Two relative newcomers to the political scene are on the Republican ballot for the District 4 commission seat in the Pike County primary elections next week.

Ryan Flowers and Brett Vann both say they see a problem in the current commission when it comes to remembering the goal of the group is to serve the public.

“I feel like they think the county is working for them, instead of them working for the county,” Flowers said of the current commissioners.

Flowers has been in the area since 1976 and has lived in and around Spring Hill most of his life, he said. His parents owned Flowers’ Grocery and he was a truck driver for 21 years before he had to quit working due to a disability.

“I prayed about it and decided to go ahead and run,” Flowers said.

Vann said he was also displeased with the current management of the commission, calling it, at times, “a three-ring circus.”

“I was raised, along with my older sister, with the attitude from our parents that if you a part of something and you see it taking off in the wrong direction, it’s up to you to step up.”

Vann is a graduate of Charles Henderson High School and Troy University and has been in the insurance business in Troy since 2007.

Vann said he believes one of the biggest downfalls of the commission is lack of planning.

“We have a very reactionary commission. It’s almost as if they never or rarely take a pro-active stance on anything,” Vann said, citing failing roads, lack of equipment and hasty redistricting. “You have got to plan. You have got to be as efficient as you can with what you have.”

Flowers said one of the problems he identifies with the county is personnel-related.

“I feel like there are too many people sitting around that could be filling other positions. We need to reorganize, possibly retrain some of the personnel we have and use move them where needed,” Flowers said. “There is no reason for us to have long lines of taxpayers trying to get something done.”

Flowers also said road conditions are also something he’d like to see improved. He said roadwork should “always take priority.”

Vann said that road work should be done in the order of county need and he disagrees with District 4 incumbent Ray Goodson’s proposal to pave Pleasant Hill Church Road with county funds.

“That’s a need to the church,” Vann said, “but it’s not a need to the county.”

Vann did say he felt as if the commission should have looked into other ways to fund paving the road, like grants because of the historical significance of the area.

Flowers and Vann said they want to take a look at every dollar spent in the county to make sure it is used in the best way possible. They’ll be facing off at the polls on March 13 to see who will go up against Goodson in the general election.

“I’m a common man with a common sense approach, and I think the commission needs more common sense,” Flowers said.

“We have to take the politicians out of the commission,” Vann said. “The people of Pike County are not really being represented the right way inside of the county commission. I will step up and take the reigns and try to fulfill that need.”