Reed begins mayoral transition, Norwood pledges to fight on

By Ernie Suggs and Eric Stirgus

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

As Kasim Reed assumed the title of Atlanta's mayor-elect Wednesday, his campaign foe Mary Norwood said she will request a recount of the razor-thin results.

Reed, a former state senator, beat Norwood by less than one percentage point, according to the unofficial results. Fulton County is expected to fully certify the results by Saturday afternoon.

After the ballots are certified, Norwood, a city councilwoman, would then submit an official notification calling for a recount.

“I think a recount, when you’re this close is appropriate, absolutely appropriate. I want every ballot accounted for and recorded,” Norwood said Wednesday morning.

Reed said in a statement Wednesday afternoon that he is focusing on building his administration.

"While I respect Mrs. Norwood's request for a recount in this election, I must move forward and focus my energies on building an administration that is going to address the serious challenges facing Atlanta," Reed said. "After a closely-contested election, now is the time for unity in our great city ... I look forward to working with Mrs. Norwood and her supporters in this effort."

Under state law, a candidate who loses by less than 1 percent of the votes cast has the right to request a recount. Barry Garner director of the the Fulton County Elections Office said Wednesday that there were 560 provisional ballots cast in Atlanta that had to be counted. Those ballots cannot be tabulated until today, the deadline for those voters to provide verification they were eligible. Reed led Norwood by 620 votes out of a total of more than 84,000 cast – a margin of 0.74 percent.

“We came within a razor thin margin of not being able to say we’re the front runner today,” Norwood added, holding up her thumb and index finger for emphasis.

Norwood sent messages via Twitter urging supporters to contact her if they voted with a provisional ballot. She also urged them to keep their Norwood yard signs up.

"Stand United Atlanta," one tweet said.

Reed, meanwhile, was focused on outlining his plan about how he'll govern. Reed, who has proclaimed victory, said his main focus will be choosing the next police chief. Crime was the top concern of many voters. Reed campaigned on hiring 750 police officers in his first term and doing a better job of retaining more officers.

The current mayor, Shirley Franklin, and her staff spent Wednesday putting the finishing touches on space for the new mayor's staff at City Hall in the Old Council Chamber.

"We will do everything we can to make the transition as painless as possible," said Franklin's chief of staff, Greg Pridgeon.

Meanwhile, Councilwoman Felicia Moore sent out an e-mail inviting the city's newest elected officials to meet the council Thursday evening at a restaurant in Atlanta's Castleberry Hill neighborhood. The e-mail was sent to the Reed campaign and to Norwood.

Reed began the day with several pre-dawn television and radio interviews. After some rest, Reed was in meetings to discuss building policy objectives, said campaign spokesman Reese McCranie.

Norwood said she has not talked to Reed and was surprised by a report that Reed tried to call her. In an interview on WAGA-TV, Reed said he "would like to have Mrs. Norwood involved in an important way if she would like to continue to be involved in municipal government."

"I think that she has an important voice and I think that it's vital that we work together to unify the city that we both love," Reed said.

Norwood said that if she loses, she would not be opposed to working in a Reed administration if asked.

“Any way I can help this city I would definitely consider it," said Norwood.

Norwood finished 10 points ahead of Reed in the Nov. 3 general election. Emory University political science professor Andra Gillespie believes Reed closed the gap by doing more face-to-face campaigning than Norwood in the last four weeks and his stance on crime swayed many men to his side. Gillespie thinks Norwood black supporters did not return to the polls at the same level as in November.

Norwood, who is white, made several campaign stops in recent weeks in low-income, predominately black neighborhoods just west of the Downtown Connector. Voter turnout in nearly all of those precincts was less than 30 percent. Turnout citywide Tuesday was about 33 percent.

Gillespie believes if a recount shows Reed is the winner, he will hire consultants to find efficiencies at City Hall. She expects him to hire some officials from the private sector and appoint young, technology-savvy people to other positions.

Most importantly, the professor said, Reed will have to unite Norwood supporters particularly displeased with his victory. She likened Reed's challenge to similar efforts by former mayors Maynard Jackson and Andrew Young to work with business leaders and white residents who voted against them.

"He's going to have to make sure they know I'm the mayor of all Atlanta and I will represent your interests," she said.

Staff writer Mike Morris and Political Insider columnist Jim Galloway contributed to this article.