The clock is ticking on David Belle Isle’s time left as mayor of Alpharetta.
At a city council meeting Monday night, Belle Isle said he will formally resign as mayor of the city on Feb. 21. This will allow him to qualify to run for the office of secretary of state for Georgia, and allow Alpharetta to hold a special election to replace him on May 22.
“All of these things that we’ve had such fun being a part of, are some of the things that make me think that I can do something for a larger body, that being the state of Georgia,” Belle Isle said Monday night.
On Feb. 13, as part of his annual “State of the City” address, Belle Isle will offer farewell remarks and look back on his time as mayor. He’ll resign at a city council meeting eight days later.
READ | Alpharetta detective fired for taking $4K in bathroom during drug raid
READ | Georgia Senate honors North Fulton football team
“It will be an emotional day for me,” Belle Isle said in a statement. “I love Alpharetta, and being entrusted by my fellow Alpharettans to serve as their mayor for the past six years has been a great honor that has meant more to me than I can truly express. It’s the best job I have ever had.”
Belle Isle was first elected to the Alpharetta City Council in 2007, and then became mayor in 2012. He is currently in the midst of his second term as mayor, which ends in 2019. When he exits the office, Alpharetta will hold a special election and elect a mayor to fill his term.
Business and technology grew in Alpharetta under Belle Isle’s watch. He saw the construction of Avalon, the mixed-use development with shops, residences, restaurants, business space and a hotel.
READ | 3 North Fulton cities are among safest in Georgia, study says
READ | Roswell approves turning an old fire station into a makerspace
In 2017, Jackson Healthcare announced it was building a $120 million expansion facility to add more than 1,400 new jobs in Alpharetta. More than 640 tech-based companies call Alpharetta home.
“This is a community that will rise to any challenge,” Belle Isle said. “The most important thing that I did as mayor was to create opportunities for others to think big and take bold actions. If I have been successful in this job, and I truly hope that our citizens feel that I have been, it is only because of the efforts of the city council and so many other Alpharetta leaders.”
The state of the city address will be on Feb. 13 at the Hotel at Avalon, beginning at 7:30 a.m.
In discussing his resignation with the council members Monday night, Belle Isle said that council members looking to run for his mayoral seat will also need to resign on Feb. 21, so that a special election can be held on that same date — May 22 — to fill the open council seats.
The special elections will not cost the residents or the city of Alpharetta any money, as it will be held concurrent with the state and county elections for Republican and Democrat primaries, the mayor said.
Like North Fulton County News Now on Facebook | Follow on Twitter
MORE LOCAL NEWS...
About the Author
