Election Day II: Tuesday’s runoffs will decide local races in metro Atlanta

Runoff elections are being held Tuesday to decide more than a dozen municipal contests in metro Atlanta, including some races for the city council and the school board in the city of Atlanta.

Runoffs also will be held to settle the mayoral contests in South Fulton, Sandy Springs, Roswell and East Point. Also up for grabs on Tuesday are city council seats in South Fulton, Sandy Springs, Stonecrest and Marietta.

Across Georgia, runoffs will be held to settle local elections in 30 counties. Runoffs are held between the top two candidates in races where no one captured the majority of votes in the Nov. 4 election.

In the city of Atlanta, all 12 City Council incumbents who ran for reelection won their races on Nov. 4, while races for two open seats will be settled by runoffs.

The runoff in District 7 pits Thomas Worthy, a chief public policy officer at Piedmont Healthcare and a MARTA board member, against Thad Flowers, a public affairs specialist for engineering company Atkins Realis and former chief of staff for Atlanta City Council.

In District 11, the runoff is between Wayne Martin and Nate Jester.

Martin is a former community coordinator for an at-large City Council post and has served in leadership roles at the Atlanta Housing Authority and Atlanta Public Schools. Jester is a U.S. Marine veteran and Harvard law graduate who founded the real estate firm Cascade Centennial, which builds affordable homes and community service facilities.

Also in the city of Atlanta, three school board races are up for grabs.

In District 2, Marlissa Crawford, a mother of two APS graduates and a current student, will face off against Tony Mitchell, a Mozley Park resident whose campaign platform includes increasing early education opportunities and expanded access to dual enrollment and Advanced Placement programs.

In District 6, incumbent Tolton R. Pace faces school counselor Patreece Hutcherson.

The runoff for the at-large District 8 seat pits educator Kaycee Brock, whose campaign is focused on improving reading proficiency, against Royce Mann, a 23-year-old APS graduate whose poem “White Boy Privilege” became a viral hit in 2016.

In the South Fulton mayor’s race, City Council member Carmalitha Gumbs and former council member Mark Baker are in a runoff after surviving a nine-way contest. Incumbent khalid “Kobi” kamau, who was the subject of intense criticism over his spending of taxpayer dollars and international travel, will lose his seat.