Standing before a packed Decatur Conference Center of several hundred Tuesday Mayor Patti Garrett delivered her first State of the City address.
Garrett, the third woman mayor in Decatur, introduced new commissioners Brian Smith and Tony Powers saying, “this is the first time in forever we’ve had two new commissioners the same year.”
Powers, she added, is the city’s first black male commissioner. The two newcomers replaced commissioners who had a combined 36 years experience.
It was also Decatur’s first State of the City featuring a reading from a national poet laureate. City resident Natasha Trethewey, U.S. poet laureate from 2012-14 and 2007 Pulitzer Prize winner was introduced by Powers, a longtime friend and fellow UGA grad.
“Considering she was a former cheerleader,” Powers said, “Natasha’s done pretty good.”
In her main address Garrett spoke briefly on several upcoming concerns including annexation, which she believes, as far as this year’s legislature is concerned, is an “uphill battle.”
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