Albany City Manager James Taylor, who’s been through the local government wars with Dougherty County Commission Chairman Jeff Sinyard over the years, said he knew what the call was about the minute Sinyard rung him up recently and said he wanted to talk.

“I just told him no,” Taylor quipped Monday evening. “I think I caught him off guard. He called me a little over a week ago and said he wanted to talk. I told him I didn’t want to hear what he wanted to talk about because I knew what was coming. But in the end it came down to what every person in this business faces: A man’s got to do what’s best for his family. That’s what Jeff is doing.”

Sinyard stunned most in the community Monday when, at the tail end of the commission’s morning meeting, he announced that he would not seek re-election to the office he’s held for the past 11 years. The commission chairman said Tuesday morning “It’s been a crazy 24 hours (since the announcement)” as he talked about his career in county government and his ongoing love affair with Dougherty County.

“Getting to know all the people of Dougherty County and learning to appreciate all their different viewpoints has been one of the highlights of being in this position,” Sinyard said. “Over the years, I know some of the decisions I’ve made have been better than others, but I made every one of them doing what I thought would bring the best results to the greatest majority.”

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