Atlanta Progressive News

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OLD COUNCIL –> NEW COUNCIL

BORDERS –> MITCHELL OR MULLER

MITCHELL –> BOND

NORWOOD –> FAROKHI OR WATSON

WILLIS –> WILLIS

SMITH –> SMITH

HALL –> HALL

YOUNG –> YOUNG

WINSLOW –> WINSLOW

ARCHIBONG –> ARCHIBONG

FAUVER –> WAN OR COYLE

SHOOK –> SHOOK

MULLER –> ADREAN

MOORE –> MOORE

MARTIN –> MARTIN

MADDOX –> BOTTOMS

SHEPERD –> SHEPERD

(APN) ATLANTA — Five new faces will appear on the City Council of Atlanta next January. Three of these–Michael Julian Bond [actually a former Council Member returning to office], Keisha Lance Bottoms, and Yolanda Adrean–were elected on November 03, 2009. The other two–the Post Two-at-large seat and the District 6 seat–will be decided in a Run-off on December 01. In addition, two sitting Council Members are duking it out until December 01 for the Council President position.

The biggest victory for progressives so far was the return of Bond to the Council; he was elected to the Post 1-at-large seat being vacated by Ceasar Mitchell, who is running for Council President. Bond won with about 56% in a crowded field of four candidates, and he vowed to be a progressive champion willing to take stands on important issues while on the Council. [Editor’s note: APN’s Board of Directors endorsed Bond, and this may be the first time in the publication’s history that an APN endorsee actually won an election.]

“I was very happy, very pleased, and very humbled by the support I got,” Bond told Atlanta Progressive News. “It really blew me away. We always thought we were going to win. It was a very convincing victory. We earned support all over the city. For those who voted for somebody else, we’re going to work hard to win their support.”

Dwanda Farmer, one of the other three candidates who ran for the Post 1-at-large seat as well, wrote on her Facebook page that she is “thanking God for his wonderous and divine order for my life today and all the people who have shown their compassion and support during this campaign.” Farmer congratulated the winners of the election including Mr. Bond.

Keisha Bottoms won the District 11 seat being vacated by Councilman Jim Maddox. It was surprising that Bottoms won without a runoff, with about 54% of the vote, in a seat with a total of 9 contenders. Reginald Eaves came in second place with about 12%, although most candidates only received a few percent of the vote a piece.

Bottoms was the only candidate who did not respond to APN’s District 11 questionnaire, so unfortunately, not much is known about her platform except that she previously ran as a candidate for judge and almost won. APN and Bottoms engaged in a recent round of phone-tag but were not able to discuss her platform before press time. [Editor’s note: APN’s Board of Directors endorsed Juanita Smith for this seat.]

Yolanda Adrean won the District 8 seat being vacated by Clair Muller, who is running for Council President. Adrean was considered the only viable candidate in the race, although Richard Coleman–an apparent zealous right-winger–received about 24% of the vote.

COUNCIL PRESIDENT RUN-OFF

Councilman Ceasar Mitchell fell just short of winning without a runoff, with about 49% of the vote. Councilwoman Clair Muller received about 42%. City Hall activist and frequent public commenter, Dave Walker, received about 9%.

“We didn’t anticipate it, but we certainly were prepared to get into a Run-off,” Mitchell told Atlanta Progressive News. “We’re in a great position to push this run-off into a victory,” Mitchell said. “I’ve been in a run-off before and won it.”

Muller said she wasn’t surprised by the election resulting in a run-off. “Generally, when there’s three candidates that happens. We were kind of expecting it,” she told APN.

As far as the significant support received by Walker, “I think he got a lot of votes. I was surprised by the number of votes he got,” Mitchell said. “He comes as an experienced public servant. I’m excited for him.”

“We were surprised Dave Walker got a consistent percentage across the precincts,” Mitchell added.

“I’m trying to figure out what that means,” Muller said. “A lot of people don’t know him [Walker] unless they watch Channel 26. I’m guessing it was an anti-establishment protest vote.”

As in the Mayor’s race, Muller noted there was a racial trend in the voting pattern. “I did do better where they know me better, on the North side,” Muller said. Much of Muller’s district, number 8, is in Buckhead.

Because Black voters tend to vote less frequently in Run-offs, Mitchell will have to work extra hard to get many of his voters back to the polls.

He has scheduled a press conference for tomorrow, Monday, November 09, with many of the 11 organizations which have endorsed him. [Editor’s note: Atlanta Progressive News’s Board of Directors is one of the groups which did endorse Mitchell.]

“He did [get a lot of endorsements],” Muller noted. “Mine came in toward the end. We had the same score on the Committee for a Better Atlanta. I got the Sierra Club endorsement, which I’ve always gotten. I’m very proud of it.”

Muller said one of the things she would like to achieve as Council President is to bring back decorum to the Council. “I’ve been talking about that for a while. A lot of people ask me, they want the Council to look professional. The rules are not enforced,” she said.

The Council rules include “no profanity, nothing political, and you can’t use names,” she said, acknowledging that the latter two rules are vague. Muller suggested the Council “blow ’em up, magnify ’em. So when they [citizens] do go to sign up, they see them.”

Mitchell, on the other hand, said he wants to interfere with public expression as little as possible, noting that when he once chaired a meeting, he interrupted very little and felt that it was very successful.

POST TWO-AT-LARGE RUN-OFF

Former attorney Amir Farokhi and former Atlanta Housing Authority Board of Commissioners member Aaron Watson are heading into a run-off for the Post Two-at-large seat, which is being vacated by Councilwoman Mary Norwood, a candidate for Mayor.

Farokhi received about 41% of the vote, while Watson received about 44%. Realtor Weslee Knapp received 15%. [Editor’s note: APN’s Board of Directors has endorsed Farokhi in this race.]

DISTRICT 6 RUN-OFF

In one of the most watched races, former Atlanta Development Authority member Alex Wan and neighborhood activist Liz Coyle went into a Run-off for the seat being vacated by Councilwoman Anne Fauver. Wan received about 32% of the vote, while Coyle received about 23%.

Coyle told APN that third place candidate, Tad Christian, had called to congratulate her for getting in the run-off. Election night results appeared to show Christian in second place instead of Coyle; however, many people were looking only at the Fulton County results, not recognizing that part of District 6 is actually in Dekalb County. Many observers were surprised Christian did as well as he did, having started with little name recognition, although he appears to have drawn significant support from the wealthier, Morningside neighborhood.

Steve Brodie, who almost unseated Fauver for the same seat in 2005, came in fourth. Many were surprised by the results, having expected Brodie to possibly get into the run-off.

Progressive candidate Bahareh Azizi was pleased to receive almost 8%, coming in fifth in a crowded field of six candidates, especially having entered with little or no name recognition. She told APN she may be interested in running for political office in again in the future.

Former flight attendant Miguel Gallegos came in sixth place with a dismal 2%.

[Editor’s note: APN’s Board of Directors endorsed Azizi in the General. We are likely to weigh in on the Run-off in the near future.]

Wan did not respond to APN’s District 6 candidate questionnaire, so not much is known about his stance on his issues at this time. Wan’s campaign promised to get the candidate to respond to the questionnaire within the next week and a half. Wan previously told APN he had not responded because he had been busy with his full-time job as Development Director of Jerusalem House.

Coyle did respond to APN’s questionnaire and a link to the responses from Azizi, Brodie, and Coyle is available on our homepage.

One of the things that makes this race interesting is the question over whether District 6 will continue to have a homosexual Council Member representing a disproportionately gay District. Councilwoman Fauver is openly homosexual, as is Mr. Wan. Coyle is heterosexual.

INCUMBENTS RE-ELECTED, INCLUDING ENDANGERED ONES

Meanwhile, ten incumbents were re-elected to Council.

Six were running un-opposed including Karla Smith, Kwanza Hall, Natalyn Archibong, Howard Shook, Felicia Moore, and CT Martin.

Two were opposed but expected to win re-election, including Ivory Young and Joyce Sheperd.

Two candidates who were considered endangered–Lamar Willis, Post 3-at-large, and Cleta Winslow, District 4–also won re-election. [Editor’s note: APN’s Board of Directors supported challengers Shelitha Robertson and Lashawn Hoffman, in the respective races.]

Robertson came very close to unseating Willis, receiving 47% to Willis’s 53%. “God had other plans for me,” Robertson told APN, adding that she is open to running again in the future, possibly again against Mr. Willis.

Willis told APN he expected to be re-elected, but that he did not know how large the margin might be. Willis said he thought Robertson focused quite a bit on Willis’s scandal involving a scholarship fund that had neither been registered as tax-exempt with the Internal Revenue Service nor as a charity with the State of Georgia.

Winslow, who has fended off challengers in the past, received a run for her money this time. Hoffman received about 28%, while Winslow received about 53%.

“Our work has just begun,” Hoffman wrote on his Facebook page. “While many people see the results published on Tuesday as an ending, we see it as a much needed beginning. With nearly 30% of the vote, the Hoffman for Atlanta campaign stood together and created a strong voice for change and accountability in District 4. It is our job to continue to collectively stand together. I promise to stand with you.”

“As the campaign comes to a close, I would like to stay in touch with you. In order to do that, we are planning two things: (1) a Community Leaders Platform for District 4 to hold our current leadership accountable and (2) a Campaign Appreciation and Christmas Party,” Hoffman said. “I promise to continue to create new opportunities in District 4. I promise to continue to work to bring much needed change to our area.”

About the author:

Matthew Cardinale is the News Editor for Atlanta Progressive News and is reachable at matthew@atlantaprogressivenews.com.

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