New commissioner ready to begin job

Standing in the auditorium of the Evans Government Center on Tuesday night, Mark Devoti looked tired.

His plans for the next couple of days were simple.

"Rest," Columbia County's newest commissioner said.

But his rest ends when he is sworn-in before the county commission's meeting Tuesday.

"I want to get the feel for the job, get to know the employees and work with the other commissioners," Devoti said.

The former Grovetown City Councilman defeated Tony Mundy in Tuesday's runoff for the Columbia County Commission District 3 seat by nearly 300 votes - 601 to 327.

"The voice of common sense and reason ruled the day today," Devoti said. "Now it is time for the real work to start."

Devoti takes the seat vacated by former County Commission Chairman Barry Fleming - who resigned earlier this year to run for the Georgia House of Representatives.

"We had a lot of good people working on this campaign," Devoti said. "They made this possible."

Voter turnout was sparse in Columbia County Tuesday. Just 3,108 voters - about 6.5 percent of the county's registered voters - went to the polls.