DUNWOODY: New city elects first mayor, council

They created their own city two months ago in a bid for greater local control. And Tuesday, voters in Dunwoody chose which feet to hold to the fire.

Up for grabs in their first municipal elections: the mayor’s seat and all six spots on the City Council.

With 16 candidates and no prevote polling, few knew what to expect for DeKalb County’s first new city in more than 70 years. The only sure thing was mayoral candidate Ken Wright, who ran unopposed and won 98 percent of the nearly 7,000 votes cast.

The District 2 race, in the central part of Dunwoody, was the only one not settled Tuesday, because none of the three candidates received more than half the votes. By rule, the top two vote-getters compete in a runoff Oct. 14.

They are dentist Adrian Bonser, who got 45 percent (rounded to the nearest percent), and attorney Larry Pankey, who received 35 percent. Bob Fiscella, a Realtor and part-time sportscaster, finished third with 20 percent.

Wright will see some familiar faces on the council. All three winners of at large seats also worked in some way with the nonprofit Citizens for Dunwoody, which helped lay the groundwork for incorporation.

John Heneghan, a regional director for the U.S. Department of Transportation, beat real estate agent Mary Jo Chambless, 66 percent to 34 percent. Danny Ross, a retired venture capitalist and co-president of the Dunwoody Preservation Trust, bested business administrator Janet L. Webb, 63 percent to 37 percent. And Robert Wittenstein, senior vice president of software development for Matria Healthcare, beat Mallard Holliday, public relations director for Cox Communications, which has the same parent company as The Atlanta Journal- Constitution. Wittenstein garnered 55 percent to Holliday’s 45 percent.

The other three seats were elected by voters in home districts.

Denis Shortal, a former airline pilot and retired brigadier general in the U.S. Marine Corps, prevailed in District 1, which covers the western part of Dunwoody. He won 61 percent of the vote, besting Al Alberghini (31 percent) and Nancy Kaylor (8 percent).

In District 3, defense contractor Tom Taylor garnered 54 percent of the vote, beating out Ellen Fix (5 percent) and Doug Thompson (40 percent).

Members elected citywide will serve three-year terms, while the district seats will begin with one-year terms. After that, each position will be elected to four-year terms.

Provisional ballots from Tuesday’s election will be counted later in the week.

The city of nearly 40,000 residents begins operations Dec. 1. And the council will be busy until then, negotiating with DeKalb County about the cost of services and sorting through a projected budget of nearly $15 million.

“We’ve got a lot to do,” Wittenstein said moments after learning he had won. “It’s going to be very hard to balance the budget without raising taxes.”