Year in Review: New District 4 Fr. County Commissioner Takes His Seat

As we continue our look back on the stories of 2023 in our area, one of the bigger stories was a carryover from the 2022 Franklin County Commission elections.

In that election, local farmer Cole Roper won the County Commission seat for District 4 in the May 2022 election but in November 2022 he suddenly resigned before taking the oath of office, citing conflicts with his schedule which he said would not allow him to give his full attention to the duties of County Commissioner.

That led to the need for a special election in 2023 to replace him.

Qualifying for the District 4 seat took place in early January 2023.

Josh Smith who ran against Roper in 2022 was the only one to qualify, which eliminated the need for a special election.

When he learned he was the sole qualifier for the District 4 seat, Smith said he was looking forward to the job.

“I’m super excited about the win and thankful that I will have the opportunity to serve the citizens, which I wanted to do from the beginning,” he told WLHR News. “I’m just glad that I have the opportunity to continue to serve as a public servant and I look forward to the future.”

Smith took the oath of office in February and officially took his seat as the County Commissioner for District 4 in March.