He never broke through to the level of other candidates and returned to focusing on county business, with what he says was a better understanding of how federal policy affects local governments.
Fendig, who was a countywide at-large commissioner, was evasive when asked about running for a higher office in 2010 and said he preferred to talk about what got done in the eight years he served on the commission. In addition to projects on the island and new county buildings, Fendig is proud of upgrades to other county buildings, from the Old Ballard school to the new Office Park, and of the road improvements, including miles of paving and resurfacing.
Infrastructure projects like repairing roads and sewers are the biggest responsibility of the county commission, he said, though they many not be noticed.
Fendig also cheers the new library building in Brunswick, skateboard parks, improvements to the appraisal departments and getting the county out of debt and into a $30 million surplus ($18 million of that came from a legal settlement over pollution). He said he is proud to have helped extend rail lines to the ports and the successful push for the two-year Coastal Georgia Community College to become a four-year school.
Social services were a priority for Fendig from Day One. He worked to get a "diversion center" built that would incorporate drug and juvenile courts with treatment centers and alternative housing. Neighborhood opposition to the center led to its defeat, but the quasi-governmental Gateway agency was able to get the land rezoned for a new facility and treatment center.
Like Keller, Fendig attributes the success of the commission to its cooperation.
"No one commissioner can take ownership of anything," he said. "You work collectively as a group."
Toward the end of his second term, Fendig was more willing to challenge his fellow commissioners, who voted most of the time as a bloc instead of splitting down the middle. He was the only one of the seven commissioners who openly supported moving the jail away from downtown.
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