Atlanta Councilmember Anne Fauver won’t seek re-election
April 27, 2009 at 6:10 pm by Thomas Wheatley in News
Atlanta City Councilmember Anne Fauver says she won’t seek a third term.
Fauver represents the Morningside, Midtown, Virginia-Highland and Druid Hills neighborhoods, among others.
In an unexpected email blast to constituents and supporters she says:
After eight years you begin to be part of the system, and you find yourself with less energy to pursue better ideas and, frankly, with less faith in the ability of the system to be responsive to them. It’s time for me to pass the baton to a successor; to someone with the energy and vision I had eight years ago.
As of this writing, Midtown business consultant Steve Brodie is the only candidate running for her seat. In 2005, he narrowly lost to Fauver by five votes.
Fauver’s full letter, in which she outlines her proudest accomplishments on council, is after the jump. We placed a call to Fauver’s office and will update when we hear back.
Dear Friend and Supporter:
I have decided not to seek reelection as your Sixth District representative on the Atlanta City Council. It was not an easy decision, but I believe that eight years is about the right amount of time for public service in the same position. That’s enough time to try out your fresh ideas, figure out how the system works, and expend all that wonderful energy for change that motivated you to run in the first place. After eight years you begin to be part of the system, and you find yourself with less energy to pursue better ideas and, frankly, with less faith in the ability of the system to be responsive to them. It’s time for me to pass the baton to a successor; to someone with the energy and vision I had eight years ago.
When I was first elected, Atlanta was in serious financial difficulty, and confidence in city government was at the lowest point I can remember. I leave office at a time when Atlanta is again in a serious financial crisis, the dimensions of which no one foresaw. Things seem to have come full circle in my eight years, and I wish that my tenure in office was not “bookended” by huge budget deficits.
But between those bookends we accomplished much together. I am proud of the more than $15 million I found in overlooked revenue sources other than taxes—money that allowed the city to avoiding laying off even more of our key service providers in this financial crisis, such as police and firefighters. These revenue sources will be a regular contribution to the general fund in the future.
I am proud of the new ethics code for city officials that I drafted and got approved. I helped tighten the liquor license code, revised the tree ordinance to preserve our tree canopy, and contributed to passing new infill housing and anti-tethering ordinances.
I am proud, too, that I have been able to contribute significantly to making the Sixth District a safer and more pleasant environment for residents and visitors: we have new sidewalks and streetscapes, numerous traffic calming devices, and three formerly dirt roads are now paved. And the district now boasts hundreds of miles of new water and sewer lines. Alas, I have not gotten rid of all the steel plates!
I am proud, too, of having provided the District with unparalleled constituent service—something that is not always easy in a bureaucratic environment but was made much easier by the extraordinary skill and commitment of my legislative aide, Shelia Parrott.
Most of all, I am proud of the support and friendship that so many of you gave me. We have not agreed on every issue, but I could always count on you to be informed and involved. It has been an honor to represent you: my last, best wish is that the next person to occupy my chair in City Council will be as worthy of your support as I have tried to be.
(Photo courtesy Atlanta City Council)
April 27th, 2009 at 6:28 pm
Does this mean the District 6 City Council race will be a cakewalk for Steve Brodie? Or does it mean that Anne Fauver is stepping aside to make room for Elizabeth Coyle to enter that race?
April 27th, 2009 at 6:36 pm
Isn’t Brodie Republican? He’d probably be better than Fauver, but worse than any reasonable Democrat. Surely we can get a genuine liberal in such a liberal district, even though we’ve done without for 8 years.
April 27th, 2009 at 10:27 pm
Joe: It’s hard to see that the main issues of the District 6 race will be liberal v. conservative ones. I think the race will turn on bottom-line issues such as dealing with the City’s financial problems, delivering basic services (especially public safety), and managing key projects such as the BeltLine. I don’t know if Brodie is a Dem or a Republican, but his website says that in 2005 he was supported by the Professional Fire Fighters, the International Brotherhood of Police Officers, the Atlanta-North Georgia Labor Council, the Sierra Club, Creative Loafing, and Southern Voice. None of these are Republican-leaning groups
April 28th, 2009 at 9:48 am
After 8 years in office, Anne Fauver is far too modest when she lists one of her accomplishments as having paved “three formerly dirt roads.” What about the fact that Anne was instrumental in paving Piedmont Park with roads and a giant parking garage! Doesn’t that count as one of her “accomplishments?”
April 28th, 2009 at 11:42 am
How tragic that she has lost faith in the system. She was such a tireless fighter against open government and transparency. At least she leaves a legacy of a City Hall that is a little more opaque to its snoopy taxpayers than it was eight years ago.
April 28th, 2009 at 12:29 pm
It may be a surprise to parking deck obsessives, but many of us think the ABG deck is a good idea. I live near the park, and it’s easy for me to walk there. But the world doesn’t revolve around me; many of our fellow citizens find it impractical to get to the park and the Gardens by any means other than driving there. And when there are special events, the deck will help.
The net amount of park acreage devoted to automobile storage will actually go DOWN as a result of this project, as three surface parking areas will be replaced with new park & garden space. And if you really want a city that is less auto-centric and more pedestrian-friendly, then lobby your legislators to support transit. We’re not going to have fewer people driving by denying them parking places (they’ll just park anywhere); the way to our goal is options such as expanded MARTA, the Beltline, etc.
April 28th, 2009 at 2:38 pm
BPJ – careful, logic and reason regardign Piedmont Park will get you yelled at…
Wowee – by “paving Piedmont Park with roads”, you must mean all of those park paths on which I ride my bike. If she did that (I don’t think she did), I applaud her.
April 28th, 2009 at 2:41 pm
And it begins again….
April 28th, 2009 at 2:45 pm
Endorsed by “the Atlanta-North Georgia Labor Council, the Sierra Club, Creative Loafing, and Southern Voice”
Brodie is most definitely NOT a Conservative, likely not a Republican…
April 28th, 2009 at 3:22 pm
Brodie finally got her – it just took 4 years. There’s no way ol’ Landslide Anne would ahve won this one. Wherever will we find “someone with the energy and vision” you had eight years ago? The vision to reintroduce automobile traffic into the middle of the Park? The courage to be an obeisant member of the Mayor’s Nod Squad while she was popular and then turn critical when her financial house of cards fell down?
Before you leave, how about coming up with another imaginary $15M of new revenue (most of which invovled fining citizens for one thing or another)?
April 28th, 2009 at 5:14 pm
It’s pretty tempting to find fault with an easy target like Ms. Fauver; anyone that has to list paving 3 dirt roads in neighborhoods as well-off as those she represents is hurting for real accomplishments. But she did take the time to serve, and we should credit her for that. As I recall, there weren’t many candidates eager for the post when she ran 8 years ago. I think that part of the reason she was so distracted and rambling the last few years was that she was humiliated by her razor-thin victory over an underfunded and previously unknown candidate; that had to hurt. I believe she thought she was actually popular with her constituents, so having to hire students from Ga. State to wave signs for her and having to ask the (then popular) Mayor to come to her district on election day must have been jolting, especially after it took months for the courts to agree she had actually won. She never seemed very comfortable in front of neighborhood audiences after that; in the aftermath of the election, she rarely came to local meetings.
But let’s let her go quietly, in peace. On balance she’s no worse nor any more befuddled than Cleta Winslow or that silly person from Grant Park, and we’ve been spared the embarrassment of watching her ‘campaign.’ It’s a win-win for everyone.
April 28th, 2009 at 10:50 pm
I have to assume people run for council to do backroom deals for developer friends. They sure haven’t been doing the people’s business or we’d have something closer to a budget that covered the basics. And, to take just one egregious example, Wayne Mason would not be walking away with a $40mm profit from our taxes on his $25mm Beltline bet.
April 30th, 2009 at 11:00 pm
Having worked directly with Anne, I appreciate all she has done and strongly support her desire to pass the baton. She was clearly ready to be done with this work.
I’ve worked directly with both Brodie and Coyle. There is no comparison!! Brodie is clearly the person who will best represent our community. Coyle is the “insider” who has always angled to be the gameplayer trying to play all sides. She DOES NOT represent the community and is too busy scheming about her own political future to care about the community.
Sorry. I’ve seen first-hand :(
VOTE BRODIE!!!
May 1st, 2009 at 2:32 pm
I’d feel comfortable with either Steve Brodie or Liz Coyle. Although they aren’t at all interchangeable, they each have a lot to offer. But does anyone know for sure if Liz Coyle plans to run?