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Metro Atlanta contested races
Riverdale City Council
Michelle Bruce (i)
Doraville City Council, District 2
Brian Bates
Savannah
Mayor’s race
Otis S. Johnson (i)
Alderman Post 1 (At large)
Edna Branch Jackson (i)
Alderman Post 2 (At large)
Jeff Felser (i)
District 1 District 2
Van R. Johnson (i) Mary Osborne (i)
District 3 District 4
John Hall No endorsement
District 5 District 6
Clifton Jones (i) Tony Thomas (i)
Cocktails & Jazz for Equality in Savannah
Nov. 2, 7 p.m.
Savannah Station
601 Cohen St., Savannah
912-944-0996
Evening for Equality
Nov. 10, 7 p.m.
Callanwolde Fine Arts Center
980 Briarcliff Road NE, Atlanta
404-327-9898
Georgia Equality
www.georgiaequality.org
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HOME > NEWS > LOCAL
By: ZACK HUDSON
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With a new list of endorsed candidates unveiled, Georgia Equality seeks volunteers to train for campaign and voter registration efforts for the Nov. 6 municipal elections in metro Atlanta and Savannah.
On Oct. 16, the state’s largest gay rights organization revealed eight new endorsements for candidates running for seats on the Savannah Board of Aldermen. The Savannah endorsements, mostly incumbents, come after an earlier round of endorsements for openly gay and transgender candidates running for municipal offices in metro Atlanta cities.
“We invite LGBT Georgians to volunteer to help get out the vote for our endorsed candidates in Savannah, as well as Michelle Bruce and Brian Bates here in the metro area,” GE Political Director Kyle Bailey said.
“Georgia Equality is recruiting volunteers to help implement its strategies and assist our endorsed candidates with phone banking, canvassing, and GOTV efforts,” Bailey said.
Bates, who is gay, is running for the District 2 seat on the Doraville City Council. Bruce, who is transgender, is running to retain her seat on the Riverdale City Council. Both are endorsed by Georgia Equality. A lesbian candidate, Chris Avers, also seeks a Doraville City Council seat in the Nov. 6 election.
None of the Savannah endorsees are openly gay, according to Kevin Clark, a GE political board member from Savannah.
“We’re going to target two or three of these races in Savannah so we can target our resources so that we can get the most bang for our buck,” said Clark, who highlighted re-electing current incumbent Savannah Mayor Otis S, Johnson as a top priority for the group.
Johnson is involved in a six-way race to retain his seat.
“The goal is to re-elect the mayor without a runoff, which is a high goal,” Clark said.
In January, the Savannah Board of Aldermen unanimously passed a resolution stating its commitment to fair treatment for gay men and lesbians, among other minority groups.
The resolution came on the heels of months of negotiating with GE leaders who stepped in after the apparently anti-gay beating of Travis McLain, age 20, during the 2006 St. Patrick’s Day festivities.
In February, also after GE requests, Savannah Police Chief Michael Berkow appointed Star Corporal Tracy Walden to serve as the Savannah Police Department’s first ever liaison to gay residents and tourists in Savannah.
The current crop of endorsed candidates completed Georgia Equality questionnaires which asked them to weigh in on gay issues as well as general municipal government issues.
Among the questions, the candidates were asked if they support offering domestic partner health and retirement benefits to Savannah municipal employees. The issue ranks at the top of GE’s priority lists for Savannah, according to Bailey.
The Savannah Board of Aldermen added sexual orientation to the city’s employment non-discrimination policies in 2001. The GE questionnaire asked the candidates if they would consider adding similar employment protections for openly transgender people.
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