Race for Atlanta mayor now 'wide open'

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Borders' decision leaves Atlanta mayor race 'wide open'

By ERIC STIRGUS
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 08/11/08

Atlanta City Council President Lisa Borders stunned political observers and community leaders by announcing Monday she is ending her quest to become the city's next mayor.

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Borders was considered the front-runner in the race to succeed Shirley Franklin, a two-term incumbent prohibited from running for another four-year term in 2009. Borders had more campaign money than any candidate and strong connections to the city's business, faith-based and African-American communities.

"I'm about as surprised as anyone," said Harvey Newman, Georgia State University's chairman of the department of Public Administration and Urban Studies. "The race is about as wide open as I've seen."

Borders, 50, said she needed to devote more time caring for ailing parents. Her father, William Holmes Borders Jr., is a diabetic with full kidney failure. She declined to discuss the health of her mother, Gloria. Both parents are 75.

"In the final analysis, you've got to be completely focused on becoming mayor," Borders said in an interview Monday. "I clearly have some personal things I need to take care of. I can run for mayor at another opportunity, but I only have one set of parents."

Many considered Borders a formidable candidate. She had about $232,000 in her campaign account at the end of June, city records show. She was an executive at Cousins Properties, one of the region's most prominent development firms. Her grandfather, William Holmes Borders Sr., was the famous Wheat Street Baptist Church pastor who helped desegregate Atlanta's police force and transit system and built low-cost housing for the poor. Borders' departure from the race leaves three elected officials in the running: city council members Ceasar Mitchell and Mary Norwood and state Sen. Kasim Reed (D-Atlanta), who managed both of Franklin's campaigns.

Newman said the two council members may face questions from voters asking why they didn't do more to help Atlanta avert budget troubles this year that forced cuts to several services and cost about 500 city employees their jobs through layoffs. Reed's main challenge will be introducing himself to residents, Newman said. Atlanta's population has grown by more than 100,000 residents since 2000, U.S. Census figures show.

Atlanta's next mayor must be someone who can deal with issues such as the economy, rising mortgage foreclosures and homelessness, said the Rev. Richard Cobble, a leader of Concerned Black Clergy, one of the city's most influential organizations. The group had talked Monday, before Borders' announcement, about devoting more energy to the mayor's race.

"We're going to be very vigilant," Cobble said. "We're going to see who [candidates are] in bed with and who they're taking money from."

Borders said she has not decided whether she'll run again for council president. She pledged Monday to focus on finance and public safety issues during the remainder of her term, which ends in 2009.

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Comments

By Grant Parkian

Aug 17, 2008 11:39 AM | Link to this

Clark - It's a no brainer. You've got to fix this.

By Grant Parkian

Aug 17, 2008 11:37 AM | Link to this

Clark - It's a no brainer. You've got to fix this.

By South of Ponce

Aug 13, 2008 2:06 PM | Link to this

Go Mary!!!

By Rudy

Aug 13, 2008 12:50 PM | Link to this

Atlanta City government is a shambles of inneptitude, incompetence, greed, racism, mismanagement, misfeasance, and any other acitivity that detracts from that which is good and noble in government. It needs NEW BLOOD at the helm! Not the same old Maynard Jackson cronies or their descendants. Clark Howard . . .do you hear me??

By Callin' Em

Aug 13, 2008 10:06 AM | Link to this

Lea O'Neal, another looney tune for Mary Norwood.

By Lea O'Neal

Aug 13, 2008 9:45 AM | Link to this

July 2007 my neighbor, Mr. Edward Nurse was murdered in cold blood one exit from our community, Historic Collier Heights.
Eddie was a man who worked hard. He was from the old school and made provisions for his wife to stay at home to raise three lovely little children. Upon learning of the shooting, I called Councilwoman Mary Norwood. The very next day, she and Councilman C.T. Martin arrived at the widows' home. It was a Saturday at 8:00am. I stood there with Mary Norwood as she expressed her condolences with Eddie's wife, Deborah Nurse. Councilpersons Norwood and Martin then drove to the crime scene, a gas station off of I-20 in SW Atlanta. The three of us viewed in horror the blood and brain matter that the police failed to clean up from the ground. We witnessed the sloppy police work and realized that crime-tape had still been left across the parking lot. This is just one example of what it means to be a servant of the people, you have to go where the problems are. Mary is not afraid to come into neighborhoods were poor and elderly people live to show her compassion.
The reason why I am STRONGLY supporting Mary Norwood is because whenever there is a crisis in our community she finds a way to come to our aid and help us navigate the rough political waters. Under the Franklin administration, the corruption in Atlanta has become so huge it would choke a dinosaurs! Mary Norwood is a tiny woman who comes to us with intellectual integrity. I believe she can clean up the corruption from the inside out. Atlanta NEEDS NO NONSENSE NORWOOD to clean up the corruption and criminal behavior at city hall. If ever we need
a CHANGE...NORWOOD would be a change we could be PROUD of.
Lea O'Neal
219 Hermer Circle, NW
Atlanta, Georgia 30311-1103
atlcorruption@yahoo.com

By spfaust

Aug 13, 2008 9:27 AM | Link to this

Brent, curb your racism, fella. Cobble didn't say anything about race or desiring a mayor concerned only with "Black" issues. The concerns he mentioned are concerns for all of Atlanta. Only YOU interjected race. time to become a bit more sophisticated. We're a Big-Boy city now.

Just to refresh the memory, here's what the article mentioned with no reference to race:

Atlanta's next mayor must be someone who can deal with issues such as the economy, rising mortgage foreclosures and homelessness, said the Rev. Richard Cobble, a leader of Concerned Black Clergy, one of the city's most influential organizations. The group had talked Monday, before Borders' announcement, about devoting more energy to the mayor's race.

"We're going to be very vigilant," Cobble said. "We're going to see who [candidates are] in bed with and who they're taking money from."

By Brent

Aug 12, 2008 6:01 PM | Link to this

hey Rev. Richard Cobble, of Concerned Black Clergy.... understand this... that there ARE actually white people who live, work and pay taxes in this city.

By Wayne

Aug 12, 2008 1:49 PM | Link to this

Let me lay it out plain and simple. Don't vote for Kasim Reed - our state senator. Can't be trusted!!!

If you followed the South Fulton city debacle he screwed up the bill by "excluding" South Fulton when it came to the area that would be the new city. At the same time he got it right when he wrote an identical bill that made up the city of Chatt Hill. Residents feel he was trying to steal away land for Atlanta to annex including Fulton Industrial.

Better still if you check the residential records he appears to live in unincorporated Fulton County while state records show him living in a rented or leased property in land that was annexed by Atlanta a year or so ago. Word has it the area will be seeking deannexation soon.

He carried water for Shirley throughout the South Fulton city hood debacle - meaning he did what he could to help Atlanta and not the citizens of South Fulton who wanted to create a new city.

Clark Howard is most likely the best candidate

By Steve

Aug 12, 2008 1:06 PM | Link to this

Hey City Council Observer:

This city is nothing but ugly racial under-currents.

The "Concerned BLACK Clergy" is obviously one of them.
The "SCLC" is another one.
You can add "Atlanta Black Business Bureau".
How about the "Organization of Black Airline Pilots".
And then there is the "100 Black Men Of Atlanta".
Of course the "Atlanta Metropolitan Black Chamber of Commerce".

Yea, maybe we need a WHITE mayor now to fix everything!

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