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Commissioner looks back on public service
3Harrell
Outgoing Forsyth County Commissioner Jim Harrell reflects on his time as a public servant. His four-year term in District 3 ends Dec. 31. - photo by Autumn McBride
Jim Harrell never planned to run for public office.Reflecting on his service to Forsyth County, the outgoing District 3 commissioner said it was his “passion for good governance” that led him to seek the post.“It was a rare privilege to be a public servant and ... to be able to go in there and make a real difference,” Harrell said. “I enjoyed being a public servant, and I found out I was a pretty bad politician.”Harrell was elected to the commission in 2006, defeating incumbent Jack Conway in the Republican primary.Today marks the end of his four-year term after a re-election bid came up short this summer. Todd Levent succeeds Harrell on Saturday.Harrell, the former chairman of the Forsyth County Republican Party, was tapped by his peers to serve as vice chairman of the commission all four years of his term.Coming into office, Harrell said he had a good knowledge of the issues facing the county.