Sunday, November 01, 2009
News, Opinion, In this Issue..., Politics, Atlanta
Tuesday is election day
Atlantans will pick a mayor on Nov. 3. Here's our guide to getting it done
By Stephanie Ramage
On Tuesday, Nov. 3, from 7 a.m. until 8 p.m. at more than 100 polling places throughout the city, Atlantans will vote for their next mayor and City Council representatives.
Most pundits are predicting that no candidate in the mayoral race will get the needed majority to win outright, which means there will likely be a runoff between the front-runner and the second-place vote getter. But that all depends on how many people show up on Tuesday, and who gets their votes.
As political columnist for The Sunday Paper, I endorsed Kasim Reed for mayor of Atlanta on Aug. 24 and made most of my City Council endorsements on Oct. 18. On Oct. 25, The Sunday Paper published the cover story “The Uninformed,” with cover text that declared “Don’t Vote—Unless You Know More About the Mayor’s Race Than Atlanta’s Woefully Uninformed Voters.” Doing research for that story, we learned that most people we talked with at random couldn’t name even one mayoral candidate.
We’re worried about the future of this city, the safety of its residents and its police officers. We want Atlanta to be the amazing place it was meant to be when it rose from the ashes of the Civil War and went on to become the epicenter of the Civil Rights movement and the economic engine of the South.
As Tom Stark—a convicted felon who can’t vote and has leukemia—says on this week’s letters to the editor page, “Take control of your money, your elected officials, your government, and your city before it’s too late.”
To help you do that, here is a brief list of my endorsements, mayoral candidate Web sites, and the full list of voting places. Go vote, but go informed.
MAYORAL ENDORSEMENT: KASIM REED
While City Council President Lisa Borders and Councilwoman Mary Norwood were supporting and passing a toothless resolution opposing the police and fire furloughs last winter, over at the Gold Dome, State Sen. Kasim Reed was actually doing something. He authored and sponsored legislation that would have dedicated a 1-mill revenue stream to the police and firefighters, money that couldn’t be touched by Atlanta’s mayor or council.
If elected, Reed will cut the city’s notoriously bloated I.T. budget, stop overtime by non-public safety personnel, and use these savings, as well as a portion of revenue from the 42-percent tax hike passed by the City Council last June, to hire 750 additional police officers. But first, he will keep his promise to the present Atlanta Police officers to reinstate their step-pay increases and tuition reimbursement and to implement a career ladder in the department, so the city will be able to keep the hard-working officers it has.
He’ll use his mayoral bully pulpit to demand more accountability from the courts, to stop the revolving door that dumps repeat offenders back onto Atlanta’s streets.
Under Reed, the city will take a more active role in making sure Atlanta’s schools are good enough to keep working families in the city limits, and after-school programs will stay open long enough to allow working parents to pick up their kids, rather than kids being left unsupervised or their parents risking losing their jobs—or their lives in traffic—in rushing to get them.
Reed will use more of the airport’s cargo capability to generate revenue for the city. And he will do a full review of the city’s contracts to make sure they’re in the best interest of the taxpayers.
He has great ideas, and after 11 years in the legislature, working across party lines, he knows how to bring them to fruition.
SP
www.kasimreed.comTHE OTHER MAYORAL CANDIDATES:
Lisa Borders
www.bordersforatlanta.com
Mary Norwood
www.marynorwoodformayor.com
Jesse Spikes
www.jessespikesformayor.com
Kyle Keyser
www.kylekeyserformayor.org
TO LEARN MORE:
Campaign for Atlanta
www.campaignforatlanta.org
Common Cause
www.commoncause.org
CITY COUNCIL ENDORSEMENTS IN CONTESTED RACES
- Post 1 At Large: Adam Brackman
- Post 2 At Large: Amir Farokhi
- Post 3 At Large: Shelitha Robertson
- District 3: Councilman Ivory Lee Young
- District 4: LaShawn Hoffman
- District 6: Steve Brodie
- District: 8: Yolanda Adrean
- District 11: Silas Kevil
- District 12: Councilwoman Joyce Sheperd
- City Council President: No endorsement.
WHERE DO I VOTE? HOW DO I KNOW IF I’M REGISTERED?
If you’re not sure where to vote or whether you’re even registered, the Georgia Secretary of State’s Web site offers a handy tool that locates your polling place for you when you enter your name, county of residence and birthdate. If you can vote, they’ll tell you where to go:
http://sos.georgia.gov/elections/polllocator
Still have questions? Call the City of Atlanta elections office at 404-330-6032 or visit the city’s elections page at
www.atlantaga.gov and click on the “Election Update Information” banner.
Here is the full list of the city’s voting locations according to area. They will be open from 7 a.m. until 8 p.m.
Southeast Atlanta, Grant Park, Thomasville
PARKSIDE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
ORMEWOOD PARK PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
CHURCH OF GREATER WORKS
GA HILLS NEIGHBORHOOD FACILITY
YOUTH EDUCATION TOWN BLDG. (YET)
ATLANTA SOUTH SIDE HEALTH CENTER
D.H. STANTON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
PRICE MIDDLE SCHOOL
BIBLE WAY MINISTRIES
THOMASVILLE RECREATION CENTER
TULL WATERS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
BENTEEN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Downtown, Midtown, Old Fourth Ward, L5P, Poncey-Highland
PALMER HOUSE
SAINT LUKE’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH
COSBY SPEARS HIGHRISE
BUTLER STREET BAPTIST CHURCH
LITTLE 5 POINTS COMMUNITY CENTER
DRUID HILLS BAPTIST CHURCH
JOHN HOPE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
DUNBAR NEIGHBORHOOD CENTER
ALL SAINTS EPISCOPAL CHURCH
WHEAT ST. TOWERS APT. COMPLEX
PEACHTREE CHRISTIAN CHURCH
GA TECH STUDENT SERVICE BUILDING
Northwest Atlanta, Vine City, English Avenue
ATLANTA JOB CORPS CENTER
NORTH AVE. MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH
TURNER MIDDLE SCHOOL
WASHINGTON PARK LIBRARY
ALONZO F. HERNDON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
GREATER BETHANY BAPTIST CHURCH
HICKMAN STUDENT CENTER
WALTER F. WHITE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
FIRE STATION NO. 16
N.W. BAPTIST CHURCH FELLOWSHIP HALL
LINDSAY STREET BAPTIST CHURCH
ANTIOCH BAPTIST CHURCH FAMILY CENTER
CARTER G. WOODSON
ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
FIRST MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH
FRIENDSHIP TOWERS
CENTRAL UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
South Atlanta, Pittsburgh, Oakland, RDA
BOOKER T. WASHINGTON HIGH SCHOOL
HENDERSON HEALTH & P.E. CENTER, RM 132
C.A. SCOTT (MOZLEY PARK)
RECREATION BUILDING
GIDEONS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
FAITH CHURCH OF GOD IN CHRIST
PITTMAN PARK RECREATION CENTER
ABERNATHY TOWERS
WEST HUNTER STREET BAPTIST CHURCH
OAKLAND CITY RECREATION CENTER
ST. PETERS BAPTIST CHURCH REC. BUILDING
WEST OAKLAND MISSIONARY BAPTIST CHURCH
CITY VIEWS AT ROSA BURNEY PARK
MOREHOUSE COLLEGE - ARCHER HALL (GYM)
E.L. CONNALLY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Atlanta in DeKalb, South Moreland Ave., East Lake, McLendon Avenue
LANG-CARSON RECREATION CENTER
COOK ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
AUBURN AVENUE RESEARCH LIBRARY
WHITEFOORD ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
FIRST ICONIUM BAPTIST CHURCH
LIBERTY BAPTIST CHURCH
ISRAEL BAPTIST CHURCH
COAN MIDDLE SCHOOL
EAST LAKE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
BURGESS-PETERSON ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
EPWORTH UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
Atlanta/DeKalb, Midtown, Va.-Hi., Inman Park, Morningside, Druid Hills, Candler Park
TENTH STREET HIGH-RISE
VIRGINIA HIGHLAND CHURCH
BRIAR VISTA ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
MORNINGSIDE BAPTIST CHURCH (GYM)
980 PONCE DE LEON LIBRARY
GRADY HIGH SCHOOL (GYM)
FIRE STATION NO. 19
INMAN MIDDLE SCHOOL
PEACHTREE CHRISTIAN CHURCH
MARY LIN ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
EPWORTH UNITED METHODIST CHURCH
FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
MORNINGSIDE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
Buckhead, Peachtree Hills
SARAH RAWSON ELEMENTARY
ST. JAMES METHODIST CHURCH
PEACHTREE ROAD LUTHERAN CHURCH
BUCKHEAD LIBRARY
KNIGHTS OF COLUMBUS ASSOCIATION ON BUFORD HIGHWAY
CATHEDRAL OF ST. PHILIP
FIRE STATION NO. 21
2ND PONCE DE LEON BAPTIST
PEACHTREE HILLS RECREATION
CHRIST CHURCH PRESBYTERIAN EDUCATION BLDG
BRIGHTON GARDENS BUCKHEAD
MARIAN APARTMENTS
Buckhead, Wieuca, North Atlanta
WARREN T. JACKSON SCHOOL
CHASTAIN PARK GYMNASIUM
NORTHWEST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
NORTHSIDE LIBRARY
MOUNT PARAN CHURCH OF GOD
MORRIS BRANDON SCHOOL
THE CATHEDRAL TOWERS, INC.
NORTH ATLANTA HIGH SCHOOL
BITSY GRANT TENNIS CENTER
E. RIVERS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
PEACHTREE PRESBYTERIAN
TRINITY PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH
SENIOR CITIZEN SERVICES
Atlanta Industrial, Fairburn Road, Hollywood Road
MARIETTA HIGH-RISE
CENTER HILL HEALTH CLINIC
JACKSON MEMORIAL BAPTIST
SALEM BAPTIST CHURCH
DOGWOOD SENIOR CENTER
BOLTON ACADEMY
FIRE STATION NO. 8
SCOTT ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
SPRINGFIELD BAPTIST CHURCH
FIRE STATION NO. 28
Adamsville, Peyton Road, Bolton Road
ADAMSVILLE ELEMENTARY
MOUNT CALVARY BAPTIST CHURCH
ADAMSVILLE NATATORIUM
HARPER ARCHER HIGH
BEREAN SEVENTH DAY ADVENTIST CHURCH
SAINT PAUL’S EPISCOPAL CHURCH
PEYTON FOREST SCHOOL
WESTSIDE COMMUNITY CHURCH
WEST MANOR ELEMENTARY
JOSEPH MCGHEE TENNIS CENTER
TOWNS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
LONDON TOWN HOUSES COMMUNITY CENTER
Niskey Lake, Fairburn Road, Cascade
ZION HILL BAPTIST CHURCH
RALPH BUNCHE MIDDLE SCHOOL
FICKETT SCHOOL
BEN HILL RECREATION CENTER
VENETIAN HILLS ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
BEECHER HILLS ELEMENTARY
CONTINENTAL COLONY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
CASCADE ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
KIMBERLY ELEMENTARY SCHOOL
D.M. THERRELL HIGH SCHOOL
EPWORTH TOWERS
CENTRAL CHRISTIAN CHURCH
Perkerson Park, Lakewood, Cleveland Avenue, Campbellton Road, Pryor Road
PERKERSON PARK RECREATION CENTER
PERKERSON ELEMENTARY
STEWART-LAKEWOOD LIBRARY
FULTON COUNTY SCHOOL BUILDING
JOHN BIRDINE NEIGHBORHOOD FACILITY
LAKEWOOD CHRISTIAN MANOR
CLEVELAND AVENUE SCHOOL
CLEVELAND AVENUE LIBRARY
GREATER RISING STAR BAPTIST
ATLANTA POLICE TRAINING CENTER
CARVER FAMILY YMCA
HUMPHRIES ELEMENTARY SCHOOL