Jonathan Elmore was sworn in as the new mayor of Avondale Estates on Monday, filling the vacancy left by Ed Rieker who resigned Oct. 1.

The 49-year-old, self-employed architect who’s lived in Avondale since 2007, defeated four other candidates in last week’s special election. Elmore ran on a pro-annexation platform, but said his first priority is starting an education committee. He says he wants to close the gap between the city and the DeKalb County school system.

“We need to get the community more involved with Avondale Elementary,” he said. “This city was once very supportive of its schools. We can do that again.”

Avondale currently has only the one school, though annexation could add three more school properties.

Elmore’s term lasts until Dec. 31. He will have to run again for the full four-year duration on Nov. 3.

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