Lawton Sack, candidate for Statesboro City Council in District 2, promises to listen to citizens' and businesses' concerns. The outspoken critic of city and county tax hikes says law enforcement raises and other public safety spending are necessary but that he will look for cuts in other spending to reduce taxes.

Sack is challenging incumbent Paulette Chavers in the Nov. 7 election, for which advanced voting is underway. Only registered voters who are Statesboro District 2 residents can participate.

Although a native of Bulloch County, Sack resided outside Statesboro until he moved into the city limits, and District 2, three years ago. He ran for a county commission seat about 20 years ago and didn't get it, and since then has been active in what he calls "behind the scenes" ways, such as volunteering with the Open Hearts Community Mission homeless shelter and chairing the Friends of the Statesboro-Bulloch County Library.

But less behind-the-scenes, he continues as chair of the Bulloch County Republican Party, a position he will have to give up if elected to the nonpartisan City Council. He vacated an appointed seat on the Bulloch County Board of Elections and Registration to run for city office.

In an interview, Sack said he "just saw a need for some strong leadership in District 2."

"We've got a problem now in District 2 where there's a chance that the culture of the community downtown may be lost because of some of the new ordinances that have been passed, but also a lot of violence, gun violence in that area as well, and I just saw that there's a great need for somebody to get out into the community and listen to the people," he said.

Sack said "there's a lot of frustration," people "crying out for help" and wanting mentorship for young people.

"We also have the challenge to the businesses downtown of increased taxes and are just challenged to keep their doors open," he said. "Businesses may not be able to vote here, but they're a vital part of the services for the community, for people to be able to go shop and eat and be entertained."

New zoning rule

Sack's statement about new ordinances posing a hazard to "the culture of the community" was a reference to an element of Statesboro's new Unified Development Code favored by Habitat for Humanity of Bulloch County. New zoning rules allow for "infill" construction of homes, particularly on vacant lots which, under the old rules, were too small for new homes to be built in their zones. 

"So in the past you had to have a certain size lot, and now if you can fit three houses physically on a small lot, you can do it," Sack said, "and it's my fear that developers are going to come down into these older neighborhoods and start buying up homes and tearing those down and building three homes where one home was before."

He would like to change the ordinance so that this option would be available only to nonprofit organizations.

"It is great for Habitat for Humanity, and I wish they would have carved out nonprofits for that to happen, but we've got a real chance that these neighborhoods that have been here for generations are going to be torn down and redeveloped and it's going to cause gentrification," he said.

'First step'

Asked whether more police and higher officer salaries are needed, Sack said they are but that this is only a first step to reducing crime.

"The first step is going to have to be an increase in law enforcement, and with these corporations coming down, with what they're paying, and some of the surrounding counties like Effingham, we're going to have to increase pay for law enforcement."

Both candidates support a proposal to increase police pay.

But Sack said that strengthening the police force is "just going to take care of the symptoms.

"We've got to take care of the problem," he said. "We've got to have a presence in the community. I mean, there's got to be mentorship, we've got to work with the churches, we've got to work with Freedom Through Recovery, … different organizations on getting out here and working on prevention."

He added that "great things happen through the Boys & Girls Club," which is starting a program of reading to children one hour every day.

Asked if the city can fund expenses such as police raises without further tax increases, Sack suggested that it's a matter of priorities.

"It's my honest opinion that law enforcement and, you know, our first responders and EMS and those different things have to be funded first," he said. "Those are critical services that have to be there."

For tax cuts

"Once we get beyond that. we have to look at what is really necessary, and what is maybe some icing on the cake that we can cut back on," Sack continued.

He spoke at multiple city, county and Board of Education property tax hearings earlier this year, opposing rate increases proposed on top of assessment inflation.

"I'm definitely going to be fighting for lower taxes," he said in the candidate interview. "In this year with an increased assessment and a tax increase on top of it, it's hurting the homeowners."

He said it's also hurting the about 70% of Statesboro residents who are renters and may see still higher rents with typical rents already "sky-high," and businesses that will pass the cost on to customers.

Sack, 46, is chief financial officer of Register-based commercial plumbing contractor James L. Oates III Enterprises, his employer for 20 years. He is also an ordained Southern Baptist minister, usually serving as an interim pastor at "hurting churches" that are "going through a healing process," he said.

He attained an associate degree in religious education from Covington Theological Seminary and his bachelor's in information technology from Georgia Southern University.