Wright announces bid for District 4 commission seat

Published 12:28 pm Wednesday, January 31, 2024

Jay Wright has announced his intentions to seek the District 4 seat on the Baldwin County Board of Commissioners.

The 45-year-old Wright is owner and chief executive officer of Wright Heating, Cooling, and Electrical, which is celebrating its 50th year of business in Milledgeville. The business serves residents in 10 counties of central Georgia.

Wright has owned the company since 2007. His father, Jack Wright, now retired, founded the company. Wright’s wife, Joy, is his partner in the business.

“She is my boss,” Wright said. “She runs the office, and I run the field, is basically how we have it split up.”

Wright is a political newcomer.

As such, he said he was a little nervous, but nevertheless excited about the opportunity to seek political office and offering to help people in any way that he can.

The seat that he is seeking on the county commission has been held for the past several years by Henry R. Craig, who has not yet announced his political intentions about a seeking re-election to another term.

For a little more than a year, Wright has attended county commission meetings.

He was asked what prompted him to seek political office.

“I have thought about and been interested in politics since I was in high school at Georgia Military College,” Wright said. “It’s just something that’s always interested me.”

Wright graduated from GMC in 1996.

“I was the third generation in my family to graduate from GMC,” he said in a recent interview with The Union-Recorder.

After graduation from high school, Wright joined the U.S. Army.

“I always had a dream of joining the Army,” he said.

He served four years in the Army’s Airborne Infantry. He spent two years in the Ranger Regiment and two years in the 82nd Airborne. He was honorably discharged with the rank of a sergeant.

He later returned to Milledgeville and enrolled in Central Georgia Technical College, where he studied air conditioning.

The decision to seek political office began a little more than a year ago.

“I rode around the county at that time and saw the terrible conditions of many roads,” Wright said. “I also saw the conditions of our recreation department, as well as a lack of industry in our county.”

Wright cited North Jefferson Street, which he said is plagued with potholes.

“It’s not the worst road in the county, but it’s a very bad road,” Wright said, noting that he frequently visits other counties with roads that are freshly paved. “I’ve looked at what they did to get to that point and obviously, since I’ve decided to run for office, voters in Baldwin County have passed the Transportation Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (TSPOST), which was fantastic.”

Wright said he has learned that resurfacing roads is not cheap.

“It’s very costly,” Wright said, noting that it now cost on average about $200,000 per mile. “With the TSPLOST funds we’ll now have at $45 million that can pave a lot of roads.”

Wright said he would like to be involved in the process of choosing a contractor in road projects.

“Being a contractor as a career, I know how to deal with contractors and I want to make sure we’re getting the best bang for our money,” Wright said.

If elected to the District 4 seat on the county commission, he wants to ensure that what the people voted for on the TSPLOST referendum will be delivered by the county.

He said during the time that he has attended county commission meetings, he has learned a lot about how government works.

Wright said as the county grows, the more recreation grows. He said he supports doing whatever is needed in the way of recreational activities.

Take pickleball, for example.

Additional courts are needed and the existing ones need resurfacing at Walter B. Williams Park, he said.

“It’s an absolute must to do what we need to do to keep a viable recreation department and providing our residents with the kinds of courts and fields they deserve to have in this county,” Wright said.

Safety concerns also need to be addressed, he said.

He applauded the new disc golf course at the recreation park.

“That’s a good thing,” Wright said.

When it comes to youth recreational activities, he said he’d like to see more support with funding from the county level.

“I don’t think the commission currently puts enough emphasis on youth investment,” Wright said.

He is also a supporter of economic development.

Wright said “without a doubt” economic development touches every segment of the community.

“I support, wholeheartedly, economic development and industry coming to Baldwin County,” Wright said. “And if there is anything that I can do personally to encourage that or to help it along that’s what I want to do.”

He also talked about a little about the Baldwin County Regional Airport.

“I don’t know exactly where the miscommunication or shortfall was in the communications of some recent controversial matters involving the airport, but I am for growth there,” Wright said.

He said he desires to be fair-minded as a commissioner.

“I plan to listen to everyone, regardless of their political affiliation,” Wright said.

Wright has two adults sons, Billy Whitlock, a high school teacher at John Milledge Academy, and Jayson Wright, who attends Yale University in Connecticut. The Wrights also have a daughter-in-law, Erin, and they have a 14-month-old grandson, Cash.

They are members of Northridge Christian Church in Milledgeville.