Decatur Mayor Pro Tem won’t run again
Decatur Mayor Pro Tem Kecia Cunningham, who’s been on the current city commission longer than anyone except Mayor Jim Baskett, told the AJC Sunday night she will not seek re-election.
She said her DUI arrest in June didn’t affect her decision.
“There have been changes in my personal life,” Cunningham said, “and I’ve [had plans] that have actually been in the works for two years.”
Cunningham, 49, won’t yet elaborate on her future prospects. Originally from New York City, she moved to the South (Charleston, SC) in the fourth grade. She graduated from Agnes Scott in 1987 before moving to Decatur in 1994. At the urging of former mayor Elizabeth Wilson, she ran for and won her first commission seat in 1999. She remains only the second African-American woman (Wilson was the first) to serve on Decatur’s commission.
Cunningham added that in 1999 she was also the first open Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual & Transgender candidate elected in the deep South.
Baskett—who’s also announced he won’t run—along with Cunningham and Scott Drake are the only commissioners up for re-election this fall. Qualifying for candidates is Aug. 31-Sept. 4, with the election Nov. 3.
