The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Three mayors face challengers Tuesday
Most of College Park’s mayoral candidates agree about one thing: It’s time for a change.
Predictably, incumbent Jack Patterson Longino isn’t among them. But after Longino won re-election four years ago by 36 votes, the five candidates running against him want to ensure that his sixth term is his last.
Longino isn’t the only longtime mayor facing competition Tuesday on the south side of Fulton County. In Palmetto, John Clark Boddie (who would be entering his 31st year in office) has two challengers, and Hapeville Mayor Alan Hallman (seeking his fifth term) has one opponent.
Longino, 66, came under fire in 2016 for canceling an arts festival because organizers campaigned for his 2015 opponent. College Park runs the Georgia International Convention Center, just opened a new arena and has tax agreements with Atlanta regarding Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport, and the mayor said the learning curve for a new candidate would be too steep.
The Airport City project, which would build a mixed-use development on land that once held houses, couldn’t be in better hands than his own, Longino said. “Why would you choose another
r?” he asked.
His opponents have some ideas. John Ernest Duke, 52, challenged the notion that no one else was ready to step into the role. Duke, who was an opponent of the city’s decision to build an arena, said he waited to pursue his run for office until he was fully literate in College Park’s budget and finances.
“I’m running because I finally figured out how the city works,” said Duke, a flood plain analyst. “The city’s just not reaching its potential.”
Duke’s priorities lie in infrastructure, and in building more sidewalks and trails, as well as bus shelters.
Duke also said he would like residents to have more opportunities for job training.
Duke supports the massive Airport City project — but said he wishes it had been College Park’s focus instead of the arena.
For Kaseem Ladipo, the city’s 35% poverty rate is a driving factor. Ladipo, 43, said his priorities are improving residents’ upward mobility by increasing the city’s low home-ownership rate.
College Park needs a bold vision for economic development, Ladipo said. He also wants to improve workforce development as a way to close economic gaps.
“At the end of the day, people want to trust their leaders,” said Ladipo, a consultant. “I’m all about change that makes sense, not just change for the sake of change.”
Former College Park police chief Ronald (Ron) Fears said he resigned from his job to run for a council seat in 2017 because he believed elected officials were voting in their own interests. Now as a mayoral candidate, Fears said he wants to represent balanced growth, eliminate political interference in the day-to-day management of the city and improve morale.
“The city doesn’t have the confidence in this mayor and council anymore,” he said.
Fears, 66, said he’s in a unique position to make improvements because he used to be a high-level city employee.
Additionally, Fears said he would want to add more officers to the police department. He also wants to increase camera surveillance in the city and said he hopes to rebuild trust with residents.
Bianca Motley Broom, a mediator and former Fulton County magistrate judge, said it’s time to modernize the city.
e approaching 21st century problems with 20th century solutions,” she said.
Motley Broom, 42, said all of the city’s spending should be reviewed, and efficiencies prioritized. Motley Broom also said she wants College Park to be more business-friendly — especially for small businesses. She’d like citizen engagement for issues like the Airport City development.
She wants to improve the poverty rate through increased job training.
Pamela Gay, a 48-year-old state employee and the wife of sitting councilman Roderick Gay, says she would eliminate utility bills for city residents.
Her campaign promise has drawn concerns from a number of residents who are also concerned that her marriage to Councilman Roderick Gay will allow the couple to control council votes with just one additional supporter.
Gay wouldn’t grant the AJC an interview, saying in an email that her “schedule has been really hectic.”
In Palmetto, Boddie was first elected in 1986, and has been mayor ever since except for 2008-11.
In the years of his leadership, Boddie said, the city has grown. Now, it’s poised to increase its tax base, allowing for more new housing and commercial development.
Boddie, 67, said the city will finally have the money to support a recreation program, and electric rates will be stabilized by new corporate clients. He wants to expand the fire department and revitalize downtown.
Michael Arnold, a councilman who resigned to run for mayor, said a new recreation program is his priority. So is more transparency in the city-run electric utility and a back-up water system, so residents don’t have boil advisories every time Atlanta has a failure.
Arnold, 68, also said he wants to concentrate new development so traffic doesn’t get out of hand.
A Clark Atlanta University professor, Torrance Stephens, 56, said he’s running for mayor because he wants to improve the quality of life in the city — including by renovating Main Street and providing more recreation options.
He also wants clarity in utility bills, and wants to improve communication with residents and secure the water supply.
Hapeville Mayor Alan Hallman, 57, said he wants to remain in office because he thinks things are going well in the city. He’d like to see the completion of some projects he’s spearheaded, including a new Porsche repair facility that will be a model for the company.
Hallman’s opponent, 66-yearold Rod Mack, said he’d like to be
a voice for the voiceless in the city. Mack, a member of the city’s board of appeals, said he’s opposed to any tax increases.