It was pretty clear Monday afternoon that there will be a hole to fill in the hearts of some top county employees with the loss of County Manager Lloyd Kerr.
Tears were shed and blessings given during various county department heads’ remembrances of working with Kerr during his six years in the position.
“You handprint is on Newton County. That will never go away,” said longtime County Clerk Jackie Smith.
The self-deprecating Kerr is leaving the job leading the day-to-day operations of the county government on Jan. 1.
County commissioners in November voted 3-2 not to renew his contract after disagreements over his managerial style and actions to delay distribution of federal COVID relief funds.
One by one, top county staff members and department heads recounted how their first impression of Kerr as gruff and cold gave way to the impression he was a joker at heart and worked to favor the county’s employees as much as possible.
An event honored him Monday in the county commission meeting room in the Historic Courthouse. Kerr told the crowd he had tried to keep his family as a priority for his attention in the high-level job, but also tried to assist county employees by trying to raise their pay during his time in the job.
He also hinted that he hoped to land in a new job that will work with the county government “so I can keep working with y’all.”
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Newton County Democrats have placed the reins of the county party in the hands of a man who has been a firebrand for his views in the past.
Gene Wills was elected chairman of the formal organization that represents the dominant political party in Newton County.
The local party’s main responsibility is qualifying Democratic candidates to be on the ballot for county offices. Newton County Board of Commissioners and Board of Education seats are up for election in 2022.
Also on Dec. 16, the local party elected Board of Elections member Kelly Robinson as first vice chair and Roy Parham as second vice chair.
Wills has advocated for mask-wearing by election officials and against the Confederate statue in the Covington Square in recent years.
Tom Spigolon is news editor of The Covington News. He may be reached at tspigolon@covnews.com.
