My name is Jeff Dill. I am running for an Ellijay City Council seat.
Like my father, I served a full career in the United States Army, so I’ve spent most of my adult life moving from one duty station to the next around the world.
My maternal great- grandparents, John Henry “Pop Sarge” and Mary (Wofford) Davis and Johnny and Alice (Whitaker) Ray are from Ellijay, as are my maternal grandparents, John and Ellen (Ray) Davis. My mother, Mary Ellen “Mimi” (Davis) Dill was born in Ellijay. William Allen Jr. was my great-great-great grandfather and lived in Gilmer County during the 1834 census, so we are descendants of a First Family of Gilmer County.
My wife, Carol, is from Clayton, Ga. in Rabun County. We met when we were students at North Georgia College in Dahlonega. We’ve been married for 38 years and have three adult children and one grandson. Carol is a retired K-4 elementary school teacher. She currently serves by appointment on the Historical Preservation Commission for the City of Ellijay. Carol and I live in our home on River Street, which was built by my great-grandparents, Johnny and Alice Ray, in 1926.
I work for the Gilmer County School System in the transportation department as a school bus driver. For five years running, I’ve driven a regular morning and afternoon route to Mountain View Elementary School. I often drive seven days a week in the peak of fall and spring sport seasons for athletic and activity trips on the weekends, and I shuttle a county student to and from the Georgia School for the Deaf in Cave Spring, Ga., and his home on Fridays and Sundays.
I take this opportunity to run for a position on the Ellijay City Council seriously. I spent a lot of time serving our country to defend freedom, democracy and the right to vote and choose our leaders.
A vote for me is a vote for preserving our small-town character, embracing our local heritage, being fiscally responsible, championing public safety, responsibly planning sustainable future growth and keeping Ellijay the best town in north Georgia to live, work and play!