Fresh Loaf

Kasim Reed made his strongest bid for gay votes yet today with a press conference in the parking lot shared by Outwrite Books and Blakes — essentially the epicenter of gay Atlanta.

As you’ve probably now heard, Reed has been put on the defensive regarding this issue, largely because of an interview he gave to now-defunct SoVo, in which he said his religious faith allows him to embrace civil unions for gay couples, but stops short of gay marriage.

And he brought along a few friends:

Larry Pellegrini, a lobbyist for progressive and LGBT causes, pointed out that Reed was one of only 14 state senators who voted against the notorious gay marriage amendment in 2004. Pelligrini said “one-issue voters” often end up disappointed.

Sen. Nan Orrock, another big Reed supporter, touted his perfect legislative record on LGBT issues, adding, “Go by the record, not the rhetoric.”

And, most interestingly, Council President Lisa Borders disparaged Mary Norwood’s commitment to gay causes, saying the councilwoman had never shown must interest in gay-related issues.

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Yipee, another endorsement!

For weeks now, Kasim Reed has been subtly making light of the fact that Mary Norwood had but a single elected official publicly backing her bid for mayor, saying things like, “I have said nothing negative about the one person who’s chosen to support my opponent.” It’s a line that often gets a laugh from the crowd.

Well, no more. As of today, state Rep. Ralph “Lonely” Long has been joined by a fellow House member, Rep. Margaret Kaiser, who just so happens to be my own state representative. Both are Democrats.

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This year’s city runoff elections are the most important in years, what with the mayor’s office, the Council presidency and two of the Council’s 15 seats up for grabs. It’s doubly depressing, then, to hear about how lousy turnout is likely to be.

Therefore, we’re asking you, the voters, to show up in force at the polls. And so, in order to stoke your enthusiasm, we’re offering you four compelling reasons to head to your local polling place next Tuesday. After all, as the man said, if you don’t take part in the process, you can’t complain about the results.

Continue reading ‘CL’s guide to the runoffs’ >>

(Photo by Joeff Davis)

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Holy shit! The new flyer by Mary Norwood is by far the dirtiest, most negative message to come out of this mayor’s race so far. In fact, it prompted me to wonder what the legal boundaries are for Constitutionally protected political speech.

As you can see, the headline reads:

Kasim Reed: Late paying his taxes, but wants to raise yours.

OK, it’s clear that Norwood’s not going to let this tax allegation drop, even though the AJC’s Jim Galloway offered a self-described “fact check on taxes” that thoroughly rebutted Norwood’s claims:

My AJC colleague Cameron McWhirter and other reporters spent weeks vetting the major mayoral candidates this summer.

In the course of that reporting, McWhirter checked Fulton County tax records. Reed met with him and provided detailed documentation about his financial holdings, real estate and tax payments. Reed owed no back taxes at the time of the meeting and owes none now.

The flyer provides a link to a story that WSB-TV ran after getting a tip from the Norwood campaign, but even that two-and-a-half-minute piece shows the unpaid tax claim to be a non-story.

Then there’s the other allegation: that Reed wants to raise taxes. I’ve interviewed Reed several times, sat in on numerous debates and forums and read all his campaign material — and yet I have no idea where this claim is coming from.

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With the mayor’s race still a dead heat, both candidates came out swinging in two televised debates over the weekend.

In the Atlanta Press Club debate, broadcast live on GPB Sunday evening, Kasim Reed attacked first, asserting that Councilwoman Mary Norwood had “made Atlanta less safe” by voting twice against tax increases to keep the city from furloughing cops.

Norwood then repeated a claim from the previous night’s WAGA-TV debate that some of her black supporters had been “threatened.” She cited an example of one neighbor attempting to browbeat another into voting for Reed; frankly, it sounded more like peer pressure between adults.

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Danny: I didn’t like any of the candidates in the first one. It’s probably peer pressure, people telling you that you should vote and I have a close friend that works for Mary Norwood and she gave me the scoop on her, and I liked what I heard and I got a chance to meet Mary Norwood recently and I like her. That was a big turnaround. I’m planning to vote [in] this one ’cause I made promises to people to vote this time. I don’t know much about Reed but there’s something that don’t flow right with me about him.

Mike: I was out of town on business and didn’t have the foresight to get an absentee ballot. I was hoping for a runoff. I felt like a moron because this was an important election. I felt like a jerk, I really did. There’s no more important thing that we do than vote. I’m voting for Kasim Reed. He knows how to negotiate and get things done. Mary Norwood is just a jackhammer. She’s going to poke away at people. I don’t see her being as effective as she is enthusiastic about her job.

Danielle: I did not vote in the first part because I went to Target instead. I meant to when I got back but didn’t. My mother called to make sure I voted. She works for a Board of Elections in a county in Florida. She called to make sure I did my civic duty and I lied. I’m sure she doesn’t read [Creative Loafing].  So I’m going to make up for my lack of civic duty and vote and won’t have to feel so awful about lying to my mother. I’m not 100 percent sold on either one, but I’m leaning towards Mary.

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Last night, mayoral candidate Mary Norwood threw a well-attended wing-ding at Amsterdam Atlanta, a popular gay bar in Morningside. I missed her speech, but caught up with former City Council President Cathy Woolard, who’d stopped by to check out the festivities.

Woolard isn’t publicly backing either Norwood or opponent Kasim Reed, but she believes Reed’s stance on gay marriage — he favors civil unions — has hurt his appeal among gay voters. This could be a significant factor in the election because, as we noted in a news article this week, the contentious race for Council District 6 is likely to turn out a large number of gay votes.

It seems a bit odd that a candidate’s position on a non-local issue such as gay marriage — or Jewish settlements, global warming, immigration policy, etc. — would have much bearing on a municipal election. Frankly, if you’re looking for a litmus-test to help determine whether a candidate is supportive of your interests, there are many others that would be more relevant.

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What's got her so excited?

Speaking only for myself, the events of the past two weeks — at least those relating to the mayoral runoff — have certainly confounded expectations.

In the fortnight leading up to the Nov. 3 general election, Kasim Reed’s campaign pulled something of a rope-a-dope, implying that his opponents weren’t true Democrats. Both Mary Norwood and Lisa Borders took the bait, spending time and energy trying to establish their own Democratic credentials — an effort that likely lost them both some votes.

It was a masterfully divisive maneuver on Reed’s part, but I’ve talked to some voters who were disgusted by it for that very reason, folks who didn’t like seeing a wedge driven between political parties in a non-partisan race.

I assumed the runoff campaigning would get dirtier still. How could it not, given that Norwood seemed to have a lock on white Northside votes? It appeared the only way Reed could hope to win was by undermining Norwood’s curious popularity among black voters — and the only way to do that was to make race an issue in the race.

But I was mistaken. That’s not what has happened — at least, not yet. In fact, it’s been quite the reverse.

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Reed, flanked by Barnes and Borders

So, as we know, ol’ Roy came out for Kasim Reed today on the steps of the Capitol.

Barnes lavished praise on Reed as a legislator for helping advance the then-governor’s progressive agenda, which included hate-crime laws and changing the state flag.

But the two words he used most often to tout Reed were noteworthy: “competent” and “qualified.”

Nobody — not with the campaign or with the press corps — mentioned Mary Norwood’s name, but it seemed fairly clear those two words were chosen to imply a distinction between the two candidates for mayor. (It’s a distinction we raised ourselves in endorsing Reed.)

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How much does momentum help when you’re running for elected office? Just ask Hillary Clinton and the many other candidates who’ve stalled out after an early surge.

Look, Kasim Reed has a lot of ground to make up in his effort to win the Dec. 1 runoff for mayor against front-runner Mary Norwood, but right now, he’s got the momentum. On Monday, he picked up an endorsement from former state legislator Jim Martin. Yes, Martin has been twice defeated running for higher office, but he was a longtime House member who still enjoys respect as an honorable public servant. I know I’m often dragging race into these matters, but it doesn’t hurt Reed’s image that Martin is white.

But that boost was a lead-up to today’s announcement that former candidate Lisa Borders is endorsing Reed at an event going on at this moment. From the pre-release:

“After many months of campaigning, it is critical for us to come together as a demonstration of strength and unity. Atlanta lies at a critical crossroads and her very future depends on leadership that can unite us and move us forward,” Borders said. “Now is the time to lay aside our differences and work in the best interest of all citizens to ensure each has the opportunity to rise to their full potential. Senator Reed’s ideas for afterschool recreation centers, his focus on public safety and his willingness to work toward increasing revenue opportunities for Atlanta are in line with my policy objectives.”

Having talked to Borders’ campaign folks over recent weeks, it was pretty clear that she wasn’t going to support Norwood. I know this will irk many Norwood followers for me to point this out, but almost no one on the City Council believes Norwood has the competence to be a decent mayor. She simply doesn’t command much respect down at City Hall. I don’t want to put words in Borders’ mouth, but it’s my strong impression that she considers Norwood a lightweight.

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Following up on Andisheh’s post from this morning about Lisa Borders endorsing Kasim Reed, an e-mail was sent to Reed’s volunteer list with details about the press conference:

Kasim Reed for Mayor Volunteers,

We invite you to join us on Wednesday, November 11, 2009 at 1:45 p. m., for Lisa Borders’ formal endorsement of Senator Kasim Reed.  We will assemble at Park Tavern, located at 500 10^th Street NE, Atlanta, GA 30309 (at the corner of 10^th and Monroe).

Please wear your campaign t-shirt as a representation of your continued support of Senator Reed’s mayoral campaign.

We hope to see you there!

Are any of you planning on attending?

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WSB-TV reports Lisa Borders plans to endorse Kasim Reed today for Atlanta Mayor. Reed and Mary Norwood face each other in a Dec. 1 run-off election.

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On Dec. 1, an abysmally small percentage of Atlanta voters will return to the polls for the city runoffs:

Reed celebrates on election night

MAYOR

As the city saw on Nov. 3, Kasim Reed’s an expert finisher who passed Lisa Borders heading into the home stretch and now carries that momentum into the runoff.

But it won’t be easy to beat Mary Norwood, whose supporters hail from all corners of the city and arguably are more enthusiastic than Reed’s, and thus more likely to flock to the polls on Dec. 1. Last week’s results also confirmed previous polls that suggest Norwood seems to have a lock on north Atlanta’s white vote, which may convince the Reed campaign to try to peel away her strong support among black voters. If Reed decides to employ racial politics, the race could turn ugly and divisive.

“Reed has to increase his black voters, but it would be to his detriment to make an overt racial appeal,” says Emory political science professor Michael Owens. ” I suspect you’ll see his surrogates and supporters do that for him.”

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Some random observations:

• Write-in candidate Dr. Tiffany Brown got in the neighborhood of 60 votes city-wide. That’s about one vote for each time the line “Vote for Tiffany Brown” was used in her catchy campaign rap song.
• At the end of September, mayoral front-runner Mary Norwood had a huge campaign warchest. But over the past month, she burned through more than $600,000, spending more than Kasim Reed ($274,000) and Lisa Borders ($300,000) put together. As of Oct. 25, Norwood and Reed each had about $166,000 in cash on hand (although Reed had loaned his campaign about $100,000 of that amount).
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Borders reacts to the shocker

Probably the biggest surprise of Tuesday’s elections was Lisa Borders’ poor showing. Granted, various polls had showed her support waning and Kasim Reed’s numbers growing. But no one I talked to had expected Borders to net only 14 percent in what was widely perceived as a three-way race. I mean, City Hall shouter Dave Walker got nearly 10 percent in the Council president’s race and he didn’t raise a dime!

So how did the former runoff hopeful become an also-ran? A few thoughts:

1. She didn’t define herself — Easy for us to say, but it’s true. Mary Norwood positioned herself as the throw-the-bums-out, anti-City Hall candidate, a spokesperson for everyone sick of business as usual. Reed cast himself as the determined outsider, criticizing those on whose watch the city had faltered and promising to restore hope to inner-city neighborhoods. Quick — what did Borders claim to represent?

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

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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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Can’t decide who you’ll vote for in the mayoral election next Tuesday because you’re just not fired up about any of the candidates?

May we suggest you try process of elimination? Sometimes choosing a candidate to support is best approached by determining who wouldn’t get your vote even in the event of ice-skating on the River Styx.

Fortunately, there are plenty of people with Internet access who are only too willing to help eliminate some candidate options through the careful application of innuendo, character assassination and good old-fashioned trash-talking.

As a rule of thumb, you haven’t earned your stripes as a candidate yet unless you’re the target of an anonymous opposition website. So, without further ado, here are selected hater sites:

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Southeast Atlanta residents won’t want to miss tonight’s mayoral candidate forum.

Candidates Lisa Borders, Mary Norwood, Kasim Reed and Jesse Spikes will field questions from moderators Derrick Boazman and Bishop Matthew Norwood at the Atlanta Youth Academy on Forrest Park Road. (Map here.)

The event, which is sponsored by nine neighborhood and community organizations, is billed as Southeast Atlanta’s first mayoral forum. Discussion will focus solely on the issues that impact the part of the city which includes the Grant Park, Reynoldstown, Benteen Park, Summerhill neighborhoods, among others.

A reception will be held from 6:30-7:00 p.m. The two-hour forum follows. Child care will be available.

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Mara Shalhoup, Scott Henry and Thomas Wheatley sit down to discuss their picks for this year’s Endorsement Issue.

Air Loaf is broadcast weekdays on 1690 WMLB-AM at approximately 8:10 a.m., 12:20 p.m. and 6:20 p.m.

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Agree or disagree with our endorsement picks? Have a say in our endorsement live-chat with Mara, Scott and Thomas, today at 1:30 pm.

If the chat window doesn’t appear above, click Here

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