Reed in, Norwood concedes. New dawn for Atlanta

By Ernie Suggs and Eric Stirgus

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Kasim Reed has officially been elected Atlanta’s 59^th mayor.

More than a week after a tight runoff, and a month after he finished second in the general election, Reed squeaked by Mary Norwood by a scant 714 votes in a Wednesday recount.

Fulton County officialssaid Reed won 42,549 votes while Norwood won 41,835, making it one of the tightest races in Atlanta history.

Norwood, who called for the recount because she was within .84 percent of Reed, officially conceded about 90 minutes after the results were posted.

"Here we are at the end of a very, very long two years," Norwood said in her empty campaign headquarters. "The recount results are final and now it is time to accept it.”

An hour later, the new mayor-elect said it “feels good” to have the election resolved. Reed called it a “tough campaign.”

“You should have to go through (this process)…if you want to lead a major American city,” he said.

Gone Wednesday was the tough-talk and accusations tossed back and forth between the two candidates during the campaign. Those words were replaced by respect and praise.

Norwood, surrounded by her supporters, praised Reed for running a “spirited campaign,” and making her a better “debater,” from their more than 50 meetings throughout the election season that saw them outlast four other candidates.

Reed, with former candidate City Council President Lisa Borders beside him, called Norwood a “sincere, earnest and compassionate public official.”

Reed confirmed that Norwood called him Wednesday afternoon to congratulate him and said the two plan to meet soon to discuss a role in his administration.

Reed said Norwood gave voice to those who complained City Hall isn’t working for them or won’t listen to their concerns and he plans to make improvements.

“The way that citizens feel about their interaction with our government right now cannot stay where it is with the amount of taxes that people are paying,” he said.

Norwood said those citizens still need a voice and she will continue to provide it, adding that after spending eight years in City Hall as a councilmember, she is not likely to vanish anytime soon.

She told her supporters to “not lose hope,” and “keeping fighting for change.”

“I have never gone away and I am not going away now. I will not be in elected office, but I will remain involved,” Norwood said.

Norwood said she was not offended that Reed was carrying on as mayor-elect while she was lodging a recount request. She said she would have done the same thing.

Reed has been busy since he was initially certified as the mayor last Saturday, having named both an interim police chief and a new chief operating officer. He said he’s already received more than 150 resumes from people who want to work in his administration.

He said he will visit Washington, D.C. “two to three times” before Christmas to lobby federal officials for money to help Atlanta deal with some of its challenges.