NEWTON COUNTY — Andre Cooper, Newton County’s newly appointed District 3 commissioner, will make his debut Tuesday night at the first Newton County Board of Commissioners (BOC) meeting since Governor Brian Kemp suspended elected commissioner Stephanie Lindsey.

Cooper is a Newton County resident who has lived in District 3 for over 25 years. He is also a lifelong Democrat and said he once held a vice-chair position in the party. 

Cooper has built his career on public service, working for both the Covington Police Department and the Newton County Sheriff’s Office as well as serving on the Rockdale Juvenile Justice Board and the Newton County Recreation Authority. He now works as a project engineer for a state agency.

While Cooper is well-known by some of his newfound constituents, to others, he may feel like an unknown representative. But he has established a few priorities, one of which is to hear from the people of District 3.

“I want to come in and do what’s right for Newton County, for the people, and that’s all I ever wanted to do,” Cooper said.

According to Cooper, two of his biggest concerns in District 3 will be youth programming and growth.

Cooper echoes the sentiments of other board members who believe that the young men and women of Newton County need more activities to keep them from engaging in other harmful activities. 

Historically, Cooper worked to create more activities for Newton County youth, spending over a decade trying to get a Boys and Girls Club active in the county.

Growth has also been a continual topic among District 3’s past commissioners and its residents. Cooper, too, appears ready to spend time looking at growth issues in the district and focusing on structuring the development to be “balanced” and “healthy.”

“I would like to see balanced – if we’re going to grow, balanced growth…I call it healthy – healthy growth,” Cooper said. “More programs, healthy growth, those are some of the main things that I would like to see.”

But Cooper emphasized that he wants to establish goals for his time on the board around what the people want. He plans to keep District 3’s wants and needs at the forefront of his interim term.

“My thing is, it’s not about me and my choices for the district, it would be more for what the people want,” Cooper said. “For some of those things, I would like to hear from the people in the district.”

“I want to be the person to be out in the community engaged, hear from people, maybe do some town halls – but wait until I get caught up, I’d like to get caught up on things – but maybe some town halls and meetings and give me the opportunity to hear from [the community].”

Cooper pointed out that his role is to be a temporary replacement and prioritize the people in Lindsey’s absence. He has not given thought to making an official bid for the seat in the future.

“My thing is, I’m filling in. I’m interim,” Cooper said.

Cooper also acknowledged that the circumstances of his appointment to the seat could cast wariness over his action. To his constituents, Cooper asks that he be given a chance to do the best he can for District 3.

“I know I will be judged because of how I got appointed in by the governor, but give me the opportunity,” Cooper said. “I have the heart for Newton County.”