Chatham County Commission District 2 Candidate: Malinda Hodge

CHATHAM COUNTY, Ga. (WTOC) - A special election is being held in September for the District 2 Chatham County Commission seat.

The seat was vacated after Larry “Gator” Rivers died in April from his battle with cancer.

“Born and reared in Savannah, Ga, it is my choice to live here. I love Savannah,” Malinda Hodge said.

Hodge is the only candidate for the District 2 seat with experience in an elected role.

“When we lost Mr. Rivers, several community stakeholders, members within the second district and they encouraged me to run,” she said.

She says she didn’t make the decision to leave her seat on the Chatham County Board of Elections lightly. But she said she made the leap for several reasons.

“Ultimately, my love for the district, seeing that there was the need there,” Hodge said.

If elected, Hodge said some of her priorities are preparing the county for economic growth and building relationships with local businesses. But one issue she really wants to tackle is improving public transportation so she says people can get to every part of the county.

“It’s taxing on them financially to have to uber or utilize private transportation that can get them to the areas that aren’t easily accessed through public transportation,” Hodge said.

Hodge said she’s preparing to learn the inner workings of the county so she can tackle this issue and others.

“I have more questions than answers right now because I just don’t have all of the in-depth information but I’m looking forward to hopefully diving in if given the opportunity. This is serious business,” Hodge said.

Hodge said she’s spent time building many relationships in the faith-based community and the democratic party. She also works at Savannah State University handling procurement and finances.

Despite her many relationships in the community, she says she doesn’t expect anything will be handed to her. She says she wants her knowledge of politics, budgets and getting things done to earn your vote.

“What political tools are necessary to accomplish political goals, that’s key. I’ve proven my experience in that, and I think that’s the thing that separates me from the other candidates,” Hodge said.

Early voting begins on Monday, Aug. 28. Election Day is Tuesday, Sept. 19.

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