In a virtual, two-hour forum hosted by community groups this week, candidates for the new city of Mableton’s City Council discussed issues such as city services, the de-annexation movement, economic development and taxes.
The forum featured candidates for City Council Districts 1, 2, 3 and 5. A separate forum scheduled for Tuesday, Feb. 21 will feature candidates for Districts 4, 6, and the candidates for mayor.
Voters in the city will head to the polls March 21 to elect the new city’s first mayor and council. The elections have attracted 28 candidates, half of whom were featured in the forum. Candidates must win a majority — more than 50% of the vote — to be elected, creating the potential for April 18 runoff elections.
Council members will be elected by the residents of the district they are running to represent, while the mayor will be elected citywide.
The forum was hosted by the Mableton Improvement Coalition and the Austell Community Task Force.
District 5
First up were the five candidates for District 5 — Cheryl Davis, Chijioke Ebbis, TJ Ferguson and Stephanie Joy Loose.
District 5 includes South Cobb High School, Cobb Police Precinct Two and the South Cobb Library. It is west of Floyd Road and bordered roughly to the north by Anderson Mill Road, and to the west by Austell.
After each candidate gave a one-minute introduction, they were asked how they would bring residents together, particularly the 47% of voters who voted against cityhood.
Some residents of the new south Cobb city, especially in neighborhoods that are predominately anti-cityhood, are lobbying state legislators to allow them to de-annex from Mableton.
Davis said she would have an open-door policy.
“I want them to understand that we hear you, we understand that this is not something that you wanted initially, but we’re going to try to make the best of it,…
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