Attention turns to Senate runoff after fraught presidential election

MARTA’s Board of Directors voted unanimously Nov. 12 to extend the contract of General Manager and CEO Jeffrey Parker for three years, through 2026.

The Atlanta City Council approved legislation last week that prohibits commercial harassment by investors seeking to intimidate and pressure homeowners into selling their properties for prices far below fair market value.

Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms announced the formation of the Progressive Atlanta Advisory Council. The Advisory Council will consist of community leaders who will make recommendations for achieving the administration’s goal of creating a more equitable city to increase access to opportunity for all residents.

Atlanta is getting a new area code, 943 , after the Georgia Public Service Commission announced that current codes – 404, 770, 678, and 470 – will be used up by 2023. The area code will be used metro-wide. 943 will be the first new code assigned since 470 was introduced in 2010.

By Collin Kelley

While audits, recounts, and debates continue nationwide over Joe Biden’s election as the 46th President of the United States, all eyes will be on Georgia this month in the lead up to a Jan. 5, 2021 runoff for two U.S. Senate seats.

Georgia hasn’t gone for a Democratic presidential candidate since Bill Clinton in 1992, and the state has been reliably conservative red ever since. That all changed on Nov. 3 as Biden beat lame duck Donald Trump and put two high profile senate seats in contention.

Republican Sen. David Perdue and Democratic challenger Jon Ossoff will face each other once again after both fell short of reaching a 50 percent majority.

Democrat Raphael Warnock will face Republican Sen. Kelly Loeffler in a special election runoff after beating a crowded field of 18 other candidates for the seat. Loeffler was appointed to the seat by Gov. Brian Kemp after Johnny Isakson resigned for health reasons.

If Ossoff and Warnock win, it would put Democrats in control of the U.S. Senate with Vice President Kamala Harris acting as tiebreaker against Republicans.

Fulton and DeKalb counties began mailing absentee ballots on Nov. 18. Other key dates include Dec. 7, which is the deadline to register to vote in the runoff, and Dec. 14, which is when inperson early voting begins.

Also of note, 5th Congressional District voters are going back to the polls on Dec. 1 to decide if former Atlanta City Councilman Kwanza Hall or former Morehouse College President Robert Franklin will fill the seat for about six weeks until Nikema Williams is sworn in after winning a full term on Nov. 3 to succeed the late John Lewis.

For more information about voting, visit fultoncountyga.gov or dekalbcountyga.gov.