Atlanta mayoral race: Poll shows Mary Norwood with early lead (Decatur: sale, taxation)

[ronricks]

How has Aman been able to make such a huge jump in the polls? I don't know a single person who is voting for him. Where are these votes coming from? (if the polls are even accurate)

[cqholt]

Originally Posted by ronricks

How has Aman been able to make such a huge jump in the polls? I don't know a single person who is voting for him. Where are these votes coming from? (if the polls are even accurate)

He has spent a lot of money on ads.

[jeoff]

Originally Posted by ronricks

How has Aman been able to make such a huge jump in the polls? I don't know a single person who is voting for him. Where are these votes coming from? (if the polls are even accurate)

There are so many candidates, that are fighting for the #2 position that a person with concentrated support in one area (or very spread out light support) could make the runoff with less than 20% of the vote. But, my guess is that he is strongest in Buckhead going into Morningside down to the north part of VaH, and thins out going south--but the early poling also showed significant support among blacks, too.

[atlHawks]

Originally Posted by cqholt

He has spent a lot of money on ads.

I'm voting for him.

[jeoff]

Originally Posted by cqholt

He has spent a lot of money on ads.

(and, he ditched the tiny print signs for ones you can read!)

[tikigod311]

Wow that was a fun forum. I didn't see the whole thing as it gets tiring hear people try to sound like they know what they are talking about by using broad statements with buzz words mixed in. Over and over and over again...ugh.

But there definitely were some interesting moments. Please note, this commentary is only on the three questions I heard (hour +). I think Hall and Woolard came out on top again. I do not get the appeal of Norwood. Her answers weren't thoughtful and it just seems like there is a big disconnect b/t her and everyone else. This guy Wrightson showed up and it sounded like someone who was watching Fox News in a diner decided he should do something and run for mayor. WOW.

Quick notes:
-Fort said by some measures the city is 70% gentrified and he was rolling with that figure.
-Norwood, while struggling to find an answer on how we can enhance equity via transit, said we can use the MARTA tax to help with affordability. It was very broad, but she said something about the land around the station. I truly hope she didn't mean funding affordable housing with our hard fought transit tax.
-Eaves was very direct in criticizing the current mayor and city council for not reaching out to neighboring jurisdictions to collaborate on expanding transit.
-Hall made some VERY interesting comments about expanding MARTA a few ways, but most interestingly via PPPs. He said the city has been approached by numerous foreign groups wanting to invest large sums of money into transit in Atlanta. I wish I would have recorded this because it he mentioned more specific terms. I know he said German groups were interested and I think he said something about Switzerland. He was very confident in these statements.


Then the highlight of the night. Sen Fort said he would help MARTA by making sure Emory can't "jump the line" via annexation to fund the Clifton Corridor. He went on to state that he has information that Peachtree Pine was purchased for $10M (i think) as a quid pro quo for annexation + Clifton Corridor funding. He stated that he asked all of city council to deny or comment on this and they are all silent. WHOA. Pretty major claims by Fort. Most of yall know how I feel about this topic, but I'm not jumping on this yet. I want more information. Fort criticized the media for dropping the ball. Hopefully some more info comes out on this.

BTW, Lance Bottoms rebutted Sen Fort and said her vote was not for sale and any business transactions that have happened in no way influence her vote. They went back and forth a bit. I hope someone has video...

So yeah, that was pretty interesting

[Forhall]

Originally Posted by tikigod311

Wow that was a fun forum. I didn't see the whole thing as it gets tiring hear people try to sound like they know what they are talking about by using broad statements with buzz words mixed in. Over and over and over again...ugh.

But there definitely were some interesting moments. Please note, this commentary is only on the three questions I heard (hour +). I think Hall and Woolard came out on top again. I do not get the appeal of Norwood. Her answers weren't thoughtful and it just seems like there is a big disconnect b/t her and everyone else. This guy Wrightson showed up and it sounded like someone who was watching Fox News in a diner decided he should do something and run for mayor. WOW.

Quick notes:
-Fort said by some measures the city is 70% gentrified and he was rolling with that figure.
-Norwood, while struggling to find an answer on how we can enhance equity via transit, said we can use the MARTA tax to help with affordability. It was very broad, but she said something about the land around the station. I truly hope she didn't mean funding affordable housing with our hard fought transit tax.
-Eaves was very direct in criticizing the current mayor and city council for not reaching out to neighboring jurisdictions to collaborate on expanding transit.
-Hall made some VERY interesting comments about expanding MARTA a few ways, but most interestingly via PPPs. He said the city has been approached by numerous foreign groups wanting to invest large sums of money into transit in Atlanta. I wish I would have recorded this because it he mentioned more specific terms. I know he said German groups were interested and I think he said something about Switzerland. He was very confident in these statements.


Then the highlight of the night. Sen Fort said he would help MARTA by making sure Emory can't "jump the line" via annexation to fund the Clifton Corridor. He went on to state that he has information that Peachtree Pine was purchased for $10M (i think) as a quid pro quo for annexation + Clifton Corridor funding. He stated that he asked all of city council to deny or comment on this and they are all silent. WHOA. Pretty major claims by Fort. Most of yall know how I feel about this topic, but I'm not jumping on this yet. I want more information. Fort criticized the media for dropping the ball. Hopefully some more info comes out on this.

BTW, Lance Bottoms rebutted Sen Fort and said her vote was not for sale and any business transactions that have happened in no way influence her vote. They went back and forth a bit. I hope someone has video...

So yeah, that was pretty interesting

Clifton corridor would be a huge plus for Atlanta, as would getting Emory and the CDC within the city limits. Could lead to annexing wealthy druid hills and adding that tax base to the city.

Similarly, the closing of Peachtree Pine is great for midtown and downtown and was widely hailed by most people living in the area. I, for one, am glad it's finally done regardless of what happened behind the scenes.

[Iconographer]

Originally Posted by tikigod311

Then the highlight of the night. Sen Fort said he would help MARTA by making sure Emory can't "jump the line" via annexation to fund the Clifton Corridor. He went on to state that he has information that Peachtree Pine was purchased for $10M (i think) as a quid pro quo for annexation + Clifton Corridor funding. He stated that he asked all of city council to deny or comment on this and they are all silent. WHOA. Pretty major claims by Fort.

Was he wearing a tinfoil hat at the time?

[magnetar]

Originally Posted by jeoff

(and, he ditched the tiny print signs for ones you can read!)

Yes, there is a very visible Aman sign near my house, hanging on an illegally-placed construction fence that went up a year ago around an overgrown lot, with no construction in sight. Not exactly the image I'd want to project, but I'm not a professional politician. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[tikigod311]

Originally Posted by Forhall

Clifton corridor would be a huge plus for Atlanta, as would getting Emory and the CDC within the city limits. Could lead to annexing wealthy druid hills and adding that tax base to the city.

Similarly, the closing of Peachtree Pine is great for midtown and downtown and was widely hailed by most people living in the area. I, for one, am glad it's finally done regardless of what happened behind the scenes.

This discussion has been had a good bit in other threads, but while the Clifton Corridor may be a good idea, the question is how should it be funded. The part I highlighted is concerning and leads to an very unhealthy government. Totally disagree there and it is important to fight that thought process as it leads to a government that doesn't work for you.

Fort is a character (to say the least). He wasn't donning the tin foil but he sure was firey about this. I agreed with a lot of what he had to say on this topic. But I'm definitely not jumping on these accusations. I will say, it would not surprise me in the least if it is true though. But that's probably his strategy.

It was interesting to see so many city council members not rebuff his statements. Maybe their strategy is to ignore him. But Lance Bottoms certainly engaged. But she really didn't say anything that denies his accusation, just strong statements that something like that wouldn't influence her vote.