There was plenty of agreement between the two candidates in the runoff for mayor of Mableton during a candidate forum this week.
That agreement even extended to de-annexation, as Aaron Carman and Michael Owens were asked if the fledgling city government should honor residents’ requests to be removed from Mableton’s boundaries if it fails to provide adequate services as planned.
Owens, a cybersecurity executive and former Cobb Democratic Party chair, said he was “not going to delve into hypotheticals” regarding the question.
Instead, he said, the city’s goal will be to deliver top-notch services to all residents and make sure they are happy with those they receive, whether or not they support de-annexing from Mableton.
Aaron Carman, an IT sales manager, was endorsed by the group De-Annex from Mableton, though he sided with his opponent in his answer to the question.
“I kind of agree with Dr. Owens. I don’t believe that we should hypothetically look at the failure in services,” Carman said. “I think the focus should be on delivering the core services.”
The virtual forum hosted by the Mableton Improvement Coalition and Austell Community Task Force comes ahead of the April 18 runoff between Carman and Owens.
Carman was the top vote-getter in the March 21 election – he received 2,162, or 36% of the 6,054 votes cast in the mayoral race, while Owens was a close second with 1,852 votes, or 31%.
Because neither candidate received more than 50% of the vote, they advanced to the runoff.
The new city of more than 77,500 people saw low turnout in the March 21 special election, with less than 13% of around 47,200 eligible voters casting ballots across the race for mayor and six City Council contests.
Setting themselves apart
Carman did seek to set himself apart from Owens by going into what services he believes the city should offer…
Read the full article here
