Atlanta and Fulton County voters approved new sales taxes for transportation Tuesday, while Gwinnett County voters passed a similar tax for roads, parks and other construction projects.
Elsewhere, voters in DeKalb and Fulton counties decided to create new cities. And voters elected a slew of new county commissioners, sheriffs and other local officials. Here’s a look at the top local races.
Atlanta
Atlanta voters approved two measures increasing the city’s sales tax by almost a penny.
One measure would allow a half penny increase for MARTA that would raise $2.5 billion over the next 40 years for light rail, more buses and infill stations. The other would allow a four-tenths of a penny sales tax increase to synchronize traffic signals, fix roads and raise about $66 million to buy the remaining right-of-way for Atlanta BeltLine.
Cobb County
Cobb County Sheriff Neil Warren, a Republican, won his re-election bid against Democratic challenger Gregory Gilstrap. Warren, a 30-year veteran of the Sheriff’s Office, is best known for his tough stance on illegal immigration.
DeKalb County
Mike Thurmond won the race for DeKalb County’s CEO. Thurmond, a Democrat and former DeKalb school system superintendent, faced Republican Jack Lovelace.
DeKalb voters are electing two new county commissioners. Steve Bradshaw, a Democrat and business development manager, won the race to represent a Stone Mountain-area district, defeating Republican Willie Willis. Bradshaw unseated incumbent Commissioner Sharon Barnes Sutton in a July primary runoff election.
The race to represent a super district covering the eastern half of DeKalb appeared to be heading to a runoff. Nine candidates are competing in the race to replace former Commissioner Stan Watson, who resigned to make an unsuccessful run for tax commissioners.
Democratic Sheriff Jeff Mann won re-election, and voters favored renewing a tax break for homeowners in early returns.
Voters also agreed to create the city of Stonecrest. About 50,000 people would live in the city, the county’s fourth new municipality in recent years, following in the footsteps of Dunwoody, Brookhaven and Tucker.
Fulton County
Fulton County voters approved a three-quarter penny transportation tax. The measure would raise up to $655 million over five years to widen roads, fill potholes, fix bridges and add sidewalks in each of Fulton’s cities and the county’s unincorporated area.
Residents also approved creating the City of South Fulton, which would include nearly 100,000 people.
Gwinnett County
Voters approved a proposed a 1-cent sales tax for roads, parks, libraries and other construction projects. The tax would generate $950 million over six years.
In two races for the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners, incumbent Republican Chairman Charlotte Nash defeated Democrat Jim Shealey, while incumbent Republican Commissioner Tommy Hunter defeated Democrat Jasper Watkins III.
Henry County
June Wood defeated Carlotta Harrell in the race for chairman of the Henry County Commission. Current chairman Tommy Smith, who chose not to run for re-election.
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