Atlanta Progressive News

(APN) ATLANTA — Atlanta City Council President Lisa Borders–who had previously dropped out citing the health of her mother–re-joined the race for Mayor of Atlanta on April 3, joining a crowded race of 13 candidates, including front-runners, City Councilwoman Mary Norwood and State Sen. Kasim Reed (D-Atlanta).

This is the fourth in a series with Mayoral candidates by Atlanta Progressive News. Previously, APN interviewed Councilman Ceasar Mitchell, as well as Norwood and Reed; Mitchell has since shifted his campaign to run instead for Council President.

Unlike APN’s other interviewees, Borders was only available for about fifteen minutes for an interview with APN. Borders’s office did, however, answer APN’s remaining questions by email. Readers should note Borders therefore had greater time to consider how to answer many of APN’s questions, whereas other candidates answered on the spot.

Borders, who has been City Council President since 2004, splits time for her city business with her duties as president of the Henry W. Grady Health System Foundation. As Foundation president, Borders is leading the Greater Grady capital campaign and guiding other fund-raising efforts.

Before entering politics, Borders served as CEO of LMB LLC, a consulting company advising clients on community reinvestment, and as a Senior Vice President of Marketing and External Affairs with Atlanta’s real estate giant Cousins Properties.

Here are the responses given by Borders.

HOW CAN WE INCREASE AFFORDABLE HOUSING IN ATLANTA? (answered by telephone)

Borders said the city can “approach some of our banks here in Atlanta and match them with some folks [who] need some affordable housing.”

The foreclosure crisis has left many homes around Atlanta vacant and banks are looking to unload these properties. Borders said this gives the city the opportunity to help both sides by “matching foreclosed assets with the need.”

“If you do that today, you could have a rent to own program,” she said. “It should be as viable as renting an apartment.” She said such a program would allow people to rebuild their credit and save money for a future home down payment.

Borders said she would also continue the Mortgage Assistance Program (MAP) and the Housing Opportunity Bond Fund.

[NOTE: MAP provides eligible citizens forgivable loans to help purchase homes. The Housing Opportunity Bond Fund makes loans to developers for multifamily housing that must be leveraged with other sources of funds to spur development of mixed income housing. At least 20% of units constructed with the Housing Opportunity Bond Fund must serve a population at or below 60 percent of Area Median Income.]

How do you define affordable housing?

“There are technical terms that say it is a percentage of AMI,” Borders said. “Affordable housing is what average families can afford.”

DO YOU THINK CRIME IN ATLANTA IS A PROBLEM AND HOW WOULD YOU TACKLE THE ISSUE? (answered by telephone)

Borders pointed to statistics from the Atlanta Police Department that note, “property crime is an issue” but show “violent crime…is trending down.”

She suggested putting additional officers on the street but did not specify how to fund the idea.

WOULD YOU CONTINUE MAYOR FRANKLIN’S TEN YEAR PLAN TO END HOMELESSNESS OR TAKE A DIFFERENT APPROACH TO THE ISSUE? (answered by telephone)

“I would continue some aspects of it,” Borders said. “I really appreciate the leadership and initiative that Mayor Franklin has taken but…what I want to do is look into the communities for additional resources.”

She noted that organizations that work on the homeless issue are not uniformly organized. “What we have is each of them works in a silo and it’s a very fragmented system.”

“I would ask the nonprofit sectors…to work together so more beds could be found,” Borders said, “so it would cost less to deliver the service and deliver beds to those citizens that need them.”

Would you reinstate a funding recommendation for the Metro Atlanta Task Force for the Homeless, which Mayor Franklin rescinded? (answered by email)

I think the Franklin administration’s work on homelessness is laudable. There is still much work to be done in coordinating resources from the private and public sectors to assist those in greatest need. As Mayor, I will consistently look to identify community assets which can be leveraged and combined with city assets.

Editor’s note: This response really did not answer the question.

HOW CAN YOU MAKE SURE THE ATLANTA BUDGET DOES NOT FACE SO MANY SHORTFALLS? (answered by telephone)

“There are two primary revenue streams for the City of Atlanta: property taxes and sales taxes,” Borders said. “They are both subject to economic upturns and downturns. I would look to identify new sources…and leverage [them].”

“If you identify a third, fourth, fifth source, what you are doing is diversifying revenue streams,” she added.

Borders suggested reclaiming landfills–brownfield redevelopment–with a new technology called plasma arc gasification, which she said would be like “taking trash and turning it into treasure.”

[NOTE: Here’s how Wikipedia defines plasma arc gasification: “a waste treatment technology that uses electrical energy and the high temperatures created by an electrical arc gasifier. This arc breaks down waste primarily into elemental gas and solid waste (slag), in a device called a plasma converter. The process has been intended to be a net generator of electricity, depending upon the composition of input wastes, and to reduce the volumes of waste being sent to landfill sites.”]

“It adds another revenue stream, it creates jobs, it cleans up the environment,” Borders said. “It’s economic, it’s education, and it’s environmental.”

“You are creating jobs and energy you can sell,” Borders said. “You are improving the environment because you can redevelop that dirt.”

Borders noted that Atlantic Station, constructed on the former site of Atlantic Steel, is the largest brownfield redevelopment in the country.

WHAT WOULD BE YOUR MANAGERIAL STYLE, A STRONG EXECUTIVE LIKE FRANKLIN OR A BALANCED WORKING RELATIONSHIP WITH THE CITY COUNCIL? (answered by telephone)

Borders said she would try to “build a consensus” with the council through “a very open and communicative style. Ultimately though, somebody has to make a decision and that would be the mayor.”

HOW WOULD YOU MAKE THE BUDGET PROCESS MORE TRANSPARENT TO THE PUBLIC AND THE CITY COUNCIL? (answered by email)

My administration will place a premium on transparency, not simply during the budget process but across the City’s operations. The citizens of Atlanta deserve nothing less.

APN RAISED SEVERAL CONCERNS ABOUT THE ATLANTA HOUSING AUTHORITY’S MASS DEMOLITION OF PUBLIC HOUSING, INCLUDING ISSUES OF RESIDENT INPUT, THE AVAILABILITY AND LOCATION OF VOUCHER HOUSING, AND AHA’S CLAIMS ABOUT THE CONDITIONS OF ITS BUILDINGS. WHAT IS YOUR RESPONSE TO THE CONCERNS APN HAS RAISED ABOUT AHA’S POLICY? ALSO, WOULD YOU HAVE SIGNED OFF ON THE DEMOLITION APPLICATION THE WAY MAYOR FRANKLIN DID? (answered by email)

Atlanta must be a place where everyone can afford to live. It makes no sense for our workforce community–firefighters, teachers, police officers, and others–not being able to afford to live where they work. In a Borders administration, every citizen will be heard when it comes to affordable housing issues, especially as it pertains to public housing. As for previous actions of Mayor Franklin, I cannot speak to her decisions. That would be looking backward, when we must be focused on the future of our city.

Editor’s note: Borders did not address any of the issues concerning public housing demolitions raised by APN in her response.

WHAT IS YOUR OPINION OF THE BELTLINE? (answered by email)

I think the BeltLine is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to transform our city. Few projects have had the potential the BeltLine has to improve our quality of life by creating economic opportunity throughout the city, adding greenspace to our neighborhoods and offering an alternative transportation mode to the car.

Is the BeltLine vision equitable for everyone?

It is important to ensure that development is brought to all quadrants of the BeltLine as soon as is practicably possible. But we should also understand that the development of certain portions of the BeltLine is bound to see progress before others, i. e. southwest Atlanta where land is plentiful and less expensive.

Do you have plans to ensure that future Tax Allocation District (TAD) bond proceeds are invested in the three other quadrants of the project? Some complain that the first TAD bond proceeds from fall 2008 went exclusively into the Northeast quadrant.

There are currently 11 TADs across the city and I would expect future bond proceeds to be invested in the projects in each of these identified areas of the BeltLine.

IS THERE ANYTHING MORE THE CITY CAN DO TO HELP MARTA? (answered by email)

Much like Grady, MARTA deserves broad regional and state support. This year’s lack of legislative support was a terrible disappointment. But, perhaps the groundswell of support following the session, plus some new faces in the General Assembly, will lead to a different result next year. As Mayor, I will continue to be an unyielding MARTA advocate.

DO YOU SUPPORT CASINO GAMING AT UNDERGROUND ATLANTA? (answered by email)

I support gaming in the gulch [the area downtown under Philips Arena] with the caveat that there be a specific fund established for public safety and social challenges that may arise, e.g. excessive gambling requiring Gamblers Anonymous.

About the author:

Jonathan Springston is a Senior Staff Writer for The Atlanta Progressive News and is reachable at jonathan@atlantaprogressivenews.com.

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