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Kasim Reed Prevails In Mayoral Recount, Mary Norwood Concedes

Denise Dunbar — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 20:16:07 +0000

Kasim Reed won the Atlanta mayor’s race by 714 votes, a recount of the Dec. 1 runoff results showed Wednesday.

Reed won 42,549 votes while Mary Norwood won 41,835 votes, Fulton County officials said Wednesday.

At 2:30 p.m. Norwood conceded. “Here we are at the end of a very very long two years,” she said. “The recount results are final and now it is time to accept it. “

Norwood requested a recount Tuesday. State law allows a candidate who finished within 1 percent of the winning candidate to request a recount. The initial results showed Norwood finished within 0.84 percent of Reed.

Norwood is scheduled to discuss the results with reporters later Wednesday. Reed officials are scheduled to talk about the results afterward.

Slim Win For Atlanta Mayor Reveals Weakened Black Electorate

Atlanta Mayoral Hopeful Mary Norwood Files Request For Recount

Denise Dunbar — Tue, 08 Dec 2009 19:30:42 +0000

VIA: AJC.com

It’s official.

Atlanta mayoral hopeful Mary Norwood has filed a request with the Fulton County Registrations and Elections office calling for a recount of the Dec.1 vote that presumably saw Kasim Reed elected mayor.

Norwood lost the election by only 715 votes and under state law, she had until 5 p.m. today to call for a recount.

“She wants to make sure that we follow the process. She wants to make sure her supporters and all of the voters were handled correctly,” said Norwood’s campaign manager Roman Levit.

The recount will begin at 10 a.m. Wednesday.

Levit said Norwood would likely comment about the outcome Wednesday night.

“As soon as she is satisfied that all legitimate votes are counted, she will give the appropriate speech,” Levit said.

Kasim Reed Certified As Winner Of Mayoral Race, Norwood To Seek Recount

Carol Blackmon — Mon, 07 Dec 2009 18:00:10 +0000

VIA: CNN.com

An elections board certified Kasim Reed on Saturday as the winner of the Atlanta mayoral runoff election by a margin of 620 votes.

Barry Garner, director of Fulton County’s elections board, told CNN on Saturday that former state senator Reed was declared the winner of last Tuesday’s runoff election against City Councilwoman Mary Norwood.

Garner said Reed received 42,348 votes compared with Norwood’s 41,728.

Norwood has until 5 p.m. Tuesday to request a recount, Garner said. He said if a recount is requested, it will begin Wednesday morning.

In the initial vote among eight contenders, Norwood received 45 percent of the votes to Kasim Reed’s 37 percent. Lisa Borders came in a distant third with 14 percent of the vote, according to the Atlanta Journal-Constitution.

A candidate needs 50 percent plus one vote to avert a runoff.

Kasim Reed’s Lead Over Mary Norwood Grows

Carol Blackmon — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 15:25:01 +0000

VIA: AJC.com

Kasim Reed maintained his close lead over Mary Norwood in the Atlanta mayor’s race after a count of provisional ballots by Fulton County officials Thursday evening.

Reed now leads Norwood by 0.84 percent or 715 votes out of the 84,383 ballots cast in the election. The initial Tuesday tally found Reed led Norwood by 0.74 percent of the vote — a slim 620 votes.

Fulton County officials counted 299 ballots Thursday evening. They found 197 people voted for Reed and 102 voted for Norwood, said Barry Garner, the county’s elections supervisor. Of that count, the candidates gained two votes each from DeKalb provisional ballots.

Provisional ballots are given to people whose voter registration status is in dispute.

Norwood campaign officials had hoped Reed’s lead would narrow after counting the provisional ballots, strengthening their case for a recount. Still, Norwood will request a recount Monday after the votes are officially certified Saturday.

“This is why we go through the process,” said Norwood campaign manager Roman Levit. “Mary will be asking for a recount. We will ask for a recount at the earliest time that makes sense.”

Under state law, a candidate who loses by less than 1 percent of the votes cast has the right to request a recount.

Reed campaign manager Tharon Johnson said he was satisfied with the latest count.

“We’re very pleased with the very fair and organized process conducted by Fulton County, and we are delighted Mayor-elect Reed has gained 95 more votes to his lead,” Johnson said. “We are going to continue the transition to unite our city and move our city forward.”

Kasim Reed Claims Victory In Atlanta Mayor’s Race, Norwood Calls For Recount

Denise Dunbar — Wed, 02 Dec 2009 18:00:48 +0000

VIA: AJC.com

As Kasim Reed began making plans Wednesday for his first term as Atlanta’s mayor, opponent Mary Norwood still had not conceded defeat and said she will seek a recount.

“If I didn’t think there’s a possibility things mights change, that would be different,” said Norwood, who trails Reed by 750 votes. Mark Henderson with the Fulton County Elections Office told the AJC Wednesday all but about 700 provisional ballots had been counted. Those ballots cannot be tabulated until Thursday, the deadline for those voters to provide verification they were eligible.

“I think a recount, when you’re this close is appropriate, absolutely appropriate,” Norwood said during a Wednesday morning press conference at her headquarters.

“We came within a razor thin margin of not being able to say we’re the front runner today.”

Norwood said she has not heard from Kasim Reed, who declared victory shortly after midnight. In an interview on WAGA-TV, Reed said that if he is indeed the mayor-elect he “would like to have Mrs. Norwood involved in an important way if she would like to continue to be involved in municipal government.”

“I think that she has an important voice and I think that it’s vital that we work together to unify the city that we both love,” Reed said.

Norwood said Wednesday she would be open to working with Reed. “Any way I can help this city I would definitely consider it. “.

Reed said his first priority will be finding a new police chief.

“I’m looking for two things,” Reed said in a 6 a.m. interview on WSB-TV. “First of all, I want to find the best chief that we can possibly find in America, but I want a chief with specific expertise in dealing with organized gang activity. I believe that Atlanta has a growing gang problem that we’re not confronting enough in an aggressive enough way.”

Reed said he is also looking for a chief who “enjoys being among the citizens of Atlanta. I want a person that likes being on the ground, someone who is very present, active and involved in our local community … a chief that will be in neighborhoods, that will be at crime scenes directly.”

His campaign platform included hiring 750 police officers in his first term, fixing the pension crisis and providing more after-school activities by opening all of the city’s recreation centers.

The 40-year-old attorney said he would “respect the process” of a recount, though he sounded confident his lead would hold up.

“The fact of the matter is, Fulton County has counted all of the available ballots, including all of the absentee ballots and early vote ballots, and I have more than a 750-vote lead,” he said. “There are about 600 provisional ballots outstanding. If all of those provisional ballots went in favor of Mrs. Norwood, which is not likely, then she still would not have enough votes to become mayor.”

Reed, who was in single digits in the polls just three months ago, greeted an ebullient crowd at the Hyatt Regency Hotel downtown after midnight, announcing the razor-thin election results and adding, “And guess who’s going to be the 59th mayor of Atlanta?”

Reed led Norwood by 758 votes out of a total of more than 83,000 cast – a margin of 0.92 percent. It is a sign of how hotly contested this race was that nearly 11,000 more voters turned out for the runoff than for the general election in November.

“It is my hope tonight that we will unite this city and make Atlanta the city shining on a hill,” Reed told about 300 supporters at the Hyatt. “Tomorrow we have hard work to do to make Atlanta the best city in America.”

Under state law, a candidate who loses by less than 1 percent of the votes cast has the right to request a recount. Norwood has two days to do so after the vote is certified, which is expected on Saturday. As it became clear that she and Reed would nearly tie Tuesday night, Norwood said she would seek a recount if the count remained close and she came in second.

“We are not going to know for hours,” Norwood told supporters at her chosen election-night venue, The Varsity. “This is not something we will know in the next 15 minutes. . . . Tomorrow, we will see how this all turns out.”

Immediately after those remarks, Norwood got into her car and went home.

Reed’s declaration of victory early this morning drew no reaction from the Norwood camp. He announced it from a podium crowded with supporters and family, including council President Lisa Borders, who finished a distant third in the general election and endorsed Reed in the runoff.

The provisional ballots – those cast by voters who did not have proper identification at the polls and who have two days to provide ID to the county to make their votes count — will be certified Thursday. “By law we have 48 hours to certify those votes,” Garner said. “That time is spent researching those voters and verifying that they are eligible to vote.”

Kasim Reed And Mary Norwood Face Off In Final TV Debate

Denise Dunbar — Mon, 30 Nov 2009 05:09:34 +0000

VIA: AJC.com

Atlanta mayoral hopefuls Mary Norwood and Kasim Reed attacked each other’s records Sunday night during their final debate before Tuesday’s runoff election.

Norwood accused Reed, a former state senator, of being a political insider, but the sharpest attacks came from Reed. He said Norwood, a two-term city councilwoman, constantly “got it wrong” by, for example, voting along with the rest of the council in favor of pension plan changes in 2002 and 2005. The changes now mean the city is spending more than $100 million a year on its pension plans. Reed also complained Norwood’s vote against a property tax increase last year resulted in furloughs of police officers.

“Where have you been, Ms. Norwood?” Reed asked rhetorically.

Norwood has said she voted against the tax increase because city officials have not given her information she’s requested. Norwood reiterated that complaint Sunday and said she’s been an “outsider” at City Hall.

“Mary Norwood is not part of the current regime,” she said.

“And not getting very much done,” Reed immediately replied.

Norwood asked Reed whether he can truly make positive changes at City Hall. She accused Reed of taking campaign contributions from “special interests” and being endorsed by “every politician you can find.”

“How can you with a straight face promise to clean up the mess at City Hall?” she asked.

At one point during the debate, she called Reed the “protege” of Mayor Shirley Franklin. Reed worked as Franklin’s campaign manager for both of her mayoral victories and served as her transition co-chair.

The 30-minute debate was shown live on WSB-TV. Three recent polls suggest the race is a dead heat, and the candidates are battling fiercely to encourage their supporters and the few undecided residents to vote again Tuesday.

Kasim Reed And Mary Norwood Duke It Out In Mayoral Debate

Carol Blackmon — Mon, 23 Nov 2009 17:48:11 +0000

VIA: AJC.com

Atlanta mayoral candidates Mary Norwood and Kasim Reed dueled Sunday over endorsements, water meter lids, property taxes and the best way for the city to get more state funding.

The latest battle was over Reed’s suggestion that Norwood, a two-term city councilwoman, tried to avoid an important City Council vote on March 20, 2006. Reed noted during a hour-long debate aired live on Georgia Public Broadcasting that Norwood didn’t vote on an ordinance allowing gay and lesbian city workers to make their partners pension beneficiaries.

“She should have stood with the [gay and lesbian community],” said Reed, who gave up his state Senate seat to run for mayor.

Norwood said she might have left the City Council chamber when the vote occurred, but didn’t do so on purpose.

“I take responsibility for that [missing the vote],” she said.

Norwood campaign officials later noted the resolution was among many items on the agenda that were part of the council’s “consent agenda,” items that are voted upon at the same time with no discussion. Gays and lesbians are estimated to be at least 10 percent of Atlanta’s registered voters, and both campaigns see them as a vital swing vote to win the Dec. 1 runoff election.

Reed campaign officials weren’t buying the explanation.

“The one opportunity [Norwood] had to take a stand with the [gay and lesbian] community, she took a walk,” said Reed spokesman Reese McCranie.

Norwood went on the attack after Reed on his property taxes. An Atlanta Journal-Constitution review of six years’ worth of Reed’s taxes found Fulton County penalized him $837.41 for three late payments. A company that Reed is a minority holder in has been penalized about $3,500 for late payments. Norwood campaign officials say Reed is not being completely honest about the situation and argue the late payments show he should not be trusted to manage the city’s finances.

“It seems like you are part of the problem,” Norwood said at the debate, which was sponsored by the Atlanta Press Club.

Reed questioned Norwood’s ability to lead the city, noting that only one elected official, state Rep. Ralph Long of Atlanta, has endorsed her candidacy. Norwood countered that some officials “quietly” want her to win and said many of Reed’s supporters are “cronies” who have run City Hall for years and will not bring the changes Atlanta needs.

The two candidates also battled over Norwood’s recent television ad that suggested there are 150,000 water meter lids in the city “that don’t fit.” Reed said the actual number of problem lids is about 5,000, and the ad is one of several Norwood ads that have been misleading. Norwood said she’s learned that about 30 percent of the meters need to be “exchanged out.”

Reed questioned Norwood’s idea of getting more state aid for cities that have an influx of people during business hours. Reed said state lawmakers wouldn’t support the proposal.

Both candidates said they would seek state and federal help for Atlanta to improve traffic and address the region’s water supply challenges. They both said they had reservations about extending “last call” for alcohol from 2:30 a.m. to 4 a.m.

Early Voting Still Going On

Denise Dunbar — Thu, 19 Nov 2009 21:30:05 +0000

Early voting in Fulton and DeKalb started Wednesday, November 18 and continues until November 20. Advanced Voting, which will include more voting locations, starts next Monday, November 23 until November 25. You can vote at county offices listed below.

Fulton County Early Voting Places – 8:30 AM– 5:00 PM (11/20 – 11/23 )

Fulton County Government Center (Downtown)
141 Pryor Street, Suite 4064
(404) 612-7060

North Service Center
7741 Roswell Road, Room 209
(404) 613-7675

South ServiceCenter
5600 Stonewall Tell Road, Room 105
(404) 612-3050

Fulton County Advanced Voting Places – 8:30 AM – 5:00 PM (11/23 – 11/25)

Fulton County Government Center (Downtown)
141 Pryor Street, Suite 4064
(404) 612-7060

North Service Center
7741 Roswell Road, Room 209
(404) 613-7675

South Service Center
5600 Stonewall Tell Road, Room 105
(404) 612-3050

Adamsville Recreational Center
3201 Martin Luther King Jr. Drive SW
Atlanta, GA 30311
(404) 505-3181

North Atlanta High School
2875 Northside Drive
Atlanta, GA 30305

City of College Park
3631 Main Street
College Park, GA 30337

DeKalb County Early Voting Places – 8:00 AM – 5:00 PM (11/20 – 11/25)

Memorial Drive Complex, Suite 300
4380 Memorial Drive
Decatur, GA 30032

DeKalb County Advanced Voting Place – 8:00 AM – 7:00 PM (11/23 – 11/25)

Memorial Drive Complex, Suite 300
4380 Memorial Drive
Decatur, GA 30032

Voters will have the opportunity to participate in run-off elections for the following nine posts:
* Atlanta Mayor, between candidates Mary Norwood and Kasim Reid
* Atlanta City Council President, between candidates Ceasar Mitchell and Clair Muller
* Atlanta City Council Post 2 At-Large, between candidates Amir Farokhi and Aaron Watson
* Atlanta City Council District 6, between candidates Liz Coyle and Alex Wan
* City of College Park, City Council Ward 4, between candidates Charles E. Phillips Sr. and April Wright-Wyatt
* City of East Point Mayor, between candidates Joe Macon and Earnestine Pittman,
* East Point Council WA At-Large, between Greg Fann and Sharonda Hubbard
* City of Roswell Mayor, between candidates David Tolleson and Jere Wood.
* State House District 58, between candidates Simone Bell and Asha F. Jackson
* State Senate District 35, between candidates Donzella James and Torrey O Johnson.

All voters who were registered to vote before the October 5, 2009 deadline and who live within the municipalities where Run-Off Elections are taking place are eligible to vote in the December 1, 2009 run-off, even if they did not vote on November 3, 2009.

Lisa Borders Endorses Kasim Reed For Mayor Of Atlanta

Denise Dunbar — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 22:20:44 +0000

VIA: AJC.com Atlanta City Council President Lisa Borders endorsed Kasim Reed for mayor Wednesday, saying he was the best candidate to improve the city's finances. Reed, a former state lawmaker, is in a Dec. 1 runoff with Councilwoman Mary Norwood. Borders, who finished third in last week's general election for mayor, was courted by Norwood and Reed for her endorsement last week. "(Reed's) ideas for after sch... Read more..

Mayor’s Race: Reed And Norwood In Runoff December 1

Denise Dunbar — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 06:36:21 +0000

VIA: AJC.com

Atlanta has one more month and one more election to go before it chooses the city’s next mayor: Councilwoman Mary Norwood and former state Sen. Kasim Reed will face each other in a runoff Dec. 1.

With 100 percent of the vote counted, Norwood led the race with 45 percent. She maintained a comfortable margin throughout the vote counting Tuesday night but was unable to muster the 50 percent required to put the race away. Reed finished a strong second, with 37 percent, and City Council President Lisa Borders faded to a distant third with 14 percent in the eight-way race.

“I will hit the ground running,” a smiling Norwood vowed late Tuesday night, addressing a buoyant crowd at the Varsity, the unusual site of her election-night gathering. “I feel wonderful. We are 10 points ahead. I think that’s a great place for anyone to be.” (Norwood wound up seven points ahead, although she was 10 points up when she made that statement.)

Reed emerged to greet supporters at the Hyatt Regency at 11:15 p.m., saying that Norwood had run her best race, and that the trajectory of his campaign showed that he was on the road to be the next mayor.

“I’m not going to turn this into a victory speech,” Reed told the cheering crowd. “I’ve got to save some fire for the next few days. Our best days are ahead of us. Greatness is within our grasp, Atlanta!”

Both Norwood and Reed said they will ask for Borders’ support in the runoff.

When the city council president emerged to address her troops at 11 p.m., her voice was cracking and her eyes filled with tears.

“This has been a tremendous journey,” she said. “We’ve fought the good fight. It’s not over. We still have to take care of this city.”

She said later it was premature to discuss whether whom she might support in the runoff.

The race gained national attention in recent weeks, largely because of the prospect that Norwood, who is white, might win in a predominantly African-American city. If she does win in December, Norwood will be the first white mayor of Atlanta since Sam Massell left office in 1973.

Reed said that he didn’t think the runoff threatened to divide the city on racial lines.

“It is going to be on us to avoid that mess,” he said. “The responsibility for how the campaign is conducted is on the candidates.”

Norwood campaigned on combating crime, cleaning the city’s streets and improving its finances. Norwood, a Buckhead resident, looked to her home turf, which is about 77 percent white and the most politically conservative part of the city, for much of her support.

But she also built an effective coalition with those white voters and African-American community leaders and senior citizens who saw the councilwoman often over the past eight years.

She led the polls throughout and spent about 40 percent of her $1.5 million campaign war chest in October primarily on television and radio ads.

The candidates focused much of their attention on crime as many citizens complained they didn’t safe although police department data showed violent crime was dropping in the city. Finances have been the other big issue. Two-term incumbent Mayor Franklin furloughed city workers, including police officers, last December to help balance the budget. The furloughs ended in June.

Reed had to spend much of the campaign building name recognition. He often joked about how people mispronounced his first name. He spent about $1.5 million on the campaign, more than any candidate.

Reed, who managed both of Franklin’s successful mayoral campaigns, ran on a platform of hiring 750 police officers in his first term, attacking street gangs and reopening 22 recreation centers.

Borders, the City Council president since 2004, had connections across the city. Her grandfather was a prominent pastor who forced the city to integrate its police force. She worked at Cousins Properties, the city’s powerful development firm. Borders focused on appealing to female voters, who make up 54 percent of the city’s electorate, and said she was the only candidate with specific plans to pay for her initiatives.

Borders won the support of several groups, including the coveted endorsement of a union with about 1,100 Atlanta police officers. However, the candidate’s political fortunes seem to falter shortly after a controversial memo by two Clark Atlanta University professors said some black voters believed they should unite behind Borders as the best chance to defeat Norwood.

Until October, the campaign was described by some as a dull affair as the candidates focused on the serious issues facing Atlanta and not on slinging mud at one another.

In recent weeks, however, the race got heated as Reed and Borders labeled Norwood a Republican, although she described herself as a political independent. Borders and Reed bickered over ethical issues, and they attacked Norwood for voting in June against a tax increase, which ended the furloughs. Norwood countered that city officials didn’t give her information she requested to support a tax increase.

Jesse Spikes, a political newcomer who practices law at the firm McKenna, Long & Aldridge, argued the other three front-runners were part of the problem and he was best suited to lead Atlanta’s future. His candidacy, however, never gained momentum, and he finished Tuesday night with 3 percent of the vote.

Atlanta Mayoral Race Tightens As Voters Head To Polls

Majic ATL — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 17:15:20 +0000

VIA: AJC.com

When voters go to the polls Nov. 3, Atlanta voters will see three smart, experienced, honest and hard-working candidates for mayor on the ballot. Given the dearth of leadership that has plagued the city, that’s something to be celebrated.

The city faces a lot of serious problems, and many of those problems are self-inflicted. But the fact that it can produce mayoral candidates of the quality of Kasim Reed, Lisa Borders and Mary Norwood has to bode well.

A fourth candidate, Jesse Spikes, is a successful corporate lawyer who is also smart and honest. What he lacks is political experience, which matters more than many people think.

The tone of the mayoral campaign and the reception the candidates have received also suggest that Atlanta has matured. All three major candidates — a white woman, a black woman and a black man — have built impressive coalitions across boundaries of geography, race and class. As a result, the divisiveness that might mark such a campaign in many other diverse cities — and in the Atlanta of previous years — hasn’t really played out yet. If the pattern holds in the remaining days of the race, that too bodes well for the city’s future.

Choosing among the three is difficult, in part because all three agree in general terms about the major tasks facing Atlanta’s next mayor. They each stress making the city bureaucracy work better, solving its stubborn financial management issues and improving public safety. But each brings something different to the race.

Kasim Reed, an Atlanta attorney and veteran state senator, stresses the importance of public safety in his campaign, promising to hire 750 additional police officers by the end of his four-year term. Given the city’s financial situation, that is a hugely ambitious and probably impractical goal, but Reed says he is committed to achieving it.

Reed also highlights his record of consensus building in the state Senate, where he served as a minority urban Democrat in a chamber dominated by rural and suburban Republicans. As Reed tells it, he was able to build relationships across party lines that allowed him to buck the odds and serve effectively on behalf of his Atlanta constituents.

That ability, he says, will allow him to build support for his policies with members of an often fractious City Council. Perhaps just as important, he says, those relationships with state legislative leaders will pay dividends for the city as metro Atlanta seeks assistance and cooperation from an often antagonistic state government.

Norwood is a veteran City Council member with extensive business experience. Through a lot of hard work, she has made herself familiar with every corner of the city, and every corner of the city is familiar with Norwood. Her energy and networking skills are legendary.

Norwood is also the candidate focused most intently on resolving the city’s significant financial management problems. Given the state of the city when she took office, incumbent Shirley Franklin has accomplished an awful lot in her two terms as mayor, but fiscal reform largely eluded her. Norwood pledges to give that issue the deep attention it clearly demands, and she has the tenacity to see it through.

Like her opponents, Lisa Borders has an extensive record both of public service and private-sector leadership. As City Council president, she too knows the city and its problems, and she too pledges to improve the efficiency of the city bureaucracy. She evinces a deep passion for the city and the intellect and energy needed to make it a better place. Her main advantage over Norwood, with whom she serves on the City Council, may be her ability to build council support for the tough financial and personnel decisions that lie ahead.