One week ago it appeared no one was going to run for mayor of Avondale Estates, but on Wednesday Navy vet John Pomberg became the second person to qualify, and City Clerk Juliette Sims believes there may be more coming before Friday’s 4:30 p.m. deadline.

Pomberg, 69, was a commissioned naval officer from 1967 to 1988 and a prison safety officer for another 15 years at two different facilities in Iowa, where he lived most of his life before retiring and moving to Avondale in Oct. 2012.

He joins architect Paul Brown who qualified Monday. The special election to complete the unexpired term of Ed Rieker is March 17, a term that lasts only until Dec. 31, meaning another mayoral election is required on Nov. 3.

Mayor Pro Tem Terry Giager has served as acting mayor since Rieker’s October resignation.

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Ceudy Gutierrez reads a book to her 2-year-old son, Matias, at their home in Buford, GA, on Tuesday, Nov. 18, 2025. Ceudy Gutierrez is struggling to make ends meet for herself and her three young kids following her husband’s ICE arrest earlier this fall. (Miguel Martinez/ AJC)

Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez