jobs, schools and roads on voters' minds

Three counties to hold elections later this month.

Asvoters inClayton, Henry and Fayette go to the polls later thismonth, topofmind will be selecting leaderswho can address problems that have festered for years and some that are new.

While the three counties diffffffffffffer greatly in demographics and personality, they share concerns, namely growing traffiffic congestion brought by the boom in e-commerce distribution centers and the increasing number of Hollywood productions; job growth heavily titled toward low-paying sectors such as retail; and a continuing frustration that metro Atlanta’s tech boomhas not spread as flfluidly south of I-20 as it has on the area’s north side.

“Investment has always laggedonthe southside, with the notable exception of the (Hartsfifield-Jackson International) airport area,” said Harvey Newman, professor emeritus at the Andrew Young School of Policy Studies at Georgia State University. “Once you move away from the airport bubble, economic development has always had challenges.”

Also uniting residents in the three counties is the need to offffffffffffer more vocational programs for students who don’ t plan to go to college and to offffffffffffer amore diverse jobportfolio to lure studentswho do leave for higher education back after they have received their degrees.

“A lot of plumbers and electricians make a lot more money than some Ph.Ds,” said Brenda Harrison, a retired U.S. Postal Service worker running for the District 8 Board of Education seat in Clayton County against incumbent Alieka Andersonand JoyTellisCooper. “Some of our children who maybe don’ t make those college grades, they have talents that we need to tap into.”

Here’s a look at some of the issues facing the counties as the votersmake their decisions Tuesday.

ClaytonCounty

Clayton is focused on its rebound fromthe dark days of the 2008 recession.

The county, which was hit hard by the highest unemployment in the metro area and was ground zero in the region’s foreclosure crisis, has seen home pricesmarch upward and unemployment fall to 5.2 percent (it was as high as 10percent as recently asFebruary 2014). The county’s school system, whichhas regainedmuchof the accreditation it lost in 2008, has new leadership and many say is flflourishing.

But there are still challenges. Clayton faces the possibility of losing asmuch as $ 18million annually from a fuel tax levied at Hartsfifield that is split between the county and the school system. Some Clayton County Commissioners have criticized the lack of an economic development director at the Clayton Development Authority as keeping the county from enjoying the economic boom happening across the rest of metro Atlanta.

Several candidates at a recentNAACP forumplaced economic development and vocational training for students as top priorities. The county, theysaid, needs todo more to improve the county’ s infrastructure, invest more in public safety and simply pick up the litter.

“We have to clean it up,” said DeMont Davis, who is running in crowded race for Clayton County Commissioner District 4 against incumbent Michael Edmondson, Derwin Davis and Timothy K en ney.“Youc an have the nicest restaurant you want, but if you bring out dinner on a trashcan lid, you’re not going to want it.”

FayetteCounty

Fayette, one of metro Atlanta’s wealthiest counties, is at a turning point, many of its leaders say.

Long known as the bedroom of Delta Air Lines pilots, the county is in a battle between those who say Fayette needs to change — they want new industries that will attract millennials to keep Fayette frombecoming a retirement haven— and those who resist — they say Fayette is fifine as it is.

The county’s school system, often considered one of the state’s best, has seen enrollment fall inthepast few years, a result of slowpopulation growth, though there was an uptick in 2017-18.

Former Peachtree City Mayor Don Haddix, who is running against Edward “Edge” Gibbons and Eric F. Imker for the District 3 seat on the Fayette Commission, said he wants the county to take economic development seriously.

“More retail and homes are not economic development,” he said. “Jobs are economic development.”

HenryCounty

Voters in Henry County will hear a lot about infrastructure from candidates as they crisscross one of metro Atlanta’s fastest-growing counties.

Henry has become a dominant player in metro Atlanta’s e-commerce distribution business andthat growth has led to thousands of jobs in the county and millions in tax revenue. But it also has contributed to crumbling roads because of massive numbers of trucks transporting goods and wages that many say are marginal at best.

Leaders and residents also say the county needs to invest more in economic development that brings a range of jobs to the community, including more tech, business and medical positions that pay higher salaries.

And like Clayton and Fayette, candidates also say Henry County needs to provide better options for students who are not college bound through vocational or other training.

SopheCookPope, aHenry nativewhois running for District 4 Board of Education against incumbent Donna McBride and Bridgette Freeman, said em bedding a sense of accomplishments in students, nomatterwhat their pursuits after high school, is imperative to helping a community to thrive.

“I received what I see as a world-class education in Henry,” she said.