Following the resignation of Mac Barber, Governor Zell Miller appointed Lauren "Bubba" McDonald, Jr. to fill a vacant Commission seat on June 10, 1998. At a special election held later that year, McDonald was elected by an overwhelming majority of voters to serve as Commissioner.

A graduate of the University of Georgia with a BBA in Business, McDonald brings to the Commission 20 years experience in the Georgia House of Representatives, where he chaired the Industry Committee for five years and the Appropriations Committee for eight years. McDonald is a former member of the Jackson County Board of Commissioners and the Board of Managers of the Association of County Commissioners of Georgia. He has also served as a member of the Board of Governors of Mercer Medical College, a director of the Small Business Development Center at the University of Georgia and as a member of the Board of the Advanced Technology Center at the Georgia Institute of Technology.

A Commerce native, McDonald is a partner in L.W. McDonald & Son Funeral Home with his son, Lauren III, in Cumming, Georgia. McDonald is married to Sunny McDonald (Nivens), formerly of Gainesville. He is an elder in the Presbyterian Church, a private pilot and an avid golfer.