Controversies cost small city mayoral candidates in municipal election

Marietta

Sam Foster, an IT systems engineer who graduated from Kennesaw State University in 2022, appeared to lose a razor thin election for mayor of Marietta to incumbent Steve “Thunder” Tumlin. Unofficial results had Foster losing to Tumlin by about 250 votes.

Foster would have been the city’s first Black mayor. Tumlin has served in that role since 2010.

Foster cofounded a nonprofit called A Better Cobb and has advocated before the City Council and the Cobb County Commission for issues like creating walkable neighborhoods with expanded housing options for residents.

Credit: Contributed photo

Credit: Contributed photo

In an interview before the election, Foster said Tumlin is “very against multi-family housing, very against density,” does not care about public transit and has become “complacent.” He added it’s shocking the city has never had a Black mayor.

Tumlin, 78, a tax attorney and Marietta native, said he is proud to have led the city through tough economic times after he became mayor in 2010 and through the coronavirus pandemic.

Credit: City of Marietta

Credit: City of Marietta

Sandy Springs

In Sandy Springs, three-term Mayor Rusty Paul appeared to be headed into a runoff against communications strategist Dontaye Carter.

Credit: Jason Getz/AJC

Credit: Jason Getz/AJC

In addition to Carter, Paul faced challenges from City Council members Andy Bauman and Jody Reichel in the four-way contest.

Paul has said he’s proud of his record and touted the city’s safety, high-performing police and fire services and efforts to mitigate traffic congestion and improve infrastructure.

Carter, 39, said the city needs more affordable housing options and he would create a housing advisory council.

Roswell

Incumbent Kurt Wilson also appears headed for a runoff with Mary Robichaux, a former Georgia state representative, in the Roswell mayor’s race.

The third candidate in the race was Steve Dorvee, a former Roswell City Council member.

He and Robichaux both have said they were running because of dissatisfaction with the current administration. This election season in Roswell was punctuated by other loud voices of dissatisfaction with city leadership.

In a letter made public in August, 21 former elected officials called on Wilson and council members to pause development at Mimosa Hall & Gardens until an independent review and a “formal historical impact assessment” could be done with input from preservation experts.

The removal of trees outside the antebellum property — which is the site of a redevelopment project meant to connect green spaces — prompted an outcry in June.

Among other demands, the letter called for an “independent, transparent, third-party audit of recent consulting contracts, land purchases, and capital allocations to verify that voter-approved bond and T-SPLOST promises have been honored.”

Wilson brushed aside his critics as “not serious people, not serious about solving issues” and said he’s too busy getting things done to waste much time or energy “dignifying other people’s nonsense.”

College Park

Longtime College Park City Council members Joe Carn and Roderick Gay each appeared to have beaten their challengers.

In Ward 4, Roderick Gay trounced Steve Alexander, who works as a code enforcement officer in Clayton County, with more than twice as many votes, according to unofficial results.

Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com

Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com

Carn’s race in Ward 2 was closer, but he prevailed against LaKresha Williams, who works in IT development.

Some College Park residents have said their elected leaders have blurred the lines between campaigning and governing by using city funds to promote themselves or give things away.

Carn has given out MARTA Breeze cards and recently held a “free laundry” event.

Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com

Credit: arvin.temkar@ajc.com

Last month, Gay organized a festival for which the city allocated more than $200,000. His name and slogan appeared across the top of the stage, and City Manager Lindell Miller told the crowd to vote for Gay against his opponent, Steve Alexander.

The Georgia Secretary of State’s Office is investigating after receiving “a plethora of complaints” surrounding the festival related to use of public funds and “electoral boundaries,” a spokesperson said.

Chattahoochee Hills

In Chattahoochee Hills, Camille Lowe appeared to easily beat fellow council member Richard “Richie” Schmidt in the mayor’s race after a community outcry over threatening comments Schmidt made about a city contractor.

Credit: Adam Beam/AJC

Credit: Adam Beam/AJC

In a recorded phone call with the city manager about the contractor, the four-term councilman threatened to “tear her feet off.”

The contractor, Judy Walker, 69, compiles a city-funded newsletter. Schmidt told City Manager Robbie Rokovitz he was upset that Walker had told him she “would hate to” publish that Schmidt refused to answer a candidate questionnaire.

The Fulton County District Attorney’s Office has said it is reviewing the matter.

Schmidt publicly apologized in a Facebook post and again at a council meeting last month.

Lowe, 54, who has served for the past five years on City Council and as mayor pro tem for the past three years, has said she wants to protect the city’s commitment to preserving 70% of its green space.

Lowe had more than twice as many votes as Schmidt, according to unofficial tallies.

South Fulton

The mayor’s race in South Fulton appeared to be headed for a runoff between City Council member Carmalitha Gumbs and former council member Mark Baker.

Credit: Contributed photo

Credit: Contributed photo

Incumbent Mayor khalid “Kobi” kamau, who faced eight opponents after generating heated criticism over his spending of taxpayer money, will lose his seat.

Earlier this year, the City Council called for a forensic audit of kamau’s public spending, temporarily barred him from city buildings and seized some items that council members allege he purchased improperly, including a pool table for the mayoral suite that cost $1,830.

Credit: Contributed photo

Credit: Contributed photo

The council also stripped kamau of access to the mayoral budget and garnished his wages to pay back the city more than $5,000 for a large, vinyl mural installed in the mayoral suite in City Hall.

For his part, kamau has described himself as frugal and brushed aside the criticism, calling it political mudslinging.

Stone Mountain

Jelani Linder, a 42-year-old commercial real estate agent, appears to have unseated incumbent Beverly Jones in the race for Stone Mountain mayor.

“I’m excited for the win,” Linder said in an interview. “Stone Mountain is getting ready to become a regional destination. There’s going to be Atlanta, Savannah and Stone Mountain.”

Credit: Contributed Photo

Credit: Contributed Photo

Tuesday’s election unfolded weeks after Jones sued City Council members to stop their effort to force her from office for assuming sole control of city bank accounts.

Jones’ attorney has said she did so inadvertently, and she faces no accusation of misappropriating city funds. The City Council voted in August to initiate removal proceedings.

Linder has never run for elected government office, but served on the Stone Mountain Downtown Development Authority and the city’s planning commission. He and his wife founded Village Forward Inc., a nonprofit focused on economic development and community building.