Coroner candidate Ben Sosby met for an interview on January 4^th. He talked about his qualifications.

“I actually worked with the Hancock family, who I’m running against.”

Sosby stated that he had worked for them in the funeral home business from April until January of 2023. He recounted responsibilities including meeting with the families of the bereaved and becoming familiar with preparing a body’s attire.

Sosby responded when asked if there was any further training required.

“If I win in November, first I got to make it through the primary, and then get to the general, then they’ll send me to school in Forsyth for a week for training, and that’s where I will take my big test.”

He replied that he believed he could save the County money as coroner but that he would have to see the budget before providing specifics.

“I’m not going to say I will cut this until I know what I am cutting.”

Sosby talked about the motivation behind his decision to run for coroner.

“I think the republicans needed another candidate to vote for.”

Sosby did mention that parties were not his top concern.

“I’m for mainly the people, instead of the party, because the party [doesn’t] really matter to me, it’s what the candidate does, is what matters to me.”

When asked if he had any other key issues or concerns as a candidate for coroner, he replied:

“Making sure that all of the State forms are done right.”

When asked if that was a past issue, he replied:

“I don’t know. I can’t say that for sure.”

He talked about why the role was important to him.

“They can see that I have a heart to serve, and when they lose a loved one, I’ll stay in contact with them and see how they are doing. I’m not just going to walk in, pronounce their loved one gone.”

Sosby mentioned accessibility as another key issue.

“If they need some information, they can reach out to me. I’m not just going to close the case, and just do nothing with it again. If they need some follow-up information, I’ll help them with that.”

He talked about how the role of coroner was more extensive than many realized.

“We have to do a report, we have to take them to the GBI crime lab sometimes, we have to use a different funeral home, we have to use the County cooler. There’s a lot to it instead of just pronouncing people deceased.”

He responded to questions about how well he believed he could handle a mass casualty event.

“Pretty good. And I’ll reach out to the different coroners around, and see how they have handled things, and then I’ll ask them for advice.”

He responded to questions about how he would handle a disputed suicide.

“I would take the body first to the GBI crime lab, and let them do their investigation, then I’ll get back with the family. I’m not going to tell them this is what happened and it didn’t. Pronouncing someone deceased is a lot of responsibility.”

When asked if there was anything else the readers should know, he responded:

“I was born in Atlanta. I moved to Americus in 2021. I would like to ask them to pick the republican ballot to vote for me on May 21rst, 2024.”