Races stay heated for trio of Fulton commission seats

Voters are set to decide who will fill three seats on the Fulton County Commission this election cycle, with races that feature two incumbents and one open seat.

Aside from the incumbent Chair Robb Pitts, the other current commissioner with an opponent is Marvin Arrington Jr. The attorney has been a commissioner for two terms. His father was president of the Atlanta City Council for nearly two decades and also served as a Fulton County Superior Court judge.

After a dramatic redistricting process, Arrington finds himself with new constituents only a few months before the May 24 primary and being challenged by Robert H. Kelly — who works for Fulton Commissioner Khadijah Abdur-rahman.

Both candidates have their platforms: Arrington promotes the arts community along with youth programs, and Kelly wants to enhance senior services and southern Fulton infrastructure.

But the issues have been drowned out by multiple legal challenges. The campaign has gotten dirty, with websites sporting URLS “notarrington.com” and the anti-kelly hub “avoiceyoucantrust.org.”

Early on, a citizen challenged Kelly’s residency by claiming he lived in Fayette County instead of in the district. That led District Attorney Fani Willis to open an investigation into whether Kelly perjured himself. The residency question and the investigation remain open, Kelly said, which muddies the waters for voters.

Kelly is among the anti-establishment contingent vying for the three seats. Joining him is fellow Abdur-rahman employee Rick Blalock — who is running for the District 1 seat left open after Commissioner Liz Hausmann, a Republican, announced she was running for state Senate.

The opening represents the third GOP commissioner on the seven-member board, but if the seat goes blue then Democrats would have a supermajority at the county level.

It will be Blalock or his fellow Democratic opponent Maggie Goldman facing Bridget Thorne or Matthew Tyser, who want to keep the seat in Republican control.

The third race with a candidate backed by Abdur-rahman is Sonya Russell-ofchus, who is running for commission chair against longtime local politico and current Chair Robb Pitts.

Russell-ofchus is a former Atlanta Police Department officer and federal agent who claims she could root out and eliminate alleged corruption within the county government. South Fulton activist Jewel Johnson is also running for the chair position on a platform of transparency improving public safety. Either candidate would be the first Black woman and woman of color to hold the position.

Pitts has establishment credentials like endorsements from gubernatorial hopeful Stacey Abrams; former Atlanta mayor and United Nations ambassador Andrew Young; and U.S. Sen. Raphael Warnock. Pitts served two decades on the Atlanta City Council and spent 12 years as a county commissioner before becoming chair in 2017.

The primary polls close Tuesday night.