The Dalton mayor’s race is on as Jones, Mock face off

Published 11:05 pm Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Two candidates will face off to finish the unexpired one-year mayoral term of David Pennington as qualifying for the vacant office closed Wednesday.

Political newcomer Miller T. Jones III and Dennis Mock, who has run for public office twice before, will meet in the Nov. 4 election to fill the seat of Pennington, who stepped down in March to make an unsuccessful challenge to Gov. Nathan Deal in the Republican primary.

Jones, 39, is a former U.S. Navy serviceman and a partner at Laughter & Jones Financial Management. He is the son-in-law of Whitfield County Board of Commissioners District 4 representative Lynn Laughter.

Mock, 60, was a two-time candidate for the Georgia House of Representative’s District 4 seat, losing by 177 votes — less than 5 percent of the total votes in the race — to State Rep. Roger Williams in 2010 and to current Rep. Bruce Broadrick in 2012.

Both candidates are Republicans, and the winner of the race will serve until January 2016 with another mayoral election scheduled for November 2015.

Neither Jones nor Mock are originally from Dalton. Jones’ family is from Savannah, and he grew up in metro Atlanta, moving to Dalton six years ago. Mock has lived in Dalton for more than 40 years, growing up in Ohio.

Even though he has no political experience, Jones said he felt it was time to step forward for a community in which he has become heavily invested. His wife, Mary Lynn is originally from Dalton and is a social studies teacher at Dalton Middle School. The couple has two daughters — Kate, 6, and Lulu, 2.

“Running for office wasn’t something that I always aspired to, but I just think that people in my age group need to step up in the community and take more of a leadership role,” Jones said. “I really think that Dalton has been through a lot of change over the last few years, and the next few years are going to be key in determining where Dalton is going to be in the next 30 years. As a father, I want to make sure Dalton is not just treading water. I want to make sure that the future is secure.”

 After graduating from Jonesboro High School in south metro Atlanta, Jones attended Georgia Tech with the plan on majoring in chemical engineering before he decided to join the U.S. Navy. He served from 1994 to 1998 in the mine warfare inspection group of the service in Corpus Christi, Texas. After earning his honorable discharge, he returned to Georgia and worked in administration at the Ritz Carlton in Atlanta for nearly a decade. He and his wife have been married for 10 years, and Jones graduated cum laude with a degree in business administration in 2011 from Dalton State College.

“I have obviously lived in many different places and have gotten to know a lot of different people, but I love Dalton,” Jones said. “I think that it is easy for an outsider coming in to see some amazing things about this community. My family and I have been so pleased to call Dalton our home. There are certainly things that need to be changed and improved, but I think there are a lot of wonderful things to hang onto here. This is a big ‘little town’ and it is home.”

Jones is a member of First United Methodist Church, and is a trustee for the Dalton-Whitfield Hospital Authority.

Mock works in sales at Whitco Produce, a family-owned wholesale produce company that has been in Dalton for the past six decades. He and his wife Debbie co-own DLM Ventures, a real estate company. The couple has two adult sons.

While the two previous attempts at gaining office ended in defeat, Mock said those two campaigns will aid him this time around.

“The experience was invaluable,” Mock said. “I feel like I know the ropes and a lot of dos and don’ts. It will be a whole lot easier for me this time. But the one thing I have learned is you never know until the ballots are counted.”

Mock said he has a long record of leadership in service organizations such as the Kiwanis Club, where he served two terms as the state lieutenant governor; the Dalton Education Foundation, where he served on the board; Parent Teacher Associations; and the Boy Scouts.

He holds a bachelor’s degree in psychology and sociology from Ball State University and a master’s in health administration from Georgia State University.

“I think there is a lot to be done to get the city jump-started,’ Mock said. “I have a vision for what the city can be, and I would like to move it forward. I think I have a personal history that puts me in touch … I think I can reach out to everyone. I can talk to everyone in the city and understand what their concerns are and help them.”

Since Pennington stepped down, George Sadosuk has served as Mayor Pro Tem and will continue to serve in that role until the new mayor takes over in January.