Several mayors in cities across DeKalb County successfully fended off challenges to their posts during Tuesday’s elections. Incumbent mayors in Avondale Estates, Brookhaven, Stonecrest and Pine Lake were reelected, according to final, unofficial vote tallies.
The race in Doraville is headed to a runoff, as none of the four candidates received more than 50% of the vote. Residents in Dunwoody and Lithonia picked new leaders, as the sitting mayors in both cities did not run for reelection.
Countywide, voters rejected a controversial proposal that would have restructured the county ethics board.
Here is a city-by-city breakdown of the mayoral election results in DeKalb:
Doraville: Incumbent Mayor Donna Pittman will face off against former councilman Joseph Geierman in a runoff Dec. 3. Geierman received about 39% of the vote, while about 28% of voters chose Pittman.
In a tweet, Geieirman pointed out that he received more votes than the incumbent and thanked his supporters. Pittman posted on Facebook that "there has been a lot of distortions and underhanded political tricks but we are ready to "Stand Up" for Doraville."
Dunwoody: Councilwoman Lynn Deutsch was elected the next mayor of Dunwoody, receiving about 61% of the vote over fellow Councilman Terry Nall. Deutsch said in a speech to supporters Tuesday night that she was "so humbled" by the results. Nall wrote in a tweet that he was "disappointed" by the outcome, but congratulated Deutsch.
Lithonia: The small DeKalb city elected Councilwoman Shameka Reynolds as mayor over Cindy Thomas by a vote of 245 to 157.
Stonecrest: Mayor Jason Lary avoided a runoff, receiving about 55% of the vote. He defeated two challengers, Charles Hill Jr. and former councilwoman Diane Adoma, who were staunchly critical of his first two years in office. Stonecrest is DeKalb's newest city, electing Lary as its first mayor in 2017.
Avondale Estates: A race for mayor that divided residents has come to a close, with incumbent Jonathan Elmore defeating former city manager Clai Brown with about 57% of the vote. Nearly 60% of Avondale's 2,750 voters cast a ballot in the election.
Brookhaven: Mayor John Ernst coasted to re-election with about two-thirds of the vote over local community activist Jennifer Heath. He thanked his opponent for a "spirited race."
Pine Lake: Mayor Melanie Hammet Schnitzer ran unopposed and was reelected.
In several cities in DeKalb, incumbent city council members were unseated by challengers. Chamblee Councilman Tom Hogan was unseated after more than 10 years in office. He was defeated by Karen Lupton, who received 58% of the vote.
In Clarkston, Andrea Cervone lost her spot on council by just 12 votes, according to the unofficial tally. She failed to be one of the top three vote-getters in a six-way contest. Incumbent Awet “Howard” Eyasu received the most votes, followed by Debra Johnson and Laura Hopkins.
Maria Alexander, a former Doraville city council member, unseated sitting Councilwoman Shannon Hillard Cu to reclaim the district 3 post. And in Stone Mountain, sitting councilors Richard Mailman and Bernie Waller lost to Gina Stroud Cox and Clint Monroe, respectively.
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