A race has formed for the next District 1 Commissioner.

Candidate Dooz Owings qualified as a Republican this week for the District 1 seat on the Forsyth County Board of Commissioners.

Owings, who works in the telecommunications industry, said he has several things he wants to tackle if elected but mostly wants to be a voice for those living in the district.

“As a representative, it isn’t always about my ideas,” Owings said. “I’m here to represent the people, and I’m here to hear from them and how they want the community to move forward because, at the end of the day, they’re the ones that I represent, and that’s what I’m going to do.

He will face off against fellow Republican candidate Molly Cooper, who announced her campaign in February, to fill the seat held by Commissioner Pete Amos, who has announced he will not seek re-election for the seat he has held since 2011.  

The primary for the election will be held on Tuesday, May 22, and the election will be held on Nov. 6.

Owings said he first moved to Georgia in 2005 and is happy to call Forsyth home.

“I moved to Forsyth County several years back because of the quality school system and quality of life standards,” Owings said. “I’ve enjoyed the heck out of it. I think it’s a great, wonderful community.”

Since moving to Forsyth, Owings said he got involved in local politics.

“When I moved to Forsyth County, that was icing on the cake,” he said. “I got adamantly involved in the political scene supporting a number of candidates.”

Owings said he has supported a number of candidates including Forsyth County Sheriff Ron Freeman, District 25 state Rep. Todd Jones, District 24 state Rep. Sheri Gilligan and District 5 Commissioner Laura Semanson, though this will be his first campaign.

“This is actually my first run,” Owings said. “I have been focused from the very beginning with my career, but as I get older, I view the importance of how the political arena has an impact on quality of life. Over the past couple of years, it kind of instilled in me to be involved in these campaigns and work with these particular candidates because they had a homeowner focus.”

If elected, Owings said the two things he most wants to pursue are managed growth and improving local infrastructure. 

“Our roads, we need to actually maintain the highest level of standards to reduce traffic in order to bring business to Forsyth,” Owings said. “I think if we can foster a quality business environment that’s going to bring corporate office space here, that in-tune will bring quality jobs for the students who grew up in this community and entice them to stay and make this community stronger.”