs Rd. We should have fire station built and in operation 2021. (In progress)
  • Animal Control facility and program. This was originally going to get done around 10 years ago, so we have hit quite a few roadblocks with trying to get this back on deck. The facility should be built and program implemented in 2021. (In progress)
  • Roadway upkeep and drainage issues. (In progress)
  • Convenience Center. This will be conveniently located at our recycle center. I’m hoping we can eventually add 1 or 2 more locations. This should help keep our roadways cleaner. (In progress)
  • Broadband Ready Community (In progress)
  • Mental health task force: put together a mental health task force to work together with our local mental health provider and plugging in better at a state level through our Appointee to Region 6. This involved a lot of work and coordination between providers (legal system, local stakeholders and our mental health services provider) and will help give a solid footing for ones needing mental health services whether in our community of jail. Our mental health service provider (Middle Flint Behavioral Healthcare) helps give ones suffering from mental health issues in our community a solid footing. This is really important at keeping recidivism rates down in our jail. (Done)
  • Mental Health & Drug Accountability Court: we need this in place so our court system can better serve its purpose of deterring someone from becoming a repeat offender and in keeping them from getting a permanent scar on their life for a non-violent offense. (In progress)
  • E911 CAD system data utilization for Public Safety. This will keep public safety from having to do extra work re-entering information already entered by E911 or another agency. (Done)
  • Updated technology for EMS and Fire Department. (Done)
  • Community Paramedicine through EMS. This program would be implemented through our EMS and would help bridge the gap and the potential care lapse for patients that are at home and not directly under doctors care at a hospital or short term care facility. This would be a service both in keeping the patient on track and our medical providers. Thanks Director Ford for your guidance in this. (In progress)
  • Service delivery dispute resolution between Fort Valley and Warner Robins for Buc-ee’s area. This was hard but I believe we split hair in a way that everyone will benefit everyone through new jobs and tax revenues for the
 entire county. (Done)
  • GDOT timeline for infrastructure solution to better deal with trains in Fort Valley. GDOT did a study and has figured out a solution for the area and assigned a project manager to this. I wish this would happen faster, but they are saying it will be 2024 at the earliest. You can get updates at my F.V. railroads updates page Updates @ www.FortValleyRailroads.tv (In progress)
  • Organized talks between Peach County, Fort Valley and Byron on possibly consolidating fire departments, to streamline things and stimulate more interest and value for volunteer firefighters. I also believe with how much our fire departments and EMS work together, there is a lot we should look at while we have the combination of both years of experience (we can draw from) and young upcoming talent in our EMS and Fire Departments.
Boards: Local High School Governance Team with strong advocacy for our CTAE Programs (Vocational Training) and matching our students with regional opportunities. Peach Regional Chamber of Commerce Board since 2012. Middle GA Clean Air Coalition & Middle GA. Workforce Development Boards.

You have my commitment to continue to work tirelessly with the PCBOC to: protect your freedoms - work with the City of Fort Valley, Byron and Warner Robins - support law enforcement and public safety - work with our school system (and vocational program) - continue to work with our development team and chamber - shrink government and taxation - work with and for our county employees - get you the best return possible for your tax dollars invested here in Peach County. I believe in our county, our municipalities, our community and what we can do together! Sincerely, Wade Yoder