The upcoming shift to five-member representation on the Cullman County Commission now has a full slate of faces to go with its pair of newly-created seats: In Tuesday’s GOP primary runoff, Corey Freeman comfortably defeated Kristi Creel Bain to claim the final undecided commission spot as the associate commissioner for District 4.

Freeman defeated Bain by a margin of 60.19 percent to 39.81 percent, with Freeman receiving 5,933 votes to Bain’s 3,924. Local voters waved both candidates through to a runoff last month, when Freeman and Bain finished first and second, respectively, among a field of five District 4 candidates.

No Democrats are in the race for Freeman’s associate commissioner seat, meaning he’ll face no opposition in November’s general election and will go on to assume his District 4 spot when the expanded commission assembles later this year. The Alabama Legislature approved the new five-member county commission structure in 2019, with this year’s election cycle marking voters’ first opportunity to select leaders to fill the two newly-created seats.

Joining Freeman on the commission will be fellow newcomer Kelly Duke (District 3), who faced no opposition in the primary and has no Democratic opponent in the general election. Associate commissioners Kerry Watson (District 1) and Garry Marchman (District 2), both incumbents, will round out the four-member group of associate commissioners, with incumbent Jeff Clemons remaining in his current role as chairman.

Freeman thanked local voters Tuesday for seeing him through the runoff and into office. “I’m just totally honored and blessed. The biggest thing is I’ve got to remind myself of, every day, is that the citizens are first and foremost: They put me here,” he said. “…It’s not about me; it’s about the citizens of Cullman County, and them having someone who will represent them and be out there attending to their concerns.”