Race may be key as ballots cast for Atlanta mayor

By ERRIN HAINES

Associated Press Writer

ATLANTA (AP) — After nearly a year of campaigning, endless media speculation and hundreds of thousands of dollars spent, Atlanta residents casted ballots Tuesday for the city’s next mayor in an election that could make history or split along racial lines and drag on another month.

Polls closed at 8 p.m. EST Tuesday. Among the front-runners were city council President Lisa Borders, state Sen. Kasim Reed and councilwoman Mary Norwood, who could become the city’s first white mayor in nearly 40 years.

In all, six candidates are vying for the position, and most political experts believe a runoff is likely due to expected low voter turnout and informal polls that show Reed and Borders drawing sizable and similar support.

If no candidate receives a majority plus one vote, then a runoff will be scheduled for Dec. 1.

Only about 9,100 of the city’s 237,000 registered voters cast ballots in early voting — which ended Friday — and another 2,500 voted absentee, according to the Fulton County Board of Elections. Director Barry Garner expects voter turnout to be around 35 percent, based on an average from the past three city elections.

Garner said poll workers reported light turnout Tuesday across the city.

Atlanta, nicknamed The City Too Busy To Hate by former Mayor William Hartsfield during the 1950s, elected Maynard Jackson as its first black mayor in 1973. He was followed by a string of black successors who each served two terms.

Norwood has been on the Atlanta city council for seven years but ran as an outsider who would make the city safer and more accountable. She began campaigning as early as last summer — some say even earlier — gathering support from white and black communities.

Race has been an issue in the campaign, and political experts expect many voters to split along racial lines, both in the general election and in a possible runoff. Recently, Norwood has also had to contend with accusations that she is a Republican, which she denies.

The campaign has also revolved around police officers and money.

Development that had been a boon to Atlanta’s coffers screeched to a halt in the down economy, and city officials moved to shutter fire stations and furlough police officers in recent months. And high-profile murders have fed fears of a return to rampant crime, despite FBI statistics suggesting violent crimes have gone down in the city, though property crimes are up.

The candidates have all looked to appear tough on crime.

Walter Calloway, who lives in predominantly black southwest Atlanta, said he voted for Norwood because he wanted change in city politics.

“She will bring a new regime here,” said Calloway, 37. “She has new ideas and she will bring a different landscape to the political system. It’s not a black and white issue. It’s an association issue. We need to see something different. And with Norwood, I can see that happening.”

Norwood has blamed outgoing Mayor Shirley Franklin, the city’s first female mayor, for the financial woes. Franklin has called Norwood incompetent and not ready the run the city.

Franklin — who took office in 2002 and cannot run again because of term limits — announced that she would vote for Reed, though she stopped short of an official endorsement.

Borders, the current city council president, has a background in real estate marketing and consulting. The Atlanta native is also the granddaughter of a civil rights-era minister who helped integrate the city’s police department.

She lost some support when she dropped out of the race last fall to care for her aging parents, but had endorsements from black clergy and the city’s police union — which she touted as proof she would improve public safety if elected to Atlanta’s top job.

Reed has been a state lawmaker and Democratic operative for more than a decade, but he had to spend thousands of dollars to introduce himself to local voters. His strategy propelled him from near anonymity to a spot among the front-runners. He was the leading fundraiser, with high-profile endorsements from former Mayor Andrew Young and rapper Ludacris — who spent Election Day encouraging followers on his Twitter account to vote for Reed.

Erica Bennett voted with her husband and son at Adamsville Recreation Center in southwest Atlanta. She cast her ballot for Reed, but said she was hesitant to vote for him because of Franklin’s supported.

“It’s time for a man in the office,” said Bennett, 35. “I thought when I found out about Shirley voting for Kasim, they might have been on the same page. But after meeting Kasim on a few occasions, it seemed like he’s for the people. That made me want to vote for him and no one else.”

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Associated Press writer Jonathan Landrum Jr. contributed to this report.