Baliles Announces Run For Mayor's Job In Loganville

LOGANVILLE, GA — Former councilman Lee “Skip” Baliles announced Thursday afternoon that he planned to run for mayor of Loganville in the upcoming election.

“One of my goals when elected mayor will be to begin healing the wounds and divides that exist in our city regarding the unpopular downtown development attempt,” Baliles said in a statement sent via email Thursday to news media. “Elected officials have lost the confidence of some of our residents, and I want to help fix that.”

Baliles served two terms on the Loganville City Council — from 2012 until 2020 — before his belief in term limits led him to not to run. While serving as a councilman, Baliles chaired the council’s planning and zoning as well as the economic development committees.

While Baliles did not seek a third term on the city council, he did accept an appointment to the Loganville Development Authority in 2020 and currently serves as its chairman.

“I think we need to move forward with the type of development for our downtown area that the citizens want,” Baliles said in the statement. “I want to make sure that the city continues to begin and finish projects on time and within budget and to focus our efforts on cleaning up our city while at the same time leaving visitors with a good image of Loganville.”

Baliles, an Eden, North Carolina, native, spent 40 years in various management roles, including as a store manager of Sears and Lowe’s Home Improvement. Baliles moved to Lawrenceville in 1993 and then settled in Loganville in 2005. Upon retirement, Baliles attended council meetings before deciding to seek office for the first time when he ran for the Loganville City Council in 2011. Upon a successful campaign, Baliles took office in 2012 and was one of the first councilmembers to serve a four-year term.

If elected, Baliles would succeed Mayor Rey Martinez, who announced in mid-March that he would run for the Georgia House District 114 seat currently held by Rep. Tom Kirby of Loganville.