Eshé Collins defeated Nicole “Nikki” Evans Jones in the runoff election for the Post 3 citywide Atlanta City Council seat Tuesday, with all precincts reporting in Fulton and DeKalb counties.
Collins will serve the remainder of the term vacated by former council member Keisha Sean Waites, ending Dec. 31, 2025.
All of Tuesday night’s results are unofficial until county election boards certify them.
Runoff elections were held in 18 races across 13 counties in Georgia. They were required under state law for seats where no candidate won a majority of votes in last month’s general election.
Both Atlanta City Council candidates campaigned on their leadership experience in education. About 78,000 people voted for Evans Jones last month, while about 50,000 voted for Collins. Nearly 200,000 people overall voted in the five-way race last month on the same ballot as the presidential election.
The turnout was far smaller Tuesday, with only about 20,000 people voting. Collins appeared to win by double-digits.
In DeKalb County, Nicole Massiah defeated Andrew W. Bell for the southwestern District 3 county commission seat. And LaDena Bolton beat Jacqueline Adams in District 7, one of two “super districts” that divide the county in half, overlapping the regular districts. District 7 covers the eastern half of DeKalb.
Both seats on the seven-member DeKalb County Commission have been vacant since March, when their previous holders qualified to run for county CEO. Former District 7 Commissioner Lorraine Cochran-Johnson won the CEO position in a summer primary.
In Doraville, Taylor Ray defeated Andy Yeoman for a city council seat. And with all but one precinct reporting in East Point, Shean Atkins appeared to trounce Jermaine Wright for the Ward B at-large city council seat.
In Gwinnett County’s new city of Mulberry, Doug Ingram defeated Michele Y. Sims for a city council seat, according to unofficial results. Voters in northeastern Gwinnett County approved the city’s creation in a May referendum. The other four city council members were elected last month.
Gwinnett County and two Mulberry residents have filed several lawsuits aiming to invalidate the city. The Mulberry charter, which voters approved in the referendum, bars the city from levying its own property taxes and spells out which services it will provide. Gwinnett County argues those provisions violate the city’s home rule powers under the state constitution.
The charter also prohibits Gwinnett County from changing the zoning of any property in the city limits during a transition period that could last until the end of 2026. The county says that provision is illegal.
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