Two businessmen seek role of Dale commission chairman

OZARK—After a vote two years ago to separate the duties of the Dale County probate judge and the Dale County Commission chairperson, voters will have the chance on March 13 to elect a former commissioner or a current Ozark City councilman as chairperson.

Ozark Council President Pro Tem Mark Blankenship and former commissioner Gerald Harden, both Republicans and longtime businessmen, are vying for the chairperson’s position. Since no Democrat qualified for the race, the chairman will be determined in the March 13 primary election.

While the only listed assignment in the legislation that created the full-time chairperson position is for him or her to preside over commission meetings, Blankenship said his background qualified him to maximize the position by making great improvements in Dale County.

Blankenship, a licensed residential contractor and developer, said he’s been active in economic development efforts between the City of Ozark and the commission and involved in several reconstruction efforts throughout the county.

Blankenship said he was also active in the city’s decision to expand Ozark’s ambulance service to the Pinckard area after that part of the county was without local emergency services late last year.

He led cost evaluation discussions on the city’s current solid waste contract and has pushed for aesthetic improvements in the city, like the renovations of downtown Ozark and the Flowers Center for Performing Arts. He was also involved in developing the Ozark 20/20 Plan and revising the city’s zoning ordinance.

“I believe we have to elect a person to this position that’s got the drive, work ethic and history of making a difference. I’ve been very successful everywhere I’ve ever been and made a difference in every area that I have served,” he said.

“After three months of working with the Southern Company I was promoted into management and at the age of 25 I was promoted to supervisor. I’ve completed training and was selected to chair a work assessment team whose goal was to save money. I have 20 years experience in performance evaluation, large budgets and contracts.”

Harden served as a Newton town councilman for 16 years and as a commissioner for eight years. During that time, he said he was active in the commission separating the duties of the commission chair from the probate judge’s duties so the county could have a full-time person committed to county government.

Harden also led some discussions in bringing Pilgrim’s Pride to the Pinckard area in an effort to create more jobs in Dale County. He also worked with other commissioners and Newton officials to have some county roads fixed in the area that were damaged but no longer regularly maintained by the county.

As owner of Harden’s Gun Shop in Newton and a Fort Rucker civilian employee for 52 years, Harden said he would focus on what county commissioners expressed as concerns for each district as well as work on supporting existing industry, including farming and jobs at Fort Rucker.

“It’s a lot of things we’ve got in Dale County that we don’t really appreciate and we need to support these industries and people. The BRAC base closing is coming within a couple years and we certainly need to get busy and talk to our elected officials on the state and federal level because we don’t want to lose anymore that we have. Everybody that lives in Dale County is a part of this county and I intend to support them 100 percent,” Harden said.

“I’ve never missed one meeting in the county commission when I served, and I think the commission chair should work both for the county commission and with the county commission to make Dale County better for everybody to enjoy.”