Just more than 6,000 people cast their ballots in a Fulton County commission race that narrowed a field of nine candidates to two. Those two candidates — one of whom will represent more than 127,000 voters in the south part of Fulton County — will be on the ballot again Tuesday in a runoff election.
The candidates are Joe Carn, a former College Park councilman, and Gordon Joyner, a former Fulton County commissioner. The pair were the top two vote-getters in the District 6 commission race. The seat they are running for has been vacant since this spring, when longtime county commissioner Emma Darnell died after an illness. The winner will serve for the rest of her unexpired term, which runs through the end of 2020.
Carn, who was first elected to the city council in 2005, lost his most recent reelection bid in 2017 when his opponent garnered 58 votes to his 56. A former employee in the county’s solicitor’s office — he resigned this summer, after qualifying for election — Carn said he always had a desire to serve his community. Now, he said he’s a co-owner of a consulting and publishing company.
“I know directly the needs of these cities from county government because I’ve been there and lived it,” he said. “I just want to enhance what they’re doing.”
Carn, 48, said he wants to improve communication to residents of the district, which includes unincorporated Fulton County, Chattahoochee Hills, Palmetto, Fairburn and Hapeville as well as parts of College Park, South Fulton, Union City, East Point and Atlanta.
Carn said he’s also interested in improving the county’s court system, including getting it more funding. He does not want to raise taxes. If elected, he said, he’ll do a full assessment to see where money could come from.
Carn said he couldn't speak to disagreements between the Fulton County development authority and those of some cities, and didn't want to comment on a legal dispute between Fulton County and the city of South Fulton regarding property the city wants the county to turn over. He also declined comment on the future of the unincorporated Fulton Industrial district, which both Atlanta and South Fulton want to be within their city limits.
He said he wasn’t familiar with the particulars and didn’t have all the information to be able to make judgments on the disputes. He did say, when it came to property, that he thought the county “should treat all cities fairly.”
Carn said he thought transit could be good for the area, but needed more resident input.
Channel 2 Action News reported earlier this summer that Carn was campaigning on county property, which is not allowed. He called it “a misstep” and said he had taken steps to make sure it didn’t happen again.
Both he and Joyner said one of their priorities is to build a new senior center in the district.
Joyner, who was a county commissioner from 1987 to 1998, lost his own close race for a state senate seat in 1998 when a recount took him from leading by 6 votes to down by 1. A judge ordered a new election later that year, which he lost by a wider margin. A lawyer, Joyner has also been an Atlanta municipal court judge and has worked in both the Carter and Reagan administrations in fair housing enforcement.
Joyner, 69, said he’s running for office again as a way to put his experience to work. He wants to get more services for seniors, including enhanced at-home services and more access to educational programs. Joyner said economic development is hugely important to the area, and he wants to enable smart growth and make the south part of the county a “new Silicon Valley.”
“We are situated in a way that nobody else can compete with us,” he said. “We just have to crown all that off with the best leadership. It will put south Fulton in an upward spiral that has no limits.”
Joyner said the issues the county faces are increasingly legal in nature, and his experience would be valuable on that front. He said he sees the role of commissioner as a convener, booster and advocate for the county, and thinks he can help “eliminate conflict, animosity, friction.”
Joyner said he thinks the dispute between South Fulton and the county can be worked out without a lawsuit, and said he thinks the Fulton Industrial area should be annexed into South Fulton.
He wants to improve public safety, including coordination with 911. He said he is in favor of light rail in the south part of the county, saying there is a “blank-page opportunity” to be creative in bringing both transit and economic development to the area.
The polls are open Tuesday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
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