Candidates for seats on county commissions and school boards qualified this week to run in this year’s election, setting the stage for some competitive primaries on May 19.
Here’s a breakdown of some key county-level races.
Fulton County
Commission Chairman Robb Pitts, who has served as either an Atlanta City Council member or Fulton commissioner for more than 40 years, is facing challenges from fellow commissioners Marvin S. Arrington Jr., an attorney, and Mo Ivory, a professor at the Georgia State University College of Law.
Also running for chair is Republican Eric J. Tatum, an attorney.
By qualifying to run for commission chair, Ivory vacated the District 4 seat she has held for a little over a year, which means five of the board’s seven seats are up for grabs this year, including a special election to fill Ivory’s District 4 seat.
The leadership turnover comes at a critical juncture, with the county struggling to increase staffing at the jail, which is under a legal agreement with the Department of Justice to improve deplorable conditions there.
Credit: Ben Hendren
Credit: Ben Hendren
Other vacant seats on the commission are districts 1, 3 and 5. Those seats are now occupied by Bridget Thorne, Dana Barrett and Arrington, respectively. Barrett is running for Georgia secretary of state.
Five Democrats and two Republicans are running to replace Barrett in the District 3 commission seat.
Lee Morris, who served for eight years as a Republican before losing to Barrett in 2022, is running this year as a Democrat. The four other Democrats are Jodi Merriday, Kimberly Bean, Reed Stillson and Kiddada Grey.
Merriday has served as ombudsman of neighborhoods for Atlanta Mayor Andre Dickens, ombudsman of Atlanta Public Schools and as an assistant professor and lecturer at several colleges and universities in Georgia. Bean is an operations manager; Grey is an author and consultant; and Stillson is a barista.
The Republicans running for the District 3 commission seat are Paul Burton, a retiree, and Rebecca King, who is self-employed.
In District 1, the stage is set for a rematch between Thorne, the Republican incumbent, and Democrat Maggie Goldman, a real estate agent and former chair of the board for Fulton’s Continuum of Care, a program that seeks to end homelessness in the county.
The pair faced off for the District 1 seat in 2022, with Thorne winning by 394 votes out of 72,410 cast.
And in District 5, four Democrats and one Republican have qualified.
The Democrats are Dejia Felicity Swindell, a marketing strategist; Sojourner Marable Grimmett, who works in marketing, communications and community outreach; J. Jazz Thomas-Jones, a podcaster, minister and freelance journalist; and Helen Willis, who has served on South Fulton’s City Council since 2017.
Tiffany A. Henyard, a Republican business owner, also has qualified to run for the District 5 commission seat.
Four seats on the nonpartisan Fulton County Board of Education are up for election this year.
District 2’s Lillie Pozatek will not seek reelection. Mary Kaye Pepperman is running unopposed for her seat.
In District 5, incumbent Kristin McCabe will face challenger Jean Antoine. District 6 incumbent Kimberly R. Dove is running unopposed. And District 7’s incumbent, Michelle Morancie, will face John Seeli.
DeKalb
In DeKalb County, Democratic Commissioner Michelle Long Spears has qualified for reelection in District 2. Ben Pepper, a self-employed Republican, has qualified to run against her.
In the District 3 commission race, incumbent Nicole Massiah, a Democrat who is an attorney and a real estate broker and was elected in 2024, has qualified to run for reelection.
Three other Democrats are running, along with one Republican. One of the Democrats is Jakequeline “Jake” Walls, a former DeKalb firefighter and EMT who owns a business that transports seniors to doctor’s appointments. She ran unsuccessfully for the seat in 2024.
The two other Democrats are Keyanna Jones Moore, an environmental policy aide, and Tommy T. Travis, a community advocate and south DeKalb entrepreneur.
The Republican contender is business owner Andrea Bass Smith.
Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez
Credit: Miguel Martinez-Jimenez
In District 7, one of two “super districts” that divide the county in half, incumbent Democrat LaDena Bolton, who was elected in December 2024, has qualified to run for reelection.
Two other Democrats are running against her. One is Jacqueline Adams, who lost to Bolton in a runoff in 2024. She is a hair stylist who owns a salon and a consulting company and founded a nonprofit that mentors young people. The other contender is Oneka T. Willabus, whose occupation is listed as chief of staff.
There will be elections for three of the seven nonpartisan seats on the DeKalb County Board of Education.
Whitney McGinniss is running for reelection to represent District 2. She will face two challengers: Ruth D. Goldstein and Charlie McAdoo II.
Incumbent and current board chair Allyson Gevertz is not seeking reelection for her District 4 seat. Tracy L. Brisson, Alison Cundiff, Crew S. Heimer, Jamison E. Murphy and Sonja Payne Szubski are all vying for her open seat.
Incumbent Diijon “Twin” DaCosta is running uncontested for another seat on the board.
Cobb
In Cobb County, the commission’s two Republicans are up for reelection.
JoAnn K. Birrell, the District 3 incumbent, is seeking a fifth term. She faces another Republican, Chris Wasserman, CEO of a workforce development organization, and Democrat Kevin Redmon, who works in information technology software sales.
In the District 1 commission race, incumbent Keli Gambrill is running against Republican Clark F. Hungerford, a retiree.
Credit: abcutrer@gmail.com
Credit: abcutrer@gmail.com
Two incumbents on the Cobb County Board of Education are facing challengers. Longtime board member and Republican David Chastain is running against two Democrats for the Post 4 seat: Micheal Garza and Susan A. McCartney.
In Post 6, incumbent and Democrat Nichelle Davis is facing a challenge from another Democrat: Jennifer Susko.
Post 2 Democrat Becky Sayler is running unopposed.
Gwinnett
In Gwinnett County, the commission seats for districts 2 and 4 will be on the ballot.
In District 4, Arefeen Chowdhury, a Republican CEO, and Democrat Benjamin L. Culberson are challenging incumbent Republican Matthew Holtkamp, who was elected in 2022 and is founder of a Gwinnett-based HVAC and plumbing company.
District 2 Commissioner Ben Ku, a Democratic software consultant who was first elected to the board in 2018, has qualified to run for reelection. Running against him is Rodolfo Ochoa, a Republican business owner.
Two incumbents on the nonpartisan Gwinnett County Board of Education will face challengers. Steven Knudsen will face Chelsea Elizabeth Hutchings for the District 2 seat, while Adrienne Simmons will face Camille Roberts Christopher in District 4.
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