Norwood campaigns on Cleveland Avenue; black clergy bless Reed

By Ernie Suggs

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

While the endorsements kept coming for Kasim Reed, Mary Norwood continued to reach out to individual voters Friday as they both continued to battle in the Atlanta mayoral runoff.

Norwood spent the afternoon campaigning along Cleveland Avenue with sign-waving supporters and members of the Atlanta Professional Firefighters Association, which had previously supported Norwood.

Rosel Fann, who has a community center named after her in the community in which she has lived for more than 50 years, introduced Norwood. She made a Freudian slip in her introduction that supporters didn’t seem to mind – calling the candidate, “Mayor Norwood” instead of “Mary Norwood.”

“This is an area that is near and dear to our hearts,” Norwood said, after embracing Fann. “This is the first of several events we are going to have all over the heart of the community.”

Earlier, Reed was flanked by members of the black clergy who gathered at Paschal's Restaurant to offer their support.

“We want to give thanks to him and praise God for his leadership,” said former Mayor Andrew Young, who is also an ordained minister. “And give him our wholehearted support.”

Friday’s endorsement was significant in that many of the ministers gathered has originally backed the campaign of City Council President Lisa Borders. Earlier this week, Borders endorsed Reed and getting the members of the clergy represents the first big endorsement from a group that formerly supported one of his chief rivals from the general election.

“I am pleased and spiritually uplifted,” Reed said. “I am going to need their help, because I am going to open every single recreational center in Atlanta.”

Getting the black clergy hits at the heart of one of Norwood’s strengths -- her massive support and appeal in the black community. In the November general election, although she didn’t win any black precincts, she scored as high as 28 percent of the vote in one area and was in the mid-20s in several others.

The Rev. Jasper Williams of Salem Bible Church said the ministers would be calling on their congregations to get out and vote.

“In the African-American community, we have all kinds of ails. We need someone who is sensitive to the drug problem, to fatherless children and children having children,” Williams said. “Our candidate has a vision for the grandissement of people. We have a moral responsibility to push our people for our people.”

As she has done all week, Norwood shrugged off Reed’s string of high-profile endorsements.

“In a runoff, you are already known, so people have an idea of who they are going to vote for,” said Norwood, surrounded by her supporters in front of a fire engine. “And I have 35 endorsers right here.”

The runoff election will be held Dec. 1.