Business coalition ranks Borders, Reed as top mayor candidates

By Eric Stirgus

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

A group of Atlanta business leaders released a Consumer Reports-style ranking list Tuesday that gave City Council President Lisa Borders the highest score among the candidates vying for mayor.

Borders, a former executive at the real estate company Cousins Properties, scored 95 on a scale of 100 by the Committee for a Better Atlanta.

Former state senator Kasim Reed finished a close second with a 93. City Councilwoman Mary Norwood was third with 86 and attorney Jesse Spikes scored an 81.

Former Atlanta police officer Peter Brownlowe scored a 30. Community activist Kyle Keyser, the other candidate on the Nov. 3 mayoral ballot did not participate in the survey.

The 30-member committee includes executives from many of Atlanta's top businesses. Candidates were asked to fill out questionnaires and participate in interviews. Committee members who interviewed the candidates individually ranked the candidates on their vision for the city, their plans for public safety, economic development, qualifications and in other areas. The rankings were not endorsements.

Borders spokeswoman Liz Flowers said the candidate was excited by the score.

"Of course, Lisa is absolutely thrilled to receive this excellent rating from her colleagues in the business community," Flowers said. "Clearly, they believe she has the skills to run Atlanta."

Reed spokesman Reese McCranie said he was also pleased with the results.

"This shows that there is tight competition for the race to be the next mayor of Atlanta. We feel that the voters will decide that Kasim is the best qualified candidate to lead Atlanta in a new direction," he said.

The committee gave scores of 92 to Ceasar Mitchell and Clair Muller, the two leading candidates for City Council president. They also scored candidates running for seats on the council.

Here are the scores for the mayoral, council president and at-large council candidates. More information about the scores and those of other council candidates can be found on http://www.betteratlanta.org/page/cba-results.

Mayor

Lisa Borders 95

Kasim Reed 93

Mary Norwood 86

Jesse Spikes 81

Peter Brownlowe 30

Kyle Keyser did not participate

City Council President

Ceasar Mitchell 92

Clair Muller 92

Dave Walker did not participate

Post 1 At-Large

Michael Julian Bond 88

Chris Vaughn 77

Adam Brackman 76

Dwanda Farmer 75

Post 2 At-Large

Amir Farokhi 91

Aaron Watson 91

Weslee Knapp 86

Post 3 At-Large

H. Lamar Willis 92

Shelitha Robertson 67