Wood wins again in Roswell, barely

By Ralph Ellis

The Atlanta Journal-Constitution

Roswell Mayor Jere Wood survived the political fight of his life by narrowly winning a runoff over David Tolleson, a former council member.

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Brant Sanderlin , bsanderlin@ajc.com Roswell mMayoral candidate Davis Tolleson walks to the voting machine after talking with poll workers Tuesday afternoon at Church of the Savior.

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Vino Wong, vwong@ajc.com Roswell Mayor Jere Wood casts his vote at the Roswell Community Activity Center on Tuesday

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With all precincts reporting, Wood led by 77 votes out of more than 9,100 cast, or 50.42 percent of the total.

Tolleson conceded defeat about 11:25 p.m., after initially holding out hope advance or early votes might make up the difference.

“We ended up just short of where we need to be, and it goes back to every vote counts,” Tolleson told supporters at a Roswell sports bar.

Wood had won three previous elections by wide margins but faced a tough challenge from Tolleson, who said people were tired of the incumbent’s sometimes-domineering leadership style.

“It keeps you humble, which is what you need to be as a public servant,” Wood said of his apparent narrow reelection. “Being cocky is not good for anyone.”

Wood, 60, now faces a new challenge: how to operate with a very different city council as he leads the North Fulton city of 90,000 people. He and the other candidates all identified the city’s problems as a bad business climate, sluggish redevelopment and clogged roads.

Kent Igleheart was the only council member who supported Wood, while Betty Wynn and Rich Dippolito endorsed Tolleson. Jerry Orlans was publicly neutral. Betty Price and Nancy Diamond are new, replacing Tolleson and Lori Henry, who ran for mayor and finished third in the general election.

In the Nov. 3 general election, Wood finished on top with 40 percent of the vote. Tolleson got 32 percent and Henry got 28 percent.

Wood scrambled for endorsements in the following weeks and gained Henry’s. She is leaving the council but Wood promised to give her key assignments representing the city.

Wood and Tolleson didn’t clash much on issues, but they have different personalities and backgrounds.

Wood is an aggressive lawyer known for his bowties and take-charge personality. He was first elected in 1997, when he ran on an anti-sprawl platform to beat W.L. “Pug” Mabry, who’d been mayor for three decades.

Tolleson, 47, is slender and soft-spoken. He was on the City Council from 1999 until last July, when he resigned to run for mayor. He is executive director of the National Down Syndrome Congress and has been interviewed on numerous TV news shows about disabilities.

Tolleson characterized himself as a peacemaker and consensus-builder, saying people had tired of Wood’s style.

Wood ran on his leadership skills and record, saying Roswell had improved during his 12 years in office. He said Tolleson never took the initiative on major issues until he knew which way the political winds were blowing.

“I don’t think the direction of Roswell will change at all,” Wood said Tuesday night.