Hiawassee, GA – Former Mayor Pro-Tem, Liz Ordiales, a mayoral candidate who stepped down from Hiawassee City Council in August to run in November’s election, sat down with Fetch Your News on Wednesday, September 6, to share some of her plans for the City’s future.

“I believe Hiawassee is the greatest place to live,” Liz Ordiales began, “In the past 21 years, I have seen the spirit of Hiawassee through my community involvement with the Towns County Fire Corps, Meals on Wheels, Habitat for Humanity, my church involvement, and so on.”

“We have incredible resources in our natural beauty, our lake, our mountains, our trails – all of which lead us to be Georgia’s Lake and Mountain Paradise. We have lots of work to do to establish our infrastructure, manage our finances, and develop an even better place to live.”

Ms. Ordiales was elected to Hiawassee City Council, Post 5, in 2015, and was selected by Council members to serve as Mayor Pro Tem in the Spring of 2017.

“I went door-to-door, listening to concerns from residents,” the mayoral candidate said when asked about her initial run for a Council seat, “and I began to prioritize the issues that were raised.”

Since Ordiales took office, Hiawassee has noticeably changed.

Sidewalks have been added and repaired for pedestrians in Hiawassee, Town Square has been beautified, Mayors’ Park was constructed.

“Behind the scene” improvements have also taken place.

There were 20 fire hydrants in desperate need of repair when Ordiales joined the Council. That number is down to seven. The accuracy of water meter readings were at 70 percent; they’ve now reached an average of 99.6 percent. Many miles of underground water lines were inspected by professionals, free of charge, to check for wasteful leaks. Untouched bank accounts, opened long ago by the City, were discovered and closed.

Ordiales was quick to add the changes were a result of Council efforts.

After 30 years of employment with AT&T, Ms. Ordiales says she has what it takes to be the “City’s CEO.”

“As a City Council member and Mayor Pro-Tem, I believe I have proven that we can move our city forward and prepare us for a great future, working with our County officials and local businesses,” Ordiales tells Fetch Your News.

The election for Hiawassee Mayor and City Council takes place on November 7.
Early voting begins on October 16.

Updated information on the 2017 race is available.