No second term for first Black commissioner

Gwinnett County District 4 Commissioner Marlene Fosque appeared to lose her reelection bid Tuesday, with unofficial results showing challenger Matthew Holtkamp defeating her by nearly 11,000 votes, or 56%.

The unofficial count does not reflect provisional ballots, votes from Americans in other countries or absentee ballots with issues that remain unresolved. The county elections board is scheduled to certify results next week.

“I’m just really excited to be able to serve the community that gave me so much,” Holtkamp said.

Fosque did not return messages Wednesday seeking comment.

Holtkamp’s margin of victory by the unofficial count is almost exactly how lawmakers predicted the commission district would vote after the Legislature drastically redrew Gwinnett’s commission map to create a conservative-friendly northern district. That deviated from the normal legislative process of accepting maps presented by the local delegation, which in Gwinnett is mostly Democratic.

The county commission for the past two years has consisted entirely of Democratic members of color, a total shift in the past four years from an all-republican board.

When Fosque was first elected four years ago, she became the first Black person to serve on the Gwinnett commission in its 200-year history.