Ridgely Mu’min

Why is “Doc” Ridgely running for office?

Since coming to Terrell County 25 years ago as the Manager of Muhammad Farms, we have suffered from the mismanagement of the dirt roads leading to our farm. The roads are maintained using motor graders driven by prison labor instead of hired professional machine operators. Me and my wife, Sister Anne, have repeatedly found ourselves stuck in ditches after large rain storms. I would have to walk through the mud to get a tractor from the farm to pull me or her out of the ditch.

I have repeatedly attended the County Commissioner’s meetings complaining over the conditions of our roads and even suggesting that they contact our neighboring county, Lee County, which does a much better job at maintaining their dirt roads. For 21 of those years the Chairman of the County Commissioners was Wilbur T. Gamble, Jr., one of the largest farmers and land owners in Terrell County. He repeatedly refused to make any substantial improvements. After retiring in 2016 his son, Wilbur T. Gamble III, ran unopposed and won. The roads maintenance did not improve and we continued to go to the Commissioners meetings along with other county citizens to complain. The gravity of the bad roads situation exploded in December of 2018 when record rainfall after Hurricane Michael made the majority of Terrell County’s 108 dirt roads impassable including the two that run through Muhammad Farms which are our only avenues to reach paved roads 3 miles away. I now realize that there is nothing I can do but either shut up and take it or run for the public position that has the authority and responsibility for maintaining the roads which our county property tax money ($21,000 per year) is collected to maintain. Therefore, I am running for the public position of Chairman of County Commissioners for Terrell County Georgia in the November 3, 2020 general elections.
The board of commissioners consists of 4 district members, 2 white and 2 black, with the Chairman, who is white, always able to block anything that the blacks wanted, if they could not get one of the other white commissioners to vote with them.
I need your help. I must get 300 people to sign this petition, so that my name can be put on the ballet. Give me a chance to make a “Change that you can drive thru.”