Fresh Loaf

In a very long interview yesterday with Atlanta Progressive News, Atlanta mayoral front-runner Mary Norwood explained why she’s voted in Republican primaries and attended state GOP conventions.

From APN:

[Norwood] said she was disgusted with the Republican Convention and decided never to return. “There seemed to be two agendas. Evidentally in all these party politics, there’s stuff that goes on on the floor and there’s stuff that goes on in the back room,” Norwood said.

“Just because you go on a date with someone doesn’t mean you’re gonna marry them,” Norwood said, making an analogy. “Just because you did cocaine once doesn’t make you an addict.”

Emphasis added, because hot damn that’s a great quote! And the image of Republicans conspiring in the “back room” followed up with a unrelated reference to the devil’s dandruff? Excellent!

Granted, Norwood’s technically correct. But this is by far the best analogy we’ll read before noon. And it made us think of other excellent analogies. “Just because you once choked a man with your bare hands doesn’t make you a bloodthirsty maniac.” There are many others out there, we’re sure.

(Courtesy Mary Norwood)

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After countless candidate forums, weird commercials with ACTUAL CRIMES and even some debate about race and closeted Republicans, Election Day has finally arrived. And if you haven’t already cast your ballot for the city’s next mayor and other elected posts, be sure to get out and do so.

Polls are already open and will close at 8 p.m. You can find your polling place here. Here’s a PDF that lists all polling precincts and locations. Here are sample City of Atlanta ballots. (If you encounter any monkey business at the polls, let us know.)

Should you still be on the fence about who deserves your vote, check out CL’s endorsements for mayor, city council president and the open at-large council posts. Still undecided about your district rep? Take a look at candidates’ responses to CL’s questionnaire. And here’s the League of Women Voters election guide.

CL Staff Event Planner Scott Henry has a list of the campaign parties where you can eat free food, hobnob with politicos, and tell the next mayor to shut down the crack house on your street. Or you can just go to Manuel’s.

We’ll be providing election results coverage tonight. Look for fireworks, flame wars and sock puppets posting links to anonymous websites. Just kidding, we’ll moderate those fools out of existence.

Low turnout is expected, which means your decision could help make or break many of these contests. So get out there and help determine who’ll lead Atlanta out of its mess. We’ll have more throughout the day.

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From the Lisa Borders campaign on Mayor Shirley Franklin’s announcement that she’ll vote for Kasim Reed:

“I have enjoyed working with Shirley and her administration. I have learned from both her achievements and her mistakes. I will take both of those lessons into office.”

Borders said Franklin’s low-key endorsement of Reed was not unexpected. Franklin has been working in the shadows of his campaign for a number of weeks, primarily by attacking Mary Norwood. Franklin has a history of endorsing candidates the day before an election.

Worth noting: One could argue that Franklin’s criticism of Norwood the last few weeks could have also helped Borders.

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From CNN’s Political Ticker blog:

“I’m going to vote for [Kasim Reed]. I think he has the best set of skills. He has really been there to do some tough things over the state. He has Republican and Democratic support. . . . even though there are other candidates who have obviously some strengths, I think, through it all, he has the best chance of working in the region and the state.”

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Seems the Atlanta mayor’s race isn’t the only political contest with mysterious operatives trying to brand a candidate as a “closeted Republican.”

A li’l birdie landed on our windowsill earlier today and informed us that District 6 voters have received similar calls about Tad Christian, one of the six candidates running to represent the Midtown, Morningside and Candler Park neighborhoods. (Incumbent Anne Fauver isn’t seeking re-election.)

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Let’s say that, after voting, you want to go out tomorrow evening to support your favorite candidate for mayor — and score some free food. Here’s where you’ll find ‘em on election night:

• Lisa Borders — Her party’s in the new W Hotel Downtown at 45 Ivan Allen Blvd. She’s booked a 4th floor ballroom.
• Kyle Keyser — Yes, the longshot activist is throwing a party, too. It’s at Noni’s restaurant at 357 Edgewood Ave.
  
• Mary Norwood — Breaking with the tradition of using a hotel or event facility, Norwood is holding her party at the Varsity. Slaw dogs for everybody!
• Kasim Reed — He’ll be somewhere in the Hyatt Regency downtown. Check with the concierge for directions.

And, let’s not forget the candidates for council president:

• Ceasar Mitchell — He’ll be raising the roof at Park Tavern at the corner of 10th and Monroe.
• Clair Muller — Not too surprisingly, Clair isn’t a big party gal. We’re told she’ll be hanging out at home tomorrow night.

Be sure to vote, folks!

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Mable got paid, beeyatch!

Finally I’ve got an answer to my earlier question of what Mary Norwood had to spend to earn an endorsement from “Able” Mable Thomas.

Thanks to the most recent financial disclosures, filed Friday evening, we now know that the councilwoman’s mayoral campaign paid the mercenary rabble-rouser $1,500 for “consulting services.” Here’s the PDF.

Is it too cynical to wonder if Thomas’ services consisted of consulting with Norwood on what it would cost to buy her endorsement?

Frankly, unless there was some kind of “in-kind” compensation promised, “Able” Mable comes cheaper than I thought.

(more…)

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OMG! This changes everything!

Write-in candidate for mayor Tiffany Brown — that’s Dr. Brown to you — has dropped her new campaign song and it’s fresh, dawgs!

“Vote for Tiffany Brown“

Rumor is that Mary Norwood has worked up an emergency breakdance routine to counter Brown’s expected surge in the polls.

Fo’ shizzle my nizzle.

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Chinese mad scientists can now harness their powers to create a winter wonderland

>> It’s only a matter of time before this catches on in Atlanta: A new Bulgarian gambling game called “Russian road roulette” has drivers dangerously speed through red lights at busy intersections for bets up to 5,000 euros ($7,400).  Sounds fun! (Reuters)

>> More driving news: A new study found that people with a particular gene variant, common in about 30 percent of Americans, performed far worse on a driving test than people with a different DNA sequence. My scientific research suggests 90 percent of these Americans drive into Atlanta every morning. (Reuters)

>> Beijing was covered in snow on Sunday after Chinese meteorologists artificially seeded clouds in hopes that the winter weather will combat the country’s drought. Leave it to the Chinese to find a futuristic way to steal our snow! (Yahoo! News)

>> After about a quarter of all cast votes in the Afghanistan presidential election were found fraudulent, the second-place candidate pulled out of this weekend’s run-off election, leaving Hamid Karzai the official president of Afghanistan. Looks like they’re quickly learning our magnificent democratic system. (BBC News)

>> Finally, the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers reported their divorce filings had dropped more than half due to the current recession. So it wasn’t gay marriage that was compromising the union between a man and a woman — it was a good economy! (Reuters)

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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On Oct. 28, Gov. Sonny Perdue named King & Spalding partner Allen Barnes the new state Environmental Protection Division director. Environmental advocates cried foul over Perdue’s decision, as Barnes’ former employer represents two proposed coal plants, as well as the state of Georgia in the ongoing “water wars” debacle with Alabama and Florida.

“Generally, if you get a partner coming over from a big firm when there is activity going on between the firm’s clients and that agency, there is a lot of potential for conflict.”
— Environmental lawyer Gil Rogers, in an Oct. 27 Fulton Daily Report article

“[Proposed coal plants Longleaf and Washington] are both being handled by a team at King & Spalding, and now a member of that team is going to be making the decisions [as to whether those plants will be built]. How is the public going to have any faith that the decisions made about the two biggest new pollution sources ever to come into Georgia have been made impartially?”
— Environmental lawyer Justine Thompson, in the same Fulton Daily Report story

“A single law firm that represents a large number of polluters is suddenly moving personnel into state government positions that directly affect its clients. It’s hard to put it in a happy light if you care about natural resources and the public interest in them.”
— Sierra Club lobbyist Neill Herring, in an Oct. 27 interview with the Savannah Morning News

“I need to sit down with the counsel and make a very thoughtful and deliberative decision as to what’s proper and what is required in that area. We’ll certainly make that decision.”
— Barnes on if he’d recuse himself from decisions involving King & Spalding, in an Oct. 28 interview with Capitol Impact’s Tom Crawford

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Here’s the second of two Democratic Party of Georgia mailers that allege mayoral candidate Mary Norwood is actually a Republican. Jim Galloway’s got photos of the other. SpaceyG also provided a link to one.

Click to enlarge. More photos, including Norwood’s TV commercial response, are after the jump.

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Remember yesterday when I was praising a TV ad by Kasim Reed for its positive, upbeat, love-everybody tone?

Well, that was then. Today Reed has a new ad that smears Norwood as a Republican:

So much for civility. Now that polls indicate that Reed has pulled comfortably ahead of Borders, he’s changed tack and is trying to pull support away from Norwood in order to prevent her from winning on Nov. 3 without a runoff.

Will it work? Damned if we know, but we’ll be watching carefully to find out…

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A new Insider Advantage poll shows Mary Norwood’s still the frontrunner in the Atlanta mayor’s race with 45 percent support. Kasim Reed trails with 25 percent. Lisa Borders, who until two weeks ago was second in the race, is third with 16 percent. Jesse Spikes is in the low single digits. Eleven percent of the poll respondents were undecided. (Here’s a link to a PDF of the poll’s crosstabs.)

So sayeth pollster Matt Towery, CEO of IA:

“Based on this survey, if the election were held today, Norwood would likely be within one or two percent of winning the race without a runoff. Her barrage of ads and the apparent decline in Borders’ support suggests that white voters are moving to Norwood. That said, Reed now appears to be the African-American candidate with substantial support from the black community.

What’s interesting about the mayor’s race right now: It’s about image rather than platforms.

Borders, Reed and even the Georgia Democratic Party have accused Norwood of being a Republican. Norwood, who invited the criticism after she said earlier this week that she couldn’t remember if she ever voted for George W. Bush, responded with a TV ad. In it, she rattles off the names of Democrats and even Ross Perot, which, in my opinion, might’ve done her more harm than good.

The Reed campaign today issued a statement calling the Norwood spot a “slick and calculated denial of her well-documented Republican past” and a “scheme to trick Atlanta’s Democratic majority into making a false choice on the eve of this election.”

Political wonks take note: Campaign disclosure reports, which’ll tell us how much cash each candidate has to spend in the final days before Nov. 3, are due today at 5 p.m.

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From Macon City Councilman, Peach Pundit main guy, and ‘69th Most Influential U.S. Conservative‘ Erick Erickson:

Just sent fake dog poop to Earl Pomeroy: http://bit.ly/3saIti You should too to protest him betraying his constituents. #TEAPARTY #TCOT #RSabout 2 hours ago from TweetDeck

• Reply

The Party of Lincoln, Eisenhower and Reagan is now the party of Beck, Palin and plastic poo. Congrats, Erick.

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Delivered via Sean Combs’ Puff Daddy’s P-Diddy’s Diddy’s Twitter telegraph service:

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OK, this is the fourth significant print media article I’ve seen on the subject of the impact of race in determining the city’s next mayor. It was written by Errin Haines, a young African American reporter with the Atlanta bureau of the Associated Press.

Of course, the story mentions the controversial August memo by two Clark-Atlanta professors that advocated the election of a black mayor:

The incident soured Rev. Joseph Lowery, a revered civil rights leader whose support is coveted, on endorsing either Reed or Borders. He has instead focused on increasing voter turnout.

”I don’t think there’s anything wrong with discussing black candidates for mayor,” Lowery said. ”We’d be silly not to discuss the issue. It’s a reality. I think the most qualified candidates in this race are black.”

It’s a little interesting that the AP story quotes Lowery without mentioning that he’s a member of the Black Leadership Council, the mysterious group that commissioned the memo.

Anyway, for your edification, the earlier articles on race were done by the AJC, the NYT and, of course, lil’ old CL.

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MAKE IT RAIN, Y'ALL

Get pumped, crunk and amped all up in this muthafucka, recycling fans!

City Hall yesterday officially launched ReCART, Atlanta’s new “incentive-based” recycling program. If your household is one of the lucky 10,000 randomly selected to receive the 96-gallon recycling bin pictured to the right, you can start earning restaurant discounts and pharmacy deals just for tossing out your beer cans! It’s brilliant, ya drunks!

The program, a partnership between the city’s department of public works, Coca-Cola and Rehrig Pacific, is aimed at improving Atlantans’ recycling habits, helping residents save money, and making the city more sustainable. RecycleBank, the private company that manages the reward program, says similar efforts in 21 states have increased recycling program participation rates.

Depending on how much they recycle, selected households earn points which can be redeemed at local and national businesses. A department spokeswoman says local participating businesses include Radial, Zoo Atlanta, Rita’s Water Ice, Edgewood Avenue Pizza, and Six Feet Under locations.

Sounds great! One quick question: how much will it cost taxpayers?

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For months now, Councilwoman Mary Norwood has insisted, promised, all but swore on the baby Jesus that if she’s elected mayor, Atlanta’s next police chief would be hired from within the ranks.

Despite her denials, many observers figured she must already have someone in mind. Otherwise, it wouldn’t seem to make much sense to narrow your options like that. Sure, Pennington didn’t work out so well, but it’s considered a best practice for cities of our size to conduct a national search for such important positions.

Still, Norwood repeatedly defended her decision at one forum after another, explaining that she wanted a chief who was already familiar with the local geography. As she told the AJC: “It takes them a long time for them to figure out where Adamsville is, where Moores Mills is and Browns Mill is.” (Psst — that’s why Al Gore invented GPS.)

Well, WABE radio reports that, just yesterday, Norwood flip-flopped and signed a pledge sponsored by a local human-rights organization stating that she’d undertake a national search for the next top cop.

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Is an endorsement really an endorsement if you give the nod to two candidates from the same party who are running for the same seat?

From GOP gubernatorial candidates Eric Johnson and John Oxendine’s Twitter doohickeys:

Whatever, Johnson posted it first! Eat that, Ox©!

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Buck Man, we don't need your vote

In the final days before next Tuesday’s mayoral election, it seems both Lisa Borders and Kasim Reed have ceded Buckhead to Mary Norwood and are focusing their remaining efforts on Southside Atlanta.

What makes us say this? Consider the evidence:

Last night, both were no-shows at a candidate forum hosted by the Pine Hills Neighborhood Association, a group that includes residents who live south of Lenox Square between Lenox and Roxboro roads.

Also, both have gotten into a war of words over who makes the better choice for Democratic voters, an argument that is unlikely to resonate with a good percentage of Northsiders.

Borders is now taking every opportunity to say she’s a Democrat, from her latest TV ad to ongoing phone solicitations in which callers ask the called to “Vote for Lisa Borders, Democrat.” And those calls are going out to Buckhead.

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Share your Pride with the world … or at least all of Atlanta.

We’re looking for your photos from this week’s Pride festivities. Send them to pridephotos@creativeloafing.com, and we will feature them in our Pride photo gallery at clatl.com/photos. We’ll be at the festival Saturday and Sunday, too, so stop by the Creative Loafing booth and we’ll see you this weekend.

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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Paul Donsky of the AJC reports that Wachovia Bank has filed a lawsuit against Wayne Mason, the Gwinnett County developer who in 2008 made a windfall off Beltline property in Northeast Atlanta. The lawsuit stems from a $7.5 million loan that Mason took out in 2004 to buy three units in Buckhead medical office building.

According to the lawsuit, filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Atlanta, Mason failed to pay $7.07 million remaining on the loan that came due in February. The lawsuit names both Mason and a company he controls, Lone Pine, as defendants.

In a statement issued through a spokeswoman, Mason said he received a copy of the complaint Wednesday afternoon.

“Our lawyers will be reviewing its allegations and we’ll respond accordingly,” he said.

Documents included in the lawsuit say Mason and Lone Pine borrowed the money to buy three units at the Palisades at West Paces, a medical office building near I-75 and Northside Parkway. The lawsuit did not say what Mason did with the property.

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These are a couple days old, but I’m just catching up with them. Before I saw the Lisa Borders ad, I heard it described as a dramatization featuring a “group of women talking together in a kitchen whom you’d never see talking together in a kitchen”:

After seeing the ad, I’d have to agree it’s fairly contrived, in the same way that most political ads using actors tend to be. Of more interest is what they’re saying. After the women express their concerns about crime, they offer these choice bullet points:

• “It’s time for these things to change.”
• “We need new leadership.”
• “What we need is a Democrat.”

OK, first the obvious: This ad is clearly aimed at female voters and, judging from the cast, specifically African American women. I assume it’s mainly intended to siphon women away from Kasim Reed. Take note of the line, “My girlfriend, she was out walking her dog, and someone came up behind her.”

(more…)

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Tiffany Brown faces an uphill battle if she wants to live up to her Twitter handle and become Atlanta’s next mayor.

As a write-in candidate, the Spelman College grad — whose 2005 mayoral campaign was, you guessed it, unsuccessful — won’t have the benefit of having her name on the ballot. That poses a problem for voters who’d like to vote for Brown, but might not remember how to spell her name. “Is it Tiffany with an ‘i?’” “Brown with a ‘q?’” These are very real questions millions of Americans ask themselves each day.

So like other candidates, Brown’s produced a commercial to raise her profile among voters. The spot will be shown on such cable channels as Bravo, the Food Network and ESPN2 until Nov. 3.

The ad contains LIVE SHOCKING FOOTAGE of crimes in progress, including a German DJ from the 1990s snatching someone’s purse as they get into their car. I, for one, am shocked that a cameraman would sit in garages and at local ATMs and wait for crimes to occur. Ms. Brown, you must report these acts to the appropriate authorities at once!

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Who do you call for sex and dating advice? Creative Loafing’s newest columnist, Michael Alvear, aka the Sexorcist. We’re opening up the floor (and the bed, and the kitchen table) for all your inquiries — from the virginal to vampy, down-and-dirty to delicate, freak-nasty to fun-loving.

Submit anonymously at clatl.com/sex. The column starts Nov. 18. And you can meet the man himself at CL’s Very Sexy Holiday Party Nov. 20 at Halo.

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