After Election Day, Cities are Falling

That cold chill you’re feeling isn’t fall, that’s hell freezing over. How can I be sure? Because the small city of Kennesaw, just outside Atlanta, the city that prides itself in good old boy city council alliances, has just elected another woman to its council bringing the total number of women to two on a board of six including the mayor. It may not sound like much to you, but there has never been two women serving together on the council in the 126 year history of Kennesaw, even though 53 percent of the population is female. Below gives you an idea of the council prior to the election.

kennesaw

mayorAnd of course, the mayor.

Mayor Mathews has been accused of having alliances with Duckett, Killingsworth and Riedemann. So much so that Councilwoman Cris Eaton-Welsh couldn’t get a discussion on the table for something as simple rules as voting on ‘no texting during city council meetings,’ or ‘a policy for proper spending use of city credit cards.’ When she did, comments form anonymous people would be posted in the local papers callingy her a “cancer” in the city that needed to go or a “grandstander.”

She has some support now. Debra Williams, the newly elected councilwoman knows her way around government. She took the issues of spending and more to the Kennesaw voters, walking miles of neighborhoods and posting intelligent responses online to candidate spin where current council members tried to deflect blame for poor record keeping. She was elected yesterday in a landslide.

All incumbents lost last night. Duckett’s seat that he held for many years was snatched by numbers genius, Jim Sebastian, who was disgusted by the city’s spending habits and Jenkins was ousted by the former mayor, Leonard Church. Church was powerful in his day, but Williams and Welsh have the wind at their back with support from a city wanting to see change.

Congrats to Debra and the city on this historic day. One down, thousands of cities to go.

Do you have a story of election triumph for a GIRLFRIEND? Let us know!

debra williams Kennesaw

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