Before new members of the Snellville City Council officially take office, they have already formed an alliance for one of their most important votes in the next four years.
In the hotly contested -- and highly contentious -- mayoral race, they've all announced that they're siding with Barbara Bender over Kelly Kautz.
“I support Barbara Bender for mayor because she takes action and delivers. She isn’t all lip service,” councilwoman-elect Diane Kruse said in a joint statement released late Thursday night.
With only a few days left until voters cast their ballots, the division among Snellville's political leaders is especially pronounced, now that Mayor Jerry Oberholtzer is stepping down, term-limited following an eight-year stint in office.
Vying for his seat are Bender and Kautz, former council rivals and now competitors on the campaign trail. Their race has been a mere continuation of their past four years at the dais, which often found them on the opposite side of pivotal issues such as millage tax rates and economic development.
And now, just as then, Bender has more support among her colleagues.
Bender has already lined up endorsements from incoming council members Krause, Dave Emanuel, Bobby Howard and current councilman Tom Witts. Kautz has received support only from council member Mike Sabbagh, one of her consistent allies over the past two years.
Kautz was undaunted, saying she is making her case to Snellville residents and not council members.
"If I do win, they’ll have to work with me," said Kautz, a 34-year-old attorney. "And if [Bender] is elected, I hope she takes the same consideration. I hope they realize they're being elected to represent the entire city."
Bender, the former mayor pro tem and an accountant, said all of the support among her colleagues is proof that Snellville is poised for a new era of cooperation after a developing a reputation for political gridlock and legal turmoil.
"When I'm out knocking on doors, one of the major things I hear is, ‘I just want all the fighting to stop,'" Bender, 47, said. "And honestly, it depends on who's elected. I can tell you that if I get in there, it's over."
Oberholtzer said no one has asked for his endorsement, nor has he offered to give one. If anything, the normally pugnacious Oberholtzer sounds relieved to be out of the fray.
"It's nice to sit on the sidelines," he said.
In other mayoral races around Gwinnett County, Lilburn Mayor Diana Preston will seek reelection in the face of a stiff challenge from Councilman Johnny Crist. Suwanee Councilman Jimmy Burnette will compete against Dan Pittman in the race to replace Dave Williams. Incumbent mayors in Auburn, Berkeley Lake, Dacula, Grayson and Norcross did not draw opponents and will return to their seats.
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