VALDOSTA —
With Terry Hawke’s successful qualification as a write-in candidate for the Nov. 6 general election, the race for Lowndes County coroner has turned from a simple up or down vote for the incumbent Coroner Bill Watson to a two-person race for the job as Lowndes’ lead death investigator.
“With 21 years of experience as a paramedic and five years experience as a deputy coroner, I feel like I am well qualified to handle this position,” said Hawke. “Partner that with the excellent skills of our law-enforcement agencies and I believe we’ll have a great team.”
Deborah Cox of the Lowndes County Board of Elections said that the last candidate to run a successful campaign as a write-in candidate was Ben Futch, Lake Park’s previous mayor.
“It seems to be on the rise,” said Cox. “I know there have been a lot of questions about write-ins popping up around the county and the country.”
Write-in candidates simply had to complete a qualifying form and submit an ad to The Times before July 4 of this year to run in the upcoming general election, Cox said.
As a write-in candidate, Hawke can run his campaign independent of any partisan affiliations. He said he appreciates the principles behind each party’s founding, but feels the country should take a closer look at the candidates rather than party affiliation.
“We have become a nation that votes on a person just because of their party affiliation,” said Hawke. “I feel we need to dig a little deeper and pay more attention to the person’s values, character, qualifications, and work ethics.”
Those values and qualifications are vital to any coroner in order to perform the job well and respect the privacy of the bereaved, said Hawke.
“Being sensitive to the situation at hand and showing compassion is a must,” said Hawke.
“Also, because people are depending on the death investigation results to settle their affairs, handling paperwork in a timely manner is of the utmost importance.”
Hawke said he doesn’t have much free time these days, but he said he enjoys spending time with his wife, Robin, and his two adult sons, Joshua and Samuel.
“Seriously, I love to spend time with my family,” said Hawke when asked how his leisure time is filled.
“We are all actively involved at Morningside Baptist Church where we’ve been for 21 years.”
Hawke invites all citizens who wish to contact him about his campaign, or any other concern, to contact him by phone at (229) 561-0793; or via e-mail at HawkeforCoroner@bellsouth.net.
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Hawke qualifies as coroner write-in candidate
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