NOW ENROLLING AGE 4 TO FIFTH GRADE
SERVING DEKALB, FULTON, GWINNETT, HENRY AND ROCKDALE COUNTIES
VOLUME 20 NUMBER 9
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MAY 31, 2014
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Recount confirms Mayfield and Turner headed to a runoff
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By Joshua Smith
recount has confirmed that incumbent Thad Mayfield and Vickie Turner are headed to a runoff on July 22. The DeKalb County Board of Registration & Elections conducted a recount of votes for School Board District 5 on May 29 at the request of challenger Jesse “Jay” Cunningham, who came in third in the May 20 election. Challenger Vickie Turner had 64 more votes than Cunningham. The numbers are in and the results are the same. “Mr. Cunningham’s recount request was taken and accepted because it is his right under Georgia Elections Code. We started the recount at 10 a.m. and we were basically finished by lunchtime,” said Maxine Daniels, Director of DeKalb County Voter Registration and Elections. “My view is that it is within his rights to request it but we didn’t expect any change in the outcome of count that was certified on May 20 by the DeKalb Board of Registration & Elections.” In the five-way race Mayfield came in first with 4,407 votes (36.05 percent); Turner came in second
Photo by Joshua Smith/OCG News
DeKalb County Director of Voter Registration and Elections Maxine Daniels, explains the results of a recount to Jesse “Jay” Cunningham in Stone Mountain. Cunningham filed for the recount after the results of the May 20 election.
with 3,436 votes (28.11 percent); Cunningham came in third with 3,372 votes (27.59 percent). Cunningham, a former McDonalds general manager and founder of the South DeKalb Parent Council, said he wouldn’t have pressed the issue, but he received too many phone calls to just let the results sit
Mourning Maya April 4, 1928 – May 28, 2014
Atlantans reflect on celebrated poet By Mackenzie N. Morgan & Joshua Smith
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dmirers in Atlanta mourned the death of Maya Angelou, one of America’s great literary giants. Angelou died May 28 at her home in Winston-Salem, NC. She was 86. The accomplished poet and author was honored by President Barack Obama in 2011 with the Presidential Medal of Freedom award, the country’s highest civilian honor. This week, she was championed by local leaders as a champion for Mankind. “Maya Angelou is hailed as one of the most influential voices in modern literature, film and stage. She will be remembered not only for her wit and wisdom, but also her compassion and grace,” said Dr. Jabari Simama, president
of Georgia Piedmont Technical College. “We are all living in a better world because she chose to share her wisdom and to maker herself accessible to us. Our thoughts and prayers go out to her family and friends in their time of grief.” In a prepared statement, the King Center said: “Our nation and world have lost one of the great Renaissance women of this, or any age, Maya Angelou. Our hearts go out to her son, Guy Johnson, and to all of her family and friends. A prodigious writer, artist and thinker, Maya Angelou was also a woman of matchless compassion and an eloquent humanitarian activist and champion of the poor and oppressed of all nations. She supported Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. and served the Civil Rights See Maya, page 6
and not challenge them. “Between my wife and I, we got about 50 calls, three from lawyers telling us to take another look at those results. That was all the confirmation I needed,” said Cunningham, who won the District 5 seat in 2006 and again in 2010. “I heard all kind of crazy stories from polling procedures not being properly followed to not properly filing the District 5 numbers after the other districts filed. But I have no proof so what can I do? All I can do is petition for a recount. So that’s what I did.” Cunningham said that now that the recount has concluded, he can move forward. “Now I can work for the children of DeKalb County with nobody looking over my back. I’ll still be around, at all the board meetings, working for the district,” said Cunningham. “Now I plan to organize a group or committee of concerned parents to fight for our children.” Cunningham was one of the six school board members who Gov. Nathan Deal removed after scathing reports that the school district was placed on probation See Runoff, page 5
Aloha!
Photos by Joshua Smith/OCG News
Whether it was learning the hula, partying to the beat of live drums or munching on pineapple chicken and salsa, senior citizens in DeKalb County had a blast at the “Hawaii 5.5” Senior Celebration on May 28 in Decatur. For more on the story and some colorful pictures, see page 10.