Leadership of Georgia's newest city will not go unchallenged.
At least three of the four council posts up for a vote in November will be contested. As of Tuesday, the second day of qualifying, 14 candidates were vying for the City Council jobs and part-time mayor's post.
"It's been coming in hot and heavy," DeKalb County Elections Chief Maxine Daniels said of the steady flow of candidates at the office. "With this many candidates, chances are we'll have a runoff, but who knows?"
A runoff, which would be held a month after the Nov. 6 vote, could hamper the north-central DeKalb city's ability to start operations as planned on Dec. 17. Elected officials will be sworn in as soon as election results are certified, but only the City Council can approve the local laws and contracts needed for the city to launch.
"I am confident we will be able at least to adopt our codes and take over zoning" by December, said J. Max Davis, so far the sole candidate for mayor
"It's not going to happen overnight, but it's going to happen," said Davis, an attorney who was central to advocating for the new city as president of Brookhaven Yes.
Qualifying to help with that work from District 1, the heavily populated northern area of the city, are J.D. Clockadale, Alan Cole, Kevin Fitzpatrick and Rebecca Chase Williams.
District 2 has drawn two candidates: Larry Hurst and Brookhaven Yes board member Russell Mitchell.
The south-central District 3 has attracted the most interest, with five candidates so far: Hope Bawcom, Bates Mattison, Ben Podgor, Julia Russo and Erik Steavens.
Two candidates have filed to run for the District 4 seat in the new city's southern end: Joe Gebbia and Kerry Witt.
Qualifying continues at the DeKalb Voter Registration and Elections office through Wednesday.
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