Clarkston ordinances cloud outcome of mayoral election

By Special

For the AJC

Howard Tygrett left Clarkston City Hall on Nov. 3 convinced he was the new mayor. After all, he got more votes than each of the other candidates and, he said, warm congratulations from outgoing Mayor Lee Swaney.

But the climate was considerably different Thursday night, during an emergency city council meeting that ended with about 100 residents, the council, Tygrett and the other mayoral hopefuls confused.

Tygrett left believing he's in a Dec. 1 runoff with current Councilmember Pat Davis-Morris. Maybe.

And by all accounts, that would be a first.

Never in its 127-year history has the DeKalb County city -- once nicknamed Goatsville -- had a mayoral runoff. In fact, it is a rare election in which more than two candidates run for an office.

There’s no doubt Tygrett got the most votes – 193 to Davis-Morris’ 124. Rosemarie Nelson got 73 and Joyce P. Wade  got 42.

Where there is doubt, though, is about whether a runoff is required if a candidate doesn't receive a majority vote.

In 1970, Clarkston passed an amendment to a 1967 city ordinance stating “that a candidate may be elected to fill a public office by a plurality of the votes cast in a City Election.”

But over the past week, Clarkston city attorney Bryan Downs discovered that the 1970 amendment that would have meant Tygrett was the outright winner, was no longer in force.

“In 1981,” Downs said, “the city adopted a comprehensive set of ordinances. It was a way of organizing all their current ordinances, of insuring that it comports with Georgia state law and insuring any archaic provisions and archaic language is repealed.”

The sweeping 1981 revision does not specify between plurality (most votes) and majority (50 percent plus one of the votes). But there is a clause that requires city elections to be "conducted as provided in the Georgia Election Code.”

And state election code requires a runoff where no candidate receives a majority.

That would pit Tygrett against Davis-Morris.

But at the meeting, the council voted 4 to 1, with Davis-Morris the dissenter, to "reaffirm" the 1970 amendment allowing for plurality and immediately name Tygrett mayor-elect.

“We wanted to use [the resolution] as an instrument to show that this city has a historical precedent for plurality,” Councilman Wayne Foster said.

Meantime, the city attorney said the resolution changes nothing.

"The runoff will proceed, unless a judge orders otherwise,” Downs said.