Minnesota transplant Blaine Peters was among a small but steady stream of voters who filed into St. Luke’s Episcopal Church on Peachtree Street on Tuesday morning to vote in city elections for school board members, mayor and more.
Peters said he voted for incumbent school board members Brenda J. Muhammad and Courtney English after researching the candidates Monday night and considering the endorsements made by Stonewall Democrats and others.
“To me, the most important thing is honesty, and then the results will follow,” Peters said.
He wants school board members willing to look nationally for a new superintendent and then select a person who is a good manager as opposed to a politician, he said.
Polls opened at 7 a.m. and, by 9:30, about 60 people had voted at this southeast Atlanta precinct, including Atlantan Arlease Brady.
Brady skipped over the school board races, feeling she didn’t know enough about the candidates to make an informed choice, she said.
Brady, who is a homeowner in downtown, said she voted to give Mayor Kasim Reed another term. She said she’s encouraged by downtown revitalization efforts, such as the street car, and wants to see those continue.
Twenty-six people are running for seats on the Atlanta School Board. One of their first priorities will be the selection of a replacement to retiring Superintendent Erroll Davis Jr.
Davis replaced Superintendent Beverly Hall on July 1, 2011 amid an increasing public outcry over allegations of widespread test cheating during Hall’s tenure.
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