State Sen. Vincent Fort, D-Atlanta
State Sen. Vincent Fort, D-Atlanta, is leaning against running for Atlanta City Council President, a source very close to the lawmaker tells CL. He’s expected to make a decision tomorrow.
If Fort opts not to run, that leaves Atlanta City Councilmembers Clair Muller and Ceasar Mitchell vying for the top spot. As of right now, at least.
(Photo by Joeff Davis)
I recently related the rumor that state Sen. Vincent Fort, D-Atlanta, is considering a run for Atlanta City Council president, now that Lisa Borders is re-entering the mayor’s race. Well, yesterday I tracked Fort down at the Capitol and asked him if the rumor is true.
He was cagey about it – admittedly so – but I came away with the strong conclusion that he is indeed weighing a run for the position. He may ultimately decide against it, but for now I’d say he belongs firmly in the “possible” column – which was where Borders herself was until last week with regard to the mayor’s race.
“My heart’s always been with the city of Atlanta,” he said.
As a politician, Fort has always been a bit of an odd bird. Like former Rep. “Able” Mable Thomas and ex-Councilman Derrick Boazman, Fort has presented himself as a rabble-rouser who’s not above getting arrested in order to draw attention to some populist cause, such as his battle against the restructuring of the Grady board.
However, unlike Thomas and Boazman, Fort isn’t simply a professional protester. He can also be an effective lawmaker, such as when he successfully shepherded sweeping anti-predatory lending legislation through the General Assembly a few years back.
The Council president’s job isn’t an obvious fit for an outspoken social activist like Fort. It really seems better suited to someone who excells at process and mediation. But that could change.
(Photo by Andisheh Nouraee)
Four weeks ago, Borders told us she was “reconsidering” a run for mayor. Well, sometime between then and now, she quit reconsidering and decided to jump back in. Maria Saporta reports on Borders’ turnabout in today’s Atlanta Business Chronicle and our own sources confirm that the Council president is indeed back in. A formal announcement is expected sometime next week.
Borders’ re-entry could up-end the mayor’s race – or maybe not. Before she pulled out last August for family reasons, Borders was routinely described as a front-runner, yet she’d raised a mere $300,000 during more than a year as a declared candidate. She’s now a good six months behind the current front-runners, Councilwoman Mary Norwood and state Sen. Kasim Reed, in terms of fund-raising and campaign events. Still, I’m told that a certain former top executive (of a company whose initials are GP) canceled a Norwood fund-raiser last week when he heard Borders was getting back in.
But the news will certainly affect the down-ticket city races. I’m waiting to hear back, but I understand Councilman Ceasar Mitchell has already dropped his bid for mayor and is shooting instead for the president’s seat. (He’s taken down his campaign website for retooling.) [UPDATE – Mitchell called back to say he isn't ready to reveal his plans just yet, but will make an announcement soon.] Councilwoman Clair Muller, who was aiming to retire from her Buckhead post after 20 years, has also expressed interest in the job. And we’ve heard that state Sen. Vincent Fort, D-Atlanta, is likewise eyeing the position.
Rep. Austin Scott, R-Tifton
Several Republican state representatives on Thursday opposed a privileged resolution to make President Barack Obama an honorary member of Georgia’s Legislative Black Caucus. Members of the caucus called the move political, offensive and bizarre — the state House has passed “thousands” of honorary resolutions without objection, one lawmaker said.
“It doesn’t have anything to do with the color of his skin. It has to do with his policies being inconsistent with our core beliefs as Republicans.”
— State Rep. Austin Scott, R-Tifton, and 2010 governor candidate, after stating that the legislation read as if the entire Legislature endorsed the president.
“We pass [other] resolutions about people we know nothing about. It’s a matter of respecting the office.”
— State Sen. Vincent Fort, D-Atlanta
“In my 35 years I’ve seen many resolutions. And I’ve never seen this type of action taken on the floor of the House. Now there’s a dark cloud over Georgia. And somebody has to remove it. This is a political act.”
— State Rep. Calvin Smyre, D-Macon, the Black Caucus’ national chairman, who had planned to deliver the resolution to Obama at the White House on March 20.
(Courtesy House Communications)
As reported yesterday in the AJC, Gwinnett County police raided the wrong Lawrenceville home in an attempt to break up a suspected methamphetamine distributor. Andre at Georgia Politics Unfiltered spoke with state Sen. Vincent Fort about the issue.
The Democrat lawmaker who represents parts of Atlanta — and who also received one write-in vote for Cobb County Tax Commissioner on Nov. 4 (!) — introduced legislation last session that would’ve banned the use of “no-knock” warrants statewide.
State Sen. Vincent Fort (D – Atlanta) reacted to the article detailing the mistaken raid of John Lewis’ home saying the incident would be laughable if it weren’t so serious.
“This is just the reason why we need a statewide law restricting no-knock warrants,” Fort said.
More insight and info is over at Andre’s.
The people have spoken!
Local blogger Rusty Tanton — a Decatur resident who mounted a one-man write-in campaign to be elected Cobb County Tax Commissioner — received more votes on Nov. 4 than the Son of God.
This was quite the coup, if I may say. Tanton was able to trump such notable candidates as “Keith Richards,” “Obi Wan Kenobi,” “Zombie Reagan” and perennial officeseeker “The Hell With IRS :].” “No More Evil Nazis” and “Paris Hilton” polled favorably, but alas, their respective public foibles — silly moustaches and sex tapes, respectively — ruined their chances.
State Sen. Vincent Fort, D-Atlanta, received one vote. Really.
(Photo courtesy of GodGear)
Last Thursday, about 15 people rallied outside Grady Hospital’s main entrance to protest the hospital board’s decision to turn the longtime public hospital into a private, nonprofit enterprise. State Sen. Vincent Fort said privatizing the hospital would threaten dialysis and prescription-drug access for poor people, as well as the job security of the hospital’s unionized employees. Protestor Addis Bay Ababa was more blunt. He called Gov. Sonny Perdue and state legislators racist for spending $19 million to fund government-operated recreational-fishing facilities while withholding money from a government-operated hospital that treats poor, black people in Atlanta.
