Mayor, Others Campaign For Votes in Upcoming Atlanta Election

Vote_here_sign.png

Atlantans will make their choice for mayor as well as city council, municipal court judges and school board representatives on Tuesday Nov. 5. Many of the elections are citywide contests, while others will be played out exclusively in individual districts around the city.

Around the city, polls will be open from 7:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. and voters within the City of Atlanta, who registered by Oct.7 will have the opportunity to vote.

On this year’s docket incumbent Mayor Kasim Reed is facing challenges from Al Bartell, Fraser Duke and Glenn S. Wrightson. Reed has raised more than $2.5 million for his campaign, according to the AJC, and is a heavy favorite in the race.

While many in the Atlanta political community expect Reed to win handily, the mayor appeared publicly in the same room as Bartell, Duke and Wrightson at an election-related event last week for the first time in the campaign season, a person close to the Bartell camp told the Daily World.

As for the Atlanta City Council, each of the 12 Atlanta City Council seats will be voted upon, though not every candidate will be opposed. City Council President Ceasar C. Mitchell is taking on Rachele Fruit, a factory worker who has not previously held political office. Mitchell has served as City Council President since 2010 and as a Councilman since 2001.

Two of the three at-large city council races will likely be competitive, particularly the race for the Post 3 At-Large seat currently occupied by H. Lamar Willis, who is seeking reelection against challenger Andre Dickens. Dickens has enlisted the support of former Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin, who criticized Willis’ professional record after he was disbarred by the Georgia Supreme Court this month. Willis fired back, and all three parties have since been embroiled in a bit of back-and-forth mudslinging.

The race for Post 2 At-Large features incumbent Aaron Watson against former Councilwoman and 2009 Atlanta mayoral candidate Mary Norwood. Norwood vacated the Post 2 At-Large seat to run in 2009 and came within about 700 votes of losing to Reed in that election.

Councilman Michael Julian Bond is running unopposed to retain his position as Post 1 At-Large representative.

In district elections, incumbent Carla Smith is running against Robert Welsh and Bill Powell in District 1; Kwanza Hall is running unopposed to maintain his District 2 seat; Councilman Ivory Young is facing a challenge from Rev. Darrion Fletcher, a Vine City activist who also ran against Young in 2009, and Patricia Harris Crayton; Cleta Winslow faces off against Toriel “Torry” Lewis, a Clark Atlanta PhD candidate in District 4; District 5 Councilwoman Natalyn Archibong faces off against four challengers: Christian Enterkin, Jon Jones, John Paul Michalik and Matt Rinker; Alex Wan will fight for his seat against challengers Mike Boyle and Tracey Austin; incumbent Howard Shook is up against Bobby Montgomery and Abid Haque in District 7; Yolanda Adams is running unopposed in District 8; Felicia Moore, in District 9, will face a challenge from first-time council candidate Duwon Robinson, who also ran for mayor in 2009, and Ricardo Mosby; Clarence “CT” Martin is running unopposed for his District 10 seat; Keisha Lance Bottoms is up against Ron Shakir in District 11; and Joyce M. Sheapard is unopposed in the race for her District 12 seat.

Also up for election are seats on the Atlanta Board of Education, including two open at-large seats in District 5 and District 6.

The races for school board feature the following candidates, including three open seats:

Board of Education Member, District 1: incumbent Brenda J. Muhammad against Leslie Grant.

Board of Education Member, District 2 Byron D. Amos is unopposed.

Board of Education Member, District 3 Matt Westmoreland is unopposed.

Board of Education Member, District 4: incumbent Nancy M. Meister against Taryn Chilivis Bowman.

Board of Education Member, District 5: (open seat) features Steven Lee, Charles Lawrence, Mary L. Palmer, Raynard Johnson and Kathy Green.

Board of Education Member, District 6: (open seat) features Eshe’ Collins, Anne Wofford McKenzie, Dell Byrd and Shawnna Hayes-Tavares.

Board of Education Member, District 7 At Large: incumbent Courtney D. English faces former board member Nisha Simama.

Board of Education Member, District 8 At Large: incumbent Reuben McDaniel faces Dave Walker, Tom Tidwell, Cynthia Briscoe Brown and Mark B. Riley.

A run-off election will be held on Tuesday, Dec. 3, if the race for any particular seat(s) results in no single candidate receiving at least 50 percent plus one (1) vote. Should a run-off election be necessary, only the two candidates receiving the greatest number of votes for each office will compete.

Voters will also decide whether Atlanta Municipal Court Judges Barbara A. Harris, Elaine Carlisle, Calvin Graves, Gary Jackson, Crystal Gaines, Christopher Ward and Terrinee Gundy will be retained.

About Post Author

Comments

From the Web

Skip to content
Verified by MonsterInsights