Dust off your webcams! At 4:30 p.m., Committee for a Better Atlanta, the citywide business coalition that recently graded City Hall hopefuls, will kick off its inaugural “virtual press conference.”
The innovative marriage of new media and voter engagement will offer desk jockeys and shut-ins the chance to read Atlanta mayoral and City Council candidates’ responses to TOUGH QUESTIONS from local journalists and bloggers.
Here’s the schedule:
4:30 pm Kasim Reed
4:45 pm Amir Farokhi
5:00 pm Clair Muller
5:15 pm Ceasar Mitchell
5:30 pm Mary Norwood
5:45 pm Liz Coyle
6:00 pm Alex Wan
6:15 pm Aaron Watson
If you’re on the fence about which candidates deserve your vote on Dec. 1, the press conference should offer some insight. Even if you’ve made up your mind, it’ll be interesting to see how the experiment unfolds. Considering that the format appears to be a classic type-and-submit chatroom setting, it’s unlikely the press conference will devolve into the phallus-infested catastrophe that was the Second Life virtual ‘interview.’ (NSFW?)
On Nov. 3, thousands of Fulton County residents cast their votes for candidates who weren’t even on the ballot. Courtesy of the county’s election gurus, we present the more interesting write-in results:
Clark Howard: The city’s penny-pinching guru earned 33 votes in nearly every Atlanta race, including mayor, City Council president and Atlanta school board.
Musicians: Voters placed their trust in Frank Zappa, Megadeth’s Dave Mustaine, Jello Biafra, Jerry Garcia, Henry Rollins, Ted Nugent, David Lee Roth and Mick Jagger.
Conservative icons: Glenn Beck led the crowded pack of right-minded write-in candidates. Others: George W. Bush, Sarah Palin, Sean Hannity, Rush Limbaugh, Neal Boortz, Karl Rove, Ronald Reagan, Joe the Plumber, Cain, Chuck Norris and Joe “You Lie!” Wilson.
Karl Marx: The long-dead father of communism was a write-in for the Atlanta school board and Atlanta City Council District 7.
Sid Mashburn: The Howell Mill Road haberdasher who can magically turn Atlanta’s slobs into dapper dons garnered one vote for the Post 1 At-Large seat won by Michael Julian Bond.
Cartoons: Jesus, what is with people and Mickey Mouse? The squeaky-voiced rodent garnered 34 votes. Other pen-and-ink candidates: Donald Duck, Bugs Bunny, Goofy, Elmer Fudd, Foghorn Leghorn, Scooby Doo, Mr. Magoo, Porky Pig, Homer Simpson and Garfield.
Hilariously generic “people”: “A Christian name person,” “Reasonable person,” “No lawyers,” “Indie rock elitist,” “Dirt road repairman” and “Cracker fuck.”
Reptilians: When Norm Coleman and Al Franken quibbled over votes in their 2008 congressional race, much ado was made about write-in votes for “Lizard King.” “Hail the Lizard King” and “Lizard King 4 USA,” you had a friend on Nov. 3.
Click here to download an Excel document listing the full write-in results for all municipal and Gold Dome races in Fulton County.
We asked him how he felt now that the election’s over.
A large part of a runoff is actually convincing voters to return to the polls. And Keyser’s proven he can rally people around a cause. No word yet if he plans to endorse Mary Norwood or Kasim Reed. His nod of approval wouldn’t be a deciding factor, but it surely wouldn’t hurt.
UPDATE 11:45 p.m. Um, we’re pretty positive Norwood and Reed will be duking it out on Dec. 2 Dec. 1. I for one am going to bed. Thomas and Scott will continue partying. (Thomas just showed up at Kyle Keyser’s gathering at Noni’s.) You’ll hear more from them soon, I’m sure. Nightie night!
UPDATE 11:33 p.m. Kasim Reed tells the crowd gathered at the Hyatt that in the “darkest days” of his campaign, Andrew Young was there to help by assuring him, “If you’re not sleeping, I don’t want to sleep.” Reed also says, “Several weeks ago, not many people thought we would be here with 37 percent, did they? … I’m ready to go for this city. I will fight for you. I will stand up for you. And I will make Atlanta the city on the hill again.”
UPDATE 11:22 p.m. Reed’s about to take the podium at the Hyatt Regency, the TV people say. With more than 80 percent of precincts reporting, we’ve got Norwood at 45 percent, Reed at 37 percent, Borders (who has conceded the race) at 14 percent.
UPDATE 11:15 p.m. Text message from Thomas Wheatley: “Norwood announces she anticipates a runoff.”
UPDATE 11:11 p.m. Via Scott Henry, as he leaves the Varsity (Norwood’s party) for the Hyatt Regency (Reed’s shindig): “I just had to get a few pictures of Eldrin Bell and his wife in the Varsity. He’s dressed to the nines. Mary just walked back in, and the crowd is chanting, ‘Mare-EE, Mare-EE.’ I just bumped into Rodney Cook, the Buckhead millionaire. Anne Fauver is sitting right next to me in her white Prius as she leaves.”
UPDATE 10:54 p.m. Thomas here. Reporting from the Varsity, which honest to God has some of the best ice in the country. There’s a lull in activity as Norwood supporters watch votes continue to line up in the councilwoman’s favor. She’s expected to return at 10:45. While we wait, it’s worth taking a look at the other races.
Perhaps most surprising: We might see a runoff in the City Council President race between Ceasar Mitchell and Clair Muller. City Hall gadfly Dave Walker has managed to pull nearly 10 percent of the votes counted thus far. That’s surprising, considering that Walker’s reported zero funds raised in this race. (CL’s profiled Walker before. Here’s a video interview shot.) Where’d he get the support? It’s worth considering that some of those are protest votes. You should also remember that Walker attends nearly every single council meeting (literally). He’s a fixture on Channel 23, usually found badgering councilmembers.
Post 3 At-Large: Embattled incumbent H. Lamar Willis faces a tough contest from challenger Shelitha Roberston. 52-48. WIllis could very well lose his seat.
District 3: Incumbent Ivory Young appears headed for re-election, with 80 percent of the vote. 63 percent of the precincts reporting.
District 4: Incumbent Cleta Winslow leads closest challenger LaShawn Hoffman by 20 points. 46 percent of precincts reported.
District 6: Alex Wan leads Liz Coyle in the crowded race that’s almost certainly headed for a runoff. Looks like it will be Wan v. Coyle or Tad Christian. Too close to call.
District 8: Yolanda Adrean commands a strong lead over Rick Coleman in the race to fill Clair Muller’s seat.
District 11: The race to fill longtime Councilman Jim Maddox’s seat quickly filled up after he announced his retirement. A runoff seemed virtually guaranteed — but Keisha Lance Bottoms currently leads the pack of nine with little over 50 percent of the vote.
District 12: It appears Joyce Sheperd has a solid lead, with 57 percent of votes. 85 percent of precincts reporting.
UPDATE 10:47 p.m. It’s now up to 60 percent of precincts reporting, folks — Norwood: 45 percent. Reed: 37 percent. Borders: 14 percent. But it ain’t over yet. Can Norwood close in on the 6 precious points that will give her an outright win? Or will it be a Norwood-Reed runoff in December???
UPDATE 10:29 p.m. In other city races (with 52 percent of precincts reporting) … City Council Prez: Ceasar Mitchell, 48 percent; Clair Muller, 42 percent. City Council Post 1 At-Large: Michael Julian Bond, 55 percent; Adam Brackman, 22 percent. City Council Post 2 At-Large: Aaron Watson, 43 percent; Amir Farokhi, 41 percent.
UPDATE 10:23 p.m. With 48 percent (yes, I double-checked this time) of precincts reporting — Norwood: 46 percent. Reed: 36 percent. Borders: 14 percent. Could the magic be ever-so-slightly slipping away from Norwood? Well … even if she can’t avoid a runoff, it’s been an impressive showing. Who knows? She could still pull it off.
UPDATE 10:03 p.m. With 48 30 percent (oops) of precincts now reporting — Norwood: 47 percent. Reed: 35 percent. Borders: 14 percent. According to the AJC, “Norwood flirting with magic majority.” Ooh la la.
UPDATE 9:55 p.m. Text message via Thomas Wheatley: “That’s Norwood entering the Varsity. Talking now.”
UPDATE 9:51 p.m. So says Scott Henry: “There’s quite a crowd down here at the Varsity. I walked in and [Norwood's] press person tells us that the early returns put Mary at 51 percent. There are a lot of people with Mary T-shirts. Glenn Thomas just walked in. It’s a very mixed crowd, older African-American folks and Buckhead Betties — two groups you never see together. Ralph Long is here. Lee Morris is here. Ahh, here we have Anne Fauver. She just walked by. A lot of people with families. A very different crowd than at the W. For one, they are giving away free food. Pretty nutty. I got a chicken salad sandwich on rye. But I can’t do their onion rings. Those will kill ya. After I finish my sandwich I’m going to walk around some more and talk to some people.”
UPDATE: 9:35 p.m. This is what I’m hearing from Scott Henry, who was en route from Lisa Borders’ party (at the W) to Mary Norwood’s (at the Varsity): “Not a lot of people there [at the W], maybe 100, maybe 80. Not a lot of energy. Please put in there that I had to suffer through someone singing ‘Wind Beneath My Wings.’ Yeah, I would not say it’s downbeat, but no one was totally psyched or anything like that. I couldn’t tell if it was because they thought that they were gonna lose or what. I’m pulling into the Varsity parking lot now. It is difficult to find a parking space at the Varsity. Is that unusual?”
UPDATE: 9:16 p.m. In case I left anyone wondering, that last update was left by me, Mara. Carry on.
UPDATE: 9:11 p.m. Greetings! I’m stuck on the couch at home while the esteemed Scott Henry and Thomas Wheatley get to party-hop, so let’s make the most of this, shall we? Starting now, I’ll be keeping a close watch on the election returns while Scott and Thomas deliver dispatches from the field. With 11 percent of precincts reporting, here’s what Fulton County’s vote-o-meter is spouting — Norwood: 44 percent; Reed: 39 percent; Borders: 13 percent. Thoughts, y’all? Predictions? Hopes? Dreams?
UPDATE: 9:03 p.m. Results now rolling in. Kasim Reed at 49 percent, Mary Norwood at 31 percent, Lisa Borders at 15 percent, Jesse Spikes, Kyle Keyser and Peter Brownlowe at 3 percent, 1 percent and 1 percent, respectively. One percent of precincts reporting.
UPDATE8:39 p.m. Ahoy, Atlantans. Thomas here, writing from my car outside Manuel’s. For an election night, the Poncey-Highland pub is surprisingly empty. Granted, polls closed roughly 30 minutes ago. If you’re looking for a place to watch the election results in peace, it’s an option.
Political gadfly Tom Houck was holding court with a table of somewhat familiar faces. His itinerary for the night includes Atkins Park to see Atlanta City Council District 6 candidate Liz Coyle and Shout in Midtown to see Post 2 At-Large hopeful Amir Farokhi. He also plants to drop by the Hyatt Regency to hobnob at mayoral candidate Kasim Reed’s soiree. Emory Morsberger was also in attendance at Manuel’s, but he’s high-stepping to several parties as well. When I asked how he was doing, he greeted me with his trademark “incredible!”
Atlanta City Council President candidate Clair Muller might owe Norwood a thank you card tomorrow morning, one political observer said. Muller, a longtime councilwoman who represents the affluent area, might see a boost in support thanks to Norwood’s solid grip on Buckhead. If Muller’s successful in her race against Ceasar Mitchell — and Norwood in her own contest — the city could have a white mayor and a white city council president.
Still no results to speak of in the Atlanta races. Lisa Borders tweeted earlier that election results are set to come in first from Buckhead, then Midtown, and finally South Atlanta. If that’s the case, don’t be surprised if you first see Norwood way ahead in the polls. But we’ll see.
It’s getting cold and I need to drive somewhere else. More to come.
Looking for an entertaining take on Atlanta’s elections? Good news! CL’s crack team of scribes will be out and about this evening in the City Too Busy to Vote. Scott Henry, Joeff Davis and myself will pile into the CL Mobile Meth Lab and risk life and limb to attend campaign parties, talk to people in suits, and keep you updated about results, rumors and skullduggery. CL News Editor Mara Shalhoup will hold down the fort and use the banhammer on people who post links to anonymous Web sites. It shall be a sight to behold, my friends.
Come back to Fresh Loaf around 8:30 and chime in. We’ll update the post throughout the night and pass along photos, videos and reports from campaign soirees. If you have photos or tips you’d like to share, shoot me an email.
The news networks will have regular election result updates. (C’mon, give Fox 5 another chance.) But if you want to watch polling precinct results from the comfort of your couch or barstool, check out the Fulton County Board of Elections’ website. They’ve got several online options you can use to monitor results. The Web site says it will only update every 15 minutes, but it has a nice scrolling feature that you can keep open on your browser.
If you’re looking for a drinking game … hmm … well, we really haven’t thought too much about that. Maybe take a shot every time a candidate says something vague like “move forward” or “change Atlanta?” You’ll be soused by 8:33 p.m. If Mayor Shirley Franklin grabs a mic and starts singing Rammstein’s “Du hast,” just turn that bottle upright and cut loose.
And if you haven’t already voted, there’s still time. Atlanta polls close at 8 p.m. Check out our earlier post if you need help finding out candidate info or where you can vote. Godspeed.
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.
[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.
After countless candidate forums, weird commercials with ACTUAL CRIMES and even some debate about race and closetedRepublicans, 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.)
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.
“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.
KASIM'S OUR MAN: Reed deserves the edge for his clear-eyed, pragmatic vision of Atlanta’s future
Even as it heads into the final days before the election, the Atlanta mayor’s race remains, as it has for months now, a showdown between three well-funded, skilled politicians, who are followed some distance behind by an earnest outsider. Voters seem largely indifferent and indecisive — perhaps because there’s a tough choice here, but also some easy ones.
In the second of CL’s series of videos chronicling mayoral candidates you’ve probably never heard of, Duvwon Robinson, who grew up in notorious housing project Bowen Homes, talks about cleaning up the streets (literally) and using confiscated drug money to create jobs for the unemployed.
In the first of CL’s series of videos chronicling mayoral candidates you’ve probably never heard of, tavern owner Rufus Terrill reveals his strategy for combating Atlanta crime. Behold, the Bum Bot!
State Sen. Kasim Reed, D-Atlanta, just announced he will introduce a bill to allow Atlanta residents to decide for themselves whether to raise property taxes to help fund police and firefighter salaries.
We’d heard that Reed, a leading candidate for Atlanta mayor, had been thinking of a way to get out front on the contentious issue of police cutbacks during an apparent upsurge in violent crime around the city. Reed is a close associate of Shirley Franklin who ran her two successful campaigns, so it’s no big surprise that Reed’s proposed solution to the city’s cop-funding problem is a tax increase; that’s what Franklin wanted to do last summer, but was shot down by the council.
I haven’t seen Reed’s bill yet, so I don’t know the details, but I’m already puzzled by a couple of figures. His press release says:
Sen. Kasim Reed will introduce legislation giving the citizens of Atlanta a choice to levy a 1 mill property tax that will generate more than $21 million dollars solely for police officer and fire fighter’s salaries
But last summer, when the city was facing a $40 million shortfall, Franklin proposed only a .43 mill increase. In other words – and keep in mind I’m no tax expert – it seems that a 1-mill tax hike would generate far more than $21 million. (That is, unless property values have fallen more dramatically than I’d thought, but that’s another story…)
But then again, Reed doesn’t say that the tax would bring in only $21 million; rather, he says that $21 million of the proceeds would be used for police and firefighter salaries. It could be that he expects additional proceeds to flow into the city’s general fund.
He’s holding a press conference at 2 p.m. I should learn the details then.
UPDATE: The Senate Press Office says Senators Nan Orrock, Vincent Fort, and Horacena Tate, all Democrats who represent Atlanta, have signed on as co-sponsors of Reed’s legislation.
Every few weeks, I still hear people mention radio penny-pincher Clark Howard’s name in connection with next year’s Atlanta mayor’s race.
Although I cheerfully admit that we at CL started the “Clark for Mayor” rumors more than a year-and-a-half ago — and at the time, he was seriously considering it — I feel the need to point out that Howard has since repeatedly tried to put the notion to rest.
In fact, he just did so again a few minutes ago, live on WSB 750 AM.
“I’ve really thought it through and, as much as I love my city … right now it’s not going to happen,” he said (according to a CL staffer who was listening in his car).
Howard went on to reveal that he’s had a hankerin’ to be mayor since he was a teenager and even took college courses he thought might prepare him for the job. Who knew?
Ultimately, however, Howard decided — as he told us last May — that he didn’t want to subject himself and his family to the sacrifices of political life, such as no longer being able to spend time with his children.
In other words, Clark-o-philes, please pin your hopes on someone else. What about Dagmar Midcap?
