Brooks Takes Gwinnett BOC District 1 Race

It was a victory, though not a landslide. Jace Brooks outpolled Laurie McClain on Tuesday (July 31) in the GOP Primary race to become the new District 1 member on the Gwinnett Board of Commissioners.

With all 37 precincts in the district reporting, Brooks had 54 percent of the votes cast, to 45.9 percent for McClain. A total of 12,212 votes were cast in the race.

Brooks will succeed Shirley Lasseter on the commission, and will take office next January. District 1 represents Suwanee, Duluth and Sugar Hill. No Democrat declared for the post for the November General Election.

Brooks had been endorsed by Duluth Mayor Nancy Harris and City Council members.

It is not clear if or when Brooks will fill the unexpired portion of Lasseter's term. Lasseter resigned in May upon pleading guilty to federal bribery charges. An election to compete her term is scheduled Nov 6.

Brooks was a member of the Suwanee City Council from 2002-12, and he touted his "proven, conservative record" of job growth and tax cuts during the Gwinnett campaign. Also, he had a 3-1 advantage in fund-raising over McClain, and Brooks also had the endorsements of the mayors of Duluth, Suwanee and Sugar Hill.

McClain, a Duluth resident, was a member of the citizens review panel for the Gwinnett County budget process.

Brooks will become the first Suwanee resident on the Gwinnett Commission since Wayne Hill, who left office in 2004.