Pippin, Cone face off for Monroe County school board seat

Two Monroe County men vying for a seat on the Monroe County school board will square off Tuesday in an election that will decide new leadership for District 6, a post recently vacated by a longtime incumbent.

Stuart L. Pippin, a 40-year-old banker, and 23-year-old Wesley Cone, a businessman, are each hoping to replace Tammy Fletcher, who served on the board for 16 years.

In May’s election, Pippin was the leading vote-getter with 471 votes — about 47 percent — with Cone receiving 376 votes — or about 37 percent. A third candidate, Virginia Wilcox, drew 163 votes, forcing the runoff.

Less than a week before the runoff, Pippin said, “We’re feeling good. We’re still out knocking on doors trying to round up as many voters as possible.”

Pippin is a father to a first-grader and a 2-year-old. His wife is a teacher at Rutland Middle School in Macon, his mother was a teacher and his brother is a coach.

“I’m running to be a leader for Monroe County’s next generation of students, parents and teachers,” Pippin said. “I’m the only candidate in the race with a child in school. If I were to win, I’d be a parent advocate as well as a teachers advocate.”

Cone, a managing associate with the Piedmont Group and an ordained minister who also coaches Little League, said he also has concerns about voter turnout. Fletcher endorsed Cone.

“We’re definitely still campaigning every day, but more so on the personal level,” Cone said, adding that he’s making phone calls instead of sending mail outs. “I feel great about my support. ... The biggest challenge is just getting people to the polls.”

Though he doesn’t have children of his own, Cone, a 2011 Mary Persons High School graduate, is married to a Monroe County teacher and said he’s “in those schools all the time.”

Cone said he’d like to see a life skills program at the high school that would include lessons about how to interview for a job, pay taxes and buy a car.

“I think I’m the only candidate that can bring forth an idea, or whatever it may be, and challenge the thinking of the other board members to make sure that vote is passed,” Cone said. “I feel great. We’re working hard.”

This story was originally published July 22, 2016 at 2:15 PM with the headline "Pippin, Cone face off for Monroe County school board seat."