INTERVIEW: Wayne Noha, Chatham County Commissioner candidate for District 1

The Chatham County Board of Commissioners will have a new Commissioner for District one next year for the first time in roughly two decades. The seat is being vacated by Helen L. Stone, who has decided not to run after first being elected in 2004.

Running to fill that vacancy are a pair of republicans – Wayne Noha and Austin Hill. The winner of the May 21 election will likely be elected unopposed in November. District one is not the only election for Chatham County voters this cycle, but it is an important one for one of the county’s most populated districts.
Both Noha and Hill sat down with Connect Savannah to answer questions about their campaign platform, the issues they hope to address if elected, and more. Their answers are presented separately in a Q&A format.

First candidate: Wayne Noha.

Noha, 58, has been a firefighter for 40 years in Chatham County and served as the Fire Chief for many years while also being chair of the Chatham County Zoning Board of Appeals. He is currently the secretary for the Savannah/Chatham County Metropolitan Planning Commission.

NOTE: This interview has been edited and condensed. Editor's notes added for clarity or more explanation.
Connect Savannah: What makes you different from fellow candidate Hill or current Commissioner Stone?
Wayne Noha: My number one commitment, and what I think the difference will be is, I'm going to be available twenty-four, seven. I started volunteering with the fire department at age 17 and it didn't matter where I was, or what I was doing, I put that position first. And I did that for 39 years until I retired in late 2022 after 39 years. I think that, to me, is the best thing I offer. I will be there.

We need someone in the district to do the right things, not just say the right things. We have not been able to always access our current commissioner (Helen Stone). And my number one pledge is to be accessible. I still to this day, answer my phone two and three in the morning, people calling, asking, you know, what do I do? This is going on next door or, you know, a fire, a theft, or something. I still answer the phone and I still go help.

So that’s a thing, I think, that is going to be a number one difference, you know, between (he and Hill). I think our views are probably somewhat in line, so that may be the difference there. There are a multitude of things that can be promised, but all I can promise is that I will be accessible, and I will make every attempt to help the citizens of Chatham County.
What is the number one issue facing district one residents right now?
I started last month reaching out to the different neighborhood associations, which many of them don't meet anymore. A lot of them start when crime goes up and then they fizzle away. So, there aren’t a lot of active neighborhood associations right now. I think infrastructure, as a whole, from roads to drainage. And that comes with both maintenance and long-range planning for sea level rise. I believe that is going to be very crucial over the next 20 to 30 years. And if we don't get a hold of it sooner rather than later, it could become a bigger problem.

I think we also have to be very careful with the development, over the next five years especially, but even over the next ten to 15 years too. This county will not be the same 15 years from today no matter what. It is growing and will continue to do so. So, we have to work now to make sure we manage that growth in a responsible way. I’m not anti-development or pro-development. I’m for smart development.

EDITOR’S NOTE: Noha has been endorsed by District seven commissioner Dean Kicklighter, several area business owners, and others, according to his campaign’s Facebook page. Hill has been endorsed by the likes of Stone, current City of Savannah District 4 Alderman Nick Palumbo, City of Savannah Alderwoman At-Large Carol Bell, Chatham County Sheriff John Wilcher and others.

Do you seek endorsements? Are you looking for those and do they matter in a campaign like this?
Not really. I’m not looking for them actively because I want people to make their own minds up. Either by talking to their neighbors, or by talking to me, or looking me up and finding out what I've done and what I'm involved in and what I’m all about. I'll let that inform the voters when they go to make their own decision.

People are smarter than just voting based on endorsements, I think. I have people running my Facebook page and my website and we do want to promote that idea of people talking a little bit about me for the campaign, but they're more talking about me, it seems, on a personal level. Because that's really who I am. I'm here to help you as a person. I'm not sure who or what your name is sometimes, but I don’t care where you live, really, in terms of my willingness to try and help you.
EDITOR’S NOTE: Reports in February 2024 showed more abandoned calls by the 911 center in 2023 than years prior, and subsequent reports showed slower response times from emergency services than in years prior. Noha was at one time responsible for dispatch center operations, although he has not worked there in several years.
What is your take on the issues at Chatham County’s 911 call center?
When I was with Chatham Emergency Services, one of my departments was the dispatch center, and we had 23 employees in that department. I was involved with dispatch. I understand dispatch extremely well. We actually when we moved headquarters, I was the one that set up the new dispatch at our new headquarters, and they still have that sub-dispatch today for Chatham Emergency Services.

I do know that they have implemented a new 911 system, and I don't care what it is, any new product is going to have some adjustments. I do believe there is room for improvement. But, I can tell you that I understand how it works, and I would be the only one on commission that would have the knowledge of the system to the level that I do. I think I can bring a different level of expertise to the commission there. And just a better understanding.
What is the state of Chatham County fire services as they currently stand? Did you support a fire fee?
I do think (the fire fee system) is very flawed and that was one of my departments, the fire billing. And any complaints we would get would come to me, or any major complaints. I would probably get, and I'm not exaggerating, ten or 15 calls a year. People who were outraged that they have to pay a subscription for fire services. This was prior to fire fees. And I would tell them, you know, there is no county fire department, and so this is who we are. We are subscriber based and a combination of our own volunteers and paid employees. And out of the 15, at the end of the call, five would still be upset about having to pay it.

Some people would say, well, where I came from, it was included with our taxes. Well, it's not here. You're paying a separate fee. If it was the county, you'd be paying them more. So honestly, there was very little issue with it. But then the county, when they took over, they set it up where they based it on a totally different formula. I can tell you, some of my friends, their bills went from $700 to $5,000 a year. And they've tried to correct that. I think my understanding of the subscription method and the fire fee could also bring some insight to the commission they don’t have right now.

Chatham County has other contested elections this spring and fall, are you tracking any of those other races? Are there issues you think are specifically important outside of district one as far as those races go?
Well, I think these are absolutely all important races. I think the key to any election is educating people, not just our seniors voting for whoever has the most campaign signs. It's about truly learning who candidates are, what they are, what they have done with their time and what their motivation is. My only motivation is to continue to serve the community. I think that's just who I am.

Voters for the May 21 primary must be registered by April 22. Visit Noha’s campaign website by clicking here.