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First Would-Be White Mayor In Decades, Establishment Candidate Face Off In Atlanta Run-off
December 1, 2009 9:46 a.m. EST
Topics: United States, Politics
Kris Alingod - AHN Contributor
Atlanta, GA (AHN) - Atlanta may have its first white mayor in more than three decades if City Councilwoman Mary Norwood wins Tuesday's run-off election against state Sen. Kasim Reed. A run-off is being held since none of the eight candidates in the Nov. 3 non-partisan election took a simple majority.
Polls in the capital city are open from 7:00 am to 8:00 pm. Turnout is expected to be low. Early voting was held from Nov. 18-20, while advanced voting took place last week.
Norwood took first place in last month's election, receiving 46 percent of ballots. Reed, who had to compete with six other black contenders, took 36 percent. A candidate needed at least 50 percent to win the contest.
Although Norwood led the race, she trails Reed in endorsements. Incumbent Mayor Shirley Franklin, who is constrained by term limits from seeking re-election, has endorsed Reed, so has City Council President Lisa Borders, who took third place in the election with 14 percent.
Vice chairman of the state Senate Democratic Caucus and former campaign manager for Franklin, Reed also has the backing of former Governor Roy Barnes, the International Brotherhood of Police Officers, former State Rep. Jim Martin and other key politicians.
Norwood, who was a community activist and executive vice president of Rounsaville Radio Stations before winning her first term in 2001, has the support of the Atlanta Professional Fire Fighters Association.
She has pledged to bring change to Atlanta, a city of predominantly black voters, by fighting crime and fixing the city's finances. But her attacks against the city's bookkeeping has brought her in the crosshairs of the mayor, whose website features as its first item a Monday statement accusing Norwood of "misstating" facts about alleged water and sewer rate increases.
"Councilmember Norwood repeatedly ignores public documents to misstate facts. Atlanta deserves a mayor who tells the truth all the time," Franklin says.
Another statement from the mayor two weeks ago had Department of Watershed Management Commissioner Robert Hunter calling a TV ad by Norwood "an intentional misrepresentation" of the city's Automated Meter Reading program.
If Norwood prevails in the run-off, she becomes the first white woman mayor of Atlanta, and the first white mayor in 36 years.
Matt Lowery, chairman and CEO of Insider Advantage says in his analysis of the race, "If turnout is heavier than expected on Tuesday, Reed likely wins... My hunch is that the gay and related vote, particularly in the 6th district where there will be a heated runoff, is leaning towards Norwood a bit more than Reed."
The support of the LGBT community has become a crucial part of the campaign. Reed has received the endorsement of the Stonewall Democrats, while Norwood has the backing of Kyle Bailey, the former political director of Georgia Equality.
Bailey has fought off speculation that he was "paid" for his support. He has said in a lengthy statement, "I invite anyone to download Mary Norwood's disclosure reports. You will not find me in any expenditure reports now or in the future"
"Accusations of pay to play politics and nepotism from the machine are laughable," Bailey added. "I am very concerned about the fact that Reed is the hand picked successor of Mayor Shirley Franklin, whose administration has been defined by a lack of transparency, fiscal mismanagement and questionable practices. I have a real problem with an elite group of powerful interests selecting their preferred candidate for mayor and then attempting to bully voters into supporting that candidate."
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