Ross to start term as new Rockmart Mayor
Six months after his resignation from the Rockmart Council, Sherman Ross is returning to the city’s government – this time as mayor.
The long-time Rockmart local won the election earlier in November with a 307-115 vote lead over runner-up Mark Lumpkin and will soon be sworn in.
Ross will formally begin his term starting on January 1, but the first council meeting he presides over as Mayor of Rockmart will be on Tuesday, Jan. 14. While he will be attending the meetings from a new seat, Ross is no stranger to council meetings.
He first joined the council in 2013 before being resigning in 2019 to pursue the office of mayor. Serving for the greater part of a decade meant Ross contributed to the passing of many of the ordinance changes and updates the city has seen in the past years, but his main issues remain housing and homelessness.
He talked previously of plans to gather community stakeholders like Crossview Community Church and Mosaic Place to combat the rising homeless problem and help curb drug addiction.
“One of the first steps is to help find avenues to put people on the right path,” Ross explained back in November. “I look forward to working with several people and groups in the community to make this situation better.”
Ross is also a founding member of Rethink Rockmart, a group dedicated to revitalizing local housing and working towards a cleaner, morebeautiful city.
The meetings, typically held monthly, see community members come together to share ideas and combat issues like blight. The group has even been known to use direct, hands-on approaches like hosting and participating in neighborhood clean-up days.
It’s thanks to Rethink Rockmart and its members that the city was able to recruit code enforcement officer Bryan Richardson, and the new Urban Camping Ordinance first saw discussion in a Rethink Rockmart meeting before being adopted by the council.
The vacancy left by Ross has also been filled. With the absence of former Mayor Steve Miller and former Council Member James Payne comes the addition of Ward 2’s Marty Robinson and Ward 4’s Mike Bradley who will be taking their seats as well beginning in January.
Those interested in seeing how the new council operates can visit city hall on the second Tuesday of each month beginning at 7 p.m. Additional information about the city can be found by visiting https:// www.rockmart-ga.gov/.