Three longtime, south Fulton County mayors have drawn challengers — in College Park’s case, five of them. And across Fulton county, residents in several cities will have new council members representing them. Residents in 12 metro Atlanta cities will be able to cast ballots in November’s municipal elections.
Here are the candidates for cities across Fulton County:
• Alpharetta
Mayor Jim Gilvin, Post 5 Councilman Jason Binder and Post 4 Councilman John Hipes drew no challengers. But there are three people running for Post 6: incumbent Dan Merkel, biomedical scientist Abu Bakkar Ngila Jalloh and retired chief information officer Clifford Martin. There will also be two ballot measures on the possible expansion of the city’s homestead property tax exemption.
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• Chattahoochee Hills
For the District 1 council seat, Ruby Foster is running against incumbent Rick Stephens. In council District 3, Anita McGinnis faces Laurie Searle. And in council District 5, the candidates are Troy Bettis, Sarah Davis, Renee Prince and Ross Williams.
• College Park
Longtime mayor Jack Longino has drawn five challengers. They are Pamela Gay, Ronald Fears, Kaseem Ladipo, Bianca Motley Broom and John Duke. There will also be races for city council. In Ward 1, incumbent Ambrose Clay will face Thomas Kuziniacki and Kathleen McQueen. In Ward 3, Ken Allen will be on the ballot with incumbent Tracey Wyatt and Sharonda Cody Boyd.
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• East Point
No one is running uncontested in East Point. The Ward A race had pitted Lance Robertson against Davion Lewis, but Lewis was disqualified after about a week of early voting due to a residency issue. Lewis will remain on the ballot. For the Ward B seat, the candidates are incumbent Thomas Calloway and Marie Terry Williams. Incumbent Myron Cook and former mayor Earnestine Pittman will vie for the Ward C seat. Candidates for Ward D include incumbent Stephanie Gordon, Erica Clemmons Dean and Eddie Lee Brewster.
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• Fairburn
There are four candidates for three at-large council seats in Fairburn. They are Willis Earl Ray and incumbents Linda J. Davis, Patrick Pallend and Andrew James Whitmore, Jr.
• Hapeville
Alan Hallman, who has been mayor of Hapeville since 2004, will run against Rod Mack. There are three candidates for the Alderman at Large seat: Lucy Dolan, Michael T. Rast and Brian Wismer. Additionally, Hapeville residents will vote on an expansion of the homestead exemption, and a second expansion of the homestead exemption for seniors, veterans and disabled residents.
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• Johns Creek
There will be three races, all contested, in Johns Creek. Post 2 Councilman Jay Lin has decided not to seek re-election. Brian Weaver, Dilip Tunki and Royce Reinecke have qualified as candidates for that seat. For post 4, the candidates are Adam Thomas, incumbent Chris Coughlin, Kent Altom and Marybeth Cooper. And in Post 6, where councilman Steve Broadbent has also decided not to seek re-election, the candidates are Erin Elwood, Issure C. Yang and Judy LeFave.
• Milton
Carol Cookerly, who holds Post 2 for District 1, and Rick Mohrig, who holds Post 2 for District 3, will face no challengers. Matt Kunz, the councilman who held Post 2 for District 2, decided not to run for re-election. Judy Burds and Paul Moore will run for that seat.
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• Mountain Park
There will be three new council members, but no election. Mayor Jim Still, Jr. did not draw a challenger and there are four candidates for four at-large city council seats. They are incumbent Mark Murphy, Carol Silver, Lloyd Hendricks and Linda Dixon.
• Palmetto
J. Clark Boddie has been mayor since 1986, except for a four-year period from 2008 to 2011 when he was defeated at the ballot box. He’ll have two challengers this year, Michael Arnold and Torrance Stephens. The city will also have a council race where the top three vote-getters will be elected. In addition to incumbent Patty O’Hara-Willey, the candidates are Robert Deon Arnold, Scott Cannon, Robert Montgomery, Larry Adam Parrott, Martell Pee and Teresa Thomas-Smith.
• Roswell
There are three city council elections and one race for municipal judge. All four are contested. For Post 1, former council member Donald J. Horton will face off against incumbent Marcelo Zapata. Vying for Post 2 are incumbent Michael Palermo and Geoff Smith. Post 3 Councilman Sean Groer decided not to seek re-election. Keith Goeke, Christine Hall, Lisa Holland and Kay Howell are set to run for that seat. And the municipal judge race features incumbent Brian Hansford and Philip Mansell.
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• South Fulton
Four council seats are on the ballot in South Fulton. In District 1, Mathis Ben Colquitt is running against Catherine Foster Rowell, the incumbent. Helen Zenobia Willis does not have a challenger for the District 3 seat. In District 5, incumbent Rosie Jackson will face Corey Alan Reeves, Clyde Eugene Sampson II and Duane L. McClain. In District 7, the candidates are Mark Baker, the incumbent, and Eric L. Richardson. Residents will also vote on two ballot measures: one to allow the city to use tax allocation districts and another to create a homestead exemption for residents.
• Union City
There are three candidates for two council seats. They are Tonya Isles and incumbents Brian Jones and Christina Hobbs.
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