Special elections being held Tuesday

While many metro Atlanta residents will be focused on St. Patrick’s Day festivities, some will head to voting booths to participate in local special elections.

In Atlanta, residents will decide whether to approve Mayor Kasim Reed’s plan to issue $250 million in bonds to help fix the city’s aging infrastructure.

Voters in the city will be asked to approve two separate bonds that will address a growing backlog of needed repairs to the city’s roads, bridges, sidewalks and buildings. The first, worth $188 million, will be spent on transportation. The second bond, about $64 million, will fund municipal buildings and recreation centers.

Reed’s administration has identified more than 200 proposed projects that they say the two bonds will address, such as synchronizing traffic lights, repaving streets, installing bike lanes and upgrading buildings.

Polls will be open 7 a.m. until 7 p.m. at all of the regular and established Atlanta polling places.

In College Park, residents there will select a new councilman for Ward 4 and a Freeport Tax Exemption. In Jonesboro, voters will decide who will fill the unexpired term of former Councilman Randy Segner.

A new mayor will be selected for Avondale Estates to fill the remaining term of Edward Rieker. Rieker resigned from the post.

Voters should check with their local elections office to determine if there are races in their area.