Bob Uglum, former owner of The Maple Street Mansion, has announced his candidacy for county tax commissioner.

“The office of Tax Commissioner is vital to the efficient operation of our county,” Uglum said in a statement. “At the Mansion, I enjoyed working with people, and learned how to make the numbers work. I would like to use the skills I learned in business to serve my community. It is an important office that every family and business in Carroll County uses, and I would do my best to make it available and accessible to all.”

The tax commissioner is the official responsible for receiving tax returns filed by taxpayers, serving as an agent of the State Revenue Commissioner for the registration of motor vehicles, and performing all functions relating to billing, collecting, disbursing, and accounting for ad valorem taxes (property taxes) collected in the county, according to the county Web site.

The current tax commissioner is Jean Matthews, who will retire when her term expires this year.

Uglum, 52, and his family bought the Mansion in 1984, two years after moving to Carroll County from Atlanta. He lived in Montana before that.

Uglum was awarded the Small Business Person of the Year Award by the Carroll County Chamber of Commerce in 1998. He is former president of the Carrollton Kiwanis Club, and currently serves on the board of the Golden K Kiwanis.

“I think it’ll be a fun challenge,” Uglum said. “For the last 20-25 years I’ve been rather interested in politics, though I don’t see this as a real political kind of job. I do think as far as the service part, I’ll enjoy doing that. I like doing things for people, and enjoy working with people, so I think it’ll be sort of fun. The more I find out about the job, the more I like it.”

Current competition for Uglum includes fellow Republican Vicki Bearden, supervisor of the auto tag office, which is under the tax commissioner’s office.

Uglum said he was looking forward to the race.

“In the past I’ve had people tell me, ‘You ought to run for this, or run for that,’” he said. “The first time is kind of like going on a first date. Yeah I’m a little nervous, but I’m excited, too.”