Clayton County Commission race goes to runoff; new schools leader elected

Clayton County Commission District 1 race ends in a runoff after Tuesday's special election while Joy Cooper Teller appears to have won the District 8 seat on the Clayton County Board of Education. (Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images/TNS)

Credit: TNS

Credit: TNS

Clayton County Commission District 1 race ends in a runoff after Tuesday's special election while Joy Cooper Teller appears to have won the District 8 seat on the Clayton County Board of Education. (Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images/TNS)

Two candidates for the Clayton County Commission District 1 seat will meet again next month in a runoff while Joy Tellis Cooper appears to have prevailed as the next District 8 member of the south metro Atlanta community’s school board.

In unofficial results of Tuesday’s special election for District 1 County Commission, Alieka Anderson and Alaina Reaves received the largest share of votes. However, neither received the more than 50% of the vote required to avoid a runoff.

Anderson and Reaves were two of 10 candidates hoping to win the seat that become vacant earlier this year after the sudden death of Commissioner Sonna Singleton Gregory.

The runoff is set for Oct. 19.

Cooper received about 62% of the vote in her contest against Arvis Walker for the District 8 seat on the Clayton County Board of Education. The post became available after Anderson, the previous representative, declared her intention to run for County Commission.