Fresh Loaf

The qualifying period’s still weeks away, but that’s not stopping unions and organizations from endorsing candidates in the Nov. 3 city elections.

The Atlanta-North Georgia Labor Council, which boasts approximately 9,000 members who live inside city limits and nearly 70,000 more in metro Atlanta, made its final endorsements last week for the Atlanta mayor and City Council races. Included in the list are incumbents Ceasar Mitchell and Ivory Young and political upstarts Amir Farokhi and Miguel Gallegos.

ANGLC President Charlie Flemming tells CL that 17 of its 42 affiliate organizations sat down with candidates to discuss privatization, cost-of-living wage increases, workforce housing, and other labor-related issues. The slate of endorsed candidates either agreed with policy stances or had reached out to labor in past policy discussions.

The union’s endorsement has been like the touch of God in the mayor’s race: for the last 20 years, its pick to run the city has gone on to win office. Flemming says its record isn’t as spot-on for council elections, but political hopefuls lucky enough to get a nod — or unlucky enough, depending on how voters’ opinions of unions — can expect a strong force working in their favor.

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Ivory Young

One says she’s had trouble sleeping because of anonymous threats. Another received a nasty phone message described as “the most disgusting, vulgar thing I’ve ever heard.” Others have gotten e-mails labeling them the “Hate Eight.”

Yes, the eight Atlanta City Council members who voted Monday to approve a 3-mill property tax increase have been reminded over the past few days that, no matter how sincere your intentions, you can’t please everybody.

For weeks now, most of the folks who voted for the tax hike — Carla Smith, Ivory Lee Young, Jr., Natalyn Archibong, Anne Fauver, Felicia Moore, C.T. Martin, Joyce Sheperd and Ceasar Mitchell — have said most constituents indicated a willingness to pay more in taxes in return for an end to police furloughs.

With the city bean-counters expecting only $490 million in annual revenues — down from nearly $650 million a couple years back — the alternatives to a tax increase, according to Mitchell, would’ve been cutting back on weekly trash pick-up, eliminating the recycling program, closing more rec centers and parks or, perhaps, additional employee furloughs.

But now the Eight are catching hell from people whose top concern was higher taxes.

Once the dust settles on the vote and the hate mail subsides, Council members agree, the newly un-furloughed city workers are going to need to step up their game in order to meet heightened taxpayer expectations.

“There can be no excuses now for poor service delivery,” says Young. “From here on, it’s zero tolerance for mediocrity.”

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At a well-attended town hall meeting on the subject of public safety Thursday night, Council President Lisa Borders put forth an interesting idea that could hold promise for oft-burgled Southside residents: a community improvement district to help fund extra security.

Borders, who hosted the gathering at Cascade United Methodist Church, suggested that money for surveillance cameras, community patrols and other security measures could be generated by creating a self-taxing district to which commercial property owners would contribute.

It’s an intriguing idea. There are a number of very successful CIDs around metro Atlanta — the Galleria and Perimeter areas and central Buckhead, perhaps most prominently — that fund everything from landscaped medians to shuttle buses to fancy lamp posts.

But I believe I heard Borders say there are no CIDs south of I-20. If that’s the case, it’s surely because there’s simply not the concentration of commercial property to support such an effort. It’s one thing to talk Perimeter Mall, Cousins Properties and Barry Real Estate into ponying up to spruce up the neighborhood. But when you’re dealing with a bunch of mom-and-pop businesses, as well as a hefty number of vacant storefronts — well, that’s a tougher sell.

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Georgia Democrats are calling for Georgia Secretary of State Karen Handel to extend advanced voting on Saturday and Sunday after computer glitches caused a reported 500 people to wait two hours in line at a Fulton County polling place.

State Rep.-elect Rashad Taylor, D-Atlanta, says poll workers at the Adamsville Recreation Center in Southwest Atlanta told him voter check-in machines couldn’t access the Secretary of State’s system shortly after 7 p.m. on Thursday night. When he arrived at the rec center to assist poll workers, Taylor — who was joined by Atlanta City Council President Lisa Borders, Councilmember C.T. Martin and City Council Clerk Rhonda Johnson — says he saw an estimated 500 people still waiting to cast ballots.

“A few days ago, there was a problem connecting to the system,” the representative-elect says. “This time, there was a problem with the system.”

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Atlanta City Councilman C.T. Martin has a very, very, VERY stupid idea:

Exposed boxer shorts and thongs would be illegal in any public place in Atlanta if the City Council approves a proposed amendment to the city’s indecency laws. …

“Little children see it and want to adopt it, thinking it’s the in thing,” Martin said Wednesday. “I don’t want young people thinking that half-dressing is the way to go. I want them to think about their future.”

Half-dressing can ruin your future.

Half-thinking, however, will get you an Atlanta City Council seat.

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