East Point mayor: Pittman apparently ousts incumbent Macon

By Special

For the AJC

With all but one precinct reporting, it appeared that East Point gained a new mayor in Tuesday's runoff.

Former city councilmember Earnestine Pittman appeared to have defeated incumbent Mayor Joe Macon, with 11 of 12 precincts reporting.

The two were forced into a runoff when Pittman when neither gained a majority in last month's four-way general election.

“I take it the people have spoken,” Pittman said Tuesday night. “I supported [Macon] in the last campaign. Matter of fact, I think I’m one of the reasons he got elected. But I think a lot of people who supported him felt totally betrayed because he turned his back on the very thing we worked on to get him elected.”

For Macon, the major focal point of  term was what he called the city’s Financial Recovery Plan. Macon told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution before the election that the plan, which cut staff, raised utility rates and fees and stalled infrastructure work, was needed to tackle the city’s long-standing debt.

But Pittman claimed that plan is mostly myth.

“What I have seen is that he’s dropped the ball on fiscal responsibility," Pittman said. "He hasn’t even set a goal to build the budget around."

Macon could not be reached for comment Tuesday night.

Pittman, 63, has lived in East Point for 37 years where’s she’s been a longtime activist. She taught high school math for 27 years in various city of Atlanta public schools, and has served on East Point’s City Council for the past six years.

Pittman said it’s time to start over.

“The first thing we need to do,” she said, “is sit down with an auditor and see what our financial situation is. It can’t be great. But whatever it is, now’s the time to start dealing with it.”

In the city council Ward A seat race, it appeared Sharonda Hubbard defeated Greg Fann Sr.