Brian Hussey wins Chatham County District 4 commission seat with nearly 60% of vote

SAVANNAH, Ga. (WTOC) - Brian Hussey won the Chatham County District 4 commissioner race Tuesday, gaining nearly 60% of the vote.

Hussey defeated Joe Welch in the primary election, walking away with nearly 6,000 votes.

“My wife and myself and we just celebrated each other and at that point there was certainly a feeling of relief and joy,” Hussey said.

Hussey said election night started differently for him and his family as they tried to get results quickly.

“My political advisor ended up just getting in his car and driving to some of the precincts and asking for the actual results in person,” Hussey said.

Hussey credited his family’s 150-year history of community involvement for his success in the race.

“We’ve built these relationships again generationally and then people knowing, you know, not just me myself but also the Hussey family are willing to go to bat for us and advocate,” Hussey said.

Why he ran

Hussey said he has wanted to serve for a long time but did not want to run against Pat Ferrell, the current District 4 commissioner and his lifelong friend. Ferrell decided to step down.

“I’ve had the desire to serve for a long time but I did not have the desire to run against him. Fortunately, I fell into a place and time in my life where I could and it all just came together,” Hussey said.

Hussey said the hardest part of the campaign was going door to door.

“It’s not easy knocking on the door in the middle of the day and hearing dog bark behind the door. Those are pretty scary but again just the fact that you make the effort really makes a difference to the community,” Hussey said.

Infrastructure focus

Hussey said his main objective is to focus on infrastructure improvements, particularly storm drainage issues.

“There’s a lot of stormwater systems in place that are not being maintained. A lot of our ditches need to be cleaned up and cleared out. They are causing as much a problem as we have anywhere. So just simple maintenance on some of the existing facilities that are in place will have a big impact,” Hussey said.

Hussey said he is ready to work with the rest of the commissioners on how the county is taxing and spending money.