Two more names have been added to the list of candidates for the county manager position.

In a called meeting Nov. 29, the Dawson County Board of Commissioners named David McKee and Cindy Campbell as being considered for the job. The position will open in mid-January, when current county manager Kevin Tanner leaves to assume his role in the Georgia House of Representatives.

McKee and Campbell join David Headley, Billy Thurmond and Bob Ivey as candidates.

Now chief financial officer for the county, Campbell served as the interim county manager when Tanner took his leave to run for public office. She said that experience, along with her financial background, helps to set her apart from the other candidates. I think thats really important, especially now with the economy, she said.

Campbell has worked as CFO for the county since 2008. Before that time, she was a staff accountant at Bates, Carter & Company, LLP, in Gainesville. She also worked as a self-employed certified public accountant.

She graduated from North Georgia College & State University with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in 1994.

McKee is the current director of the planning and development department. This has been a goal of mine since I started working in Dawson County, he said. Ive had regret since the job closed last time that I did not do it.

McKee said that the one thing that sets him apart from the other candidates is his ability to communicate effectively with the public. Its my ability to work with the public, my relationships with the public and with different entities with the community, he said, adding that all of the candidates are qualified to be county manager.

Im humbled to be in the same group with those folks, he said.

McKee has worked for the county since 2006, and even worked as an intern in 2005. He graduated from Georgia Southern University in 2005 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in geology, and a minor in geographic information systems. He took over as planning and development director in 2008.

District One Commissioner Gary Pichon made the motion to expand the applicant pool to five; District Three Commissioner Jimmy Hamby seconded the motion.

Headley, Ivey and Thurmond were announced as candidates at the commissioners Oct. 18 meeting. The search was expanded at a Nov. 8 called meeting.

As explained by Commission Chairman Mike Berg, all potential candidates must be publicly declared at least 14 days prior to a decision being made by the commissioners. The earliest the commissioners would hire a new county manager would be at their Dec. 20 voting session.

Tanner will leave his position effective Jan. 11, 2013.

The commissioners will hold a voting session Dec. 6, beginning at 6 p.m. in the Assembly Room on the second floor of the Government Center.