Addressing Decatur’s city commission Monday night, former commissioner (1998-2002) John Ridley asked for an “amicable termination of the contract [with Cousins Properties] on the Callaway Building property.” Instead of the tentative 361 apartments planned for the site, Ridley wants the land going to City Schools Decatur.
“[CSD] has an enrollment and facilities problem,” Ridley said during an interview with the AJC. “The city needs to quit putting the profit motives of developers ahead of the school system.”
Ridley, 60, who’s running for the city commission seat that Mayor Jim Baskett will vacate at year’s end, also wants the city to begin electing its mayor at the ballot box. Since at least the early 20th century Decatur has appointed the position each January from its five-person commission, now the only metro-area city to do so.
“It’s time for that to end,” Ridley said. “The way I’m putting it, a vote for me means [the city] wants an elected mayor.”
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