Ferdinand knows about longevity in public office. The AJC has been digging into his operations for years, exposing how he earns nearly $400,000 through extra fees, how he profits off tax liens and how his practice of selling liens to private collectors has cost taxpayers millions.

On Monday he visited the Atlanta school board to explain the taxation process. It was the first time in about 18 years he’d made the trip, he told the board.

Wow, 18 years, Carstarphen mused. “You people do stick around,” she told him.

“See there’s hope,” Ferdinand told her.

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These kits are being distributed to public schools across Georgia to help students who suffer an opioid overdose. (Courtesy of Georgia Department of Education)

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Former Fulton County election worker Ruby Freeman talks to her daughter, Wandrea ArShaye "Shaye" Moss, a former Georgia election worker, after she testified before the U.S. House Select Committee at its fourth hearing on its Jan. 6 investigation on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on Tuesday, June 21, 2022. (Yuri Gripas/Abaca Press/TNS)

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