There’s a three-way race to become Stone Mountain’s next mayor, and whoever wins will inherit a split council, a lagging downtown business district and a debate over pandemic policies.
That’s not to mention the world’s largest monument to the Confederacy that literally looms over the city, making it the site of protests and armed standoffs between demonstrators. Stone Mountain Park and its controversial carving are not in the city limits and are owned by the state and overseen by a board of directors.
Patricia Wheeler, who has served as mayor for 18 years off-and-on since the 1980s, is not running for reelection, so change is inevitable this election cycle. Beverly Jones, Andrea Redmond and Eileen Smith are vying to become her successor, and each told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution they want to focus on healing divisions within both the community and City Council.
Several recent council meetings have gone off the rails with councilmembers accusing each other of censorship and grandstanding. While the mayor votes only in the event of a tie in Stone Mountain, the mayoral candidates said bridging divides among leadership is a top priority, and they each say they’re the one whose leadership style will yield the best results.
Early voting began Tuesday, and Election Day is Nov. 2. Here’s what each candidate says they will accomplish if elected.
Beverly Jones
A former Stone Mountain councilmember, Jones said her prior experience allows her to slip back into city leadership and immediately get things done. She’s lived in Stone Mountain for about 24 years. When she was on council, she said each member chaired a specific committee, which gave each person an area of expertise and topic they could own. She said she’d bring that back.
“I think that if we give them specific projects to work on, it won’t be as much conflict when we get to the table, because they’ll already have their work done, their research,” Jones said. “Everybody will have something to focus on opposed to bringing each other down.”
She’s open to the idea of mandating city employees to get a COVID-19 vaccine or weekly coronavirus testing, a policy debated among the current council. She was skeptical of vaccinations until two of her cousins died from the virus and it infected her sister and seven nieces and nephews.
“I was very anti-getting the shot until people start dying — sickness and death in my family — and those who had it are survivors,” she said, adding that she would bring in experts to better educate skeptical city employees on the benefits of getting the shot.
Jones said city leadership needs to fill empty storefronts along Main Street by working more diligently with prospective business owners, whether that be during the permit process or with rezoning applications. She also wants to increase patrols and police visibility throughout the city.
She said the city needs to prop up its own brand to make it clear it isn’t the Stone Mountain Park, while also looking to capitalize on the thousands of visitors. She mentioned holding a roundtable might help alleviate the tensions from prior protests.
“That’s why we have our own branding. That’s why we’re going to build up on our brand as the City of Stone Mountain,” she said. “We’re going to change the face of it — where people won’t be afraid to come to Stone Mountain thinking that they’re going to get hurt or anything’s going to happen to them.”
More information on Jones’ campaign can be found on her Facebook page, Beverly Jones 4 Mayor.
Andrea Redmond
A teacher for 30 years and a former Stone Mountain councilmember, Redmond said her prior experience and community involvement bolster her mayoral run. She’s a Stone Mountain native who also remembers when councilmembers had specific committees to call their own, which she would bring back. She added that virtual meetings have not helped tensions among leaders and residents.
“Because it has been Zoom too, a lot of people feel very uninhibited,” Redmond said. “I think in-person it will change. It just cannot be tolerated, and the fussing and the arguing needs to stop.”
Redmond said the rate of vaccinated city employees will never be 100%, citing different personal health concerns and conditions, but she encourages everyone who is able to get vaccinated for COVID-19.
She said the city has unused special purpose local option sales tax (SPLOST) funds that should be used, adding that she would support the city’s downtown development authority to attract business to the village. She said getting the city’s police department more resources, such as virtual crime mapping software, would help them better use the officers they have.
“I think we can deter crime with cameras and the increase of streetlights, but also I want data mapping,” Redmond said. “... That really allows the police and the police chief to know what’s going on (and) where.”
Redmond said she knows both the good and bad portions of Stone Mountain’s history, and she said the city can better lean into its more positive chapters. She mentioned creating an African American museum about the city’s history and redeveloping a historic train depot into a museum on the city’s immigrant and granite mining history.
“I don’t think we really promote the good history, and we dwell on the bad history,” she said. “We have so much more than just that mountain, and I just feel like we need to move ourselves on.”
More information on Redmond’s campaign can be found on her website, andreaformayor.org.
Eileen Smith
A real estate agent who chose to annex her home into Stone Mountain about three years ago, Smith has lived in the area for about 17 years. She said the role of mayor needs to be more present during meetings to maintain order.
“I’m very frustrated with the lack of communication among councilmembers,” she said. “I‘d like to see what we could do to come together and to actually listen to one another, because right now, I don’t think they’re listening.”
She said she’d help city staff members respond to comments residents make during meetings, which have increased in number since city meetings moved to virtual calls. Smith added that Stone Mountain should implement regular testing for COVID-19 if they aren’t vaccinated.
“I think if there are employees that are not willing to get vaccinated, a regular testing schedule should probably be devised,” she said. “Businesses need to decide about their own mask and vaccination policy. I don’t think the city should dictate that.”
Smith said crime in Stone Mountain isn’t particularly high, but she said increasing patrols and trying to better staff the police department are among her goals. She also said supporting the city’s downtown development authority would help increase business in the village in addition to efforts to attract visitors from Stone Mountain Park.
“There are people that believe there should be changing in the park, and that’s completely up to the park,” Smith said. “But I think we need to capitalize on the fact that the park is there.”
More information on Smith’s campaign can be found on her Facebook page, Eileen Wrede Smith.
Her husband, Ryan Smith, is also running for a Post 6 council seat against challengers Teresa Crowe and Anthony Hernandez-Wallen. Incumbent Jasmine Little is not seeking reelection. Four candidates are running for Post 4, currently held by Diana Roe Hollis, and two candidates qualified for Post 5 seat, currently held by Shawnette Bryant.
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