Atlanta mayoral candidate Lisa Borders countered Tuesday’s endorsement by former mayor Andrew Young of state Sen. Kasim Reed (D-Atlanta) with some of her own Friday.
Several religious and community leaders lent their support to Borders, the City Council president.
They included the Rev. Darrell Elligan, president of Concerned Black Clergy , the Rev. Timothy McDonald, pastor of First Iconium Baptist Church and Elizabeth Omilami, who runs Hosea Feed The Hungry and Homeless.
“[Borders] has shown and demonstrated leadership in uniting the city,” said Elligan. “She’s sensitive to the least, the less, the lost and those left behind.”
The backdrop for the endorsements was Wheat Street Towers, a senior citizen building that was the brainchild of Borders’ grandfather, the late William Holmes Borders, the famed pastor who successfully pushed to integrate Atlanta’s police force.
With polls showing at least 30 percent of Atlantans are undecided about their choice for mayor, the battle for votes — particularly African-Americans — is critical. About 51 percent of Atlanta voters identify themselves as black, according to Fulton County data. The data includes DeKalb County residents who live in city limits.
Nearly all of the ministers who endorsed Borders Friday are African-American. Reed, city councilwoman Mary Norwood and attorney Jesse Spikes are also making a push for black voters.
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