South Fulton’s mayor, khalid kamua — he doesn’t like capital letters — has been making a name for himself since he took office of the so-called “America’s Blackest City” in January 2022.
In fact, he likes to be called “Mayor Kobi,” which is capitalized.
But in the past three years, his lower-case name has repeatedly flashed in newscasts, often eliciting groans from City Council members and South Fulton residents alike. Most recently, they winced yet again when he sought to have the mayoral salary boosted from $47,000 to $85,000.
The Democratic Socialist and pronounced activist played up his Black Lives Matter credentials when he trounced a veteran Democratic incumbent, telling voters a new way was needed in the fledgling city.
Since then, there have been lawsuits, calls for investigations, allegations of corruption and a “no confidence vote” of kamau. And there was his absolutely bizarre arrest on burglary charges — by his own police department. In that case, he almost certainly wasn’t trying to steal anything. But the incident follows his track record as a fellow who certainly beats to his own tom-tom.
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Still, kamau believes he needs a raise. Actually, he insists the hefty increase isn’t necessarily for him. It’s for the next mayor, whoever takes the seat in 2026. It’s a tough job, he says, and deserves a full-time salary. He won’t say if he’s running.
“If it passes, he’ll definitely run again,” said Councilwoman Helen Z. Willis. “Right now he has no job.”
Willis, a kamau kritic, is running for mayor. “I feel I have no choice,” she said.
Voters in South Fulton approved cityhood in 2016. It was the last bit of unincorporated land in Fulton County and was almost a defensive move, as adjacent cities were poised to gobble up land to increase their tax bases.
The city is a sprawling mass of 90 square miles of suburban subdivisions sprinkled amidst a vast rural landscape. There are warehouses and some industry but not a lot of prime commercial and office space. Every other person you talk to says: “We need some good sit-down restaurants.”
About 90% of the 110,000 residents are African American, the largest percentage in a U.S. city with a population over 100,000.
Kamau was elected a councilman in 2017 and then, four years later, got nearly 60% of the vote against then-Mayor Bill Edwards, formerly a long time Fulton County commissioner.
Almost all council members endorsed Edwards. Didn’t matter. The voters wanted change. Kamau came in and immediately antagonized the rest of the city’s officials, calling for the resignation of the city manager, city attorney and city clerk. It turns out he didn’t have that authority and his efforts were shot down. And it ensured an antagonistic relationship.
The antipathy since has been epic.
He has asked for a “forensic audit” of the city and alleged misspending by council members, calling for a GBI investigation. “I came into this office thinking our city council needed a full-time psychologist,” he told WSB-TV in July 2022, six months into the job.
The council asked Fulton District Attorney Fani Willis’ office to look at his credit card purchases.
Council members, in turn, alleged kamau was taping executive sessions at meetings and sued him to stop.
The mayor last year vetoed almost $1 million in funding for police, which was overturned by the council.
“One of the tenets of Black Lives Matter is defunding the police; that sounds great in theory but it’s not practical,” said Councilwoman Natasha Williams-Brown. “One thing that residents want is a strong police force. They consistently say they want crime down.”
She continued: “There’s a lot to be said for maturity and wisdom. The mayor [he’s 48] has some maturing to do.”
Williams-Brown talked about “reality” in governing and “incrementalism.”
The mayor is certainly no incrementalist. But, when you come in and aggravate those whose support you need, then you end up doing zip.
Last year, a new wrinkle unfolded in the kamau saga — he was arrested after a homeowner found the mayor wandering just after dawn in a lake home he owns. The man was packing. The two exchanged words.
The police report says kamau told him, “Do you know who the [heck] I am, I’m the mayor and I’ll wait for my police force to get here and see what happens then.”
They came and arrested kamau. He was charged with felony burglary and trespassing.
The mayor later said he was passing by and that it was his “dream home” and he wanted to go in an take a look.
The governor’s office said kamau has not been suspended because he has not been indicted. I contacted the DA’s office and heard nothing. I hear she’s been busy.
I spoke with kamau briefly and he expressed surprise at the amount of media attention generated by the pay raise request. “No one ever calls us about the good stuff,” he added, a lament of politicians everywhere. He agreed to talk the next day but vanished.
Reschard Snellings, a South Fulton resident active in city issues, supported kamau when he ran. “I wanted independent thinking on the council,” he said.
“His intentions are good, but he doesn’t do things the way most people do,” he said. “He’s a highly intelligent guy. I think that intelligence gets him in trouble.”
Sometimes smarts ain’t all its cracked up to be.
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