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Tuesday, October 27, 2009

Time For Change In Atlanta?


Next week, Atlanta could go from the South's chocolate city to one led by a non-black mayor. It would end nearly four decades of black mayorship in the ATL. America was ready for change last November when we elected Barack Obama... but does that sentiment work in reverse? Is Atlanta ready for change too?

There are six candidates trying to replace Mayor Shirley Franklin. Atlanta Councilwoman Mary Norwood is the frontrunner. But if she doesn't pull the majority of votes, Norwood would have to battle it out with two black candidates (Council President Lisa Borders or state Sen. Kasim Reed).

UPDATED: Norwood claims she's independent from big money real estate developers and she doesn't have major ties to the black community.  But she does have backers in the upscale Buckhead neighborhood. Her critics have taken to calling her "Buckhead Betty" and accuse her of having strong Republican ties.

So, what say you Brew readers, will a white mayor change the "face" of Atlanta?  Does the race of the city's mayor even matter?

What's your call?

Source

Photo: David Walter Banks for The New York Times
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3 comments:

  1. AnonymousTuesday, October 27, 2009 at 1:23:00 PM EDT

    Um. Where did you get your information? Because it's totally backwards. Norwood has almost NO support from real estate because she spearheaded the in-fill ordnance that limited what could be built in Atlanta.

    Lisa Borders is the developer candidate. Kasim Reed is the airport/machine candidate.

    Please tell me what information you used to write what you did.

    ReplyDelete
  2. AnonymousTuesday, October 27, 2009 at 1:25:00 PM EDT

    http://saportareport.com/blog/?p=1996

    Info on contibutions for the candidate's campaigns. You'll see that Norwood is clearly the candidate of the people.

    ReplyDelete
  3. Witches BrewTuesday, October 27, 2009 at 1:42:00 PM EDT

    Thanks for the feedback & correction, Anonymous.

    Any thoughts on the question at hand: is it time for change in Atlanta?

    ReplyDelete

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