By John Schaffner
editor@reporternewspapers.net
Mary Norwood, who was narrowly defeated in a December runoff election for mayor of Atlanta will seek election in November to the Fulton County Commission Post 1 At-Large seat presently held by Commission Chairman John Eaves.
“In the Post 1 At-Large position, I can make the largest difference for all citizens of Fulton County,” Norwood said. “Fulton County taxpayers are paying too much for the services the county provides.”
Norwood, who was defeated in the December runoff by Atlanta Mayor Kasim Reed, served for two terms as Post 2 At-Large member of the Atlanta City Council. Reed officially won the runoff election by only 714 votes over Norwood, who had out-polled all of the other candidates and Reed in the General Election race last November.
Norwood will run as an Independent in the Fulton County Commission race.She said that since December, she has been urged by many of her friends and supporters to seek the county commission chairman’s position. Most recently, she said, “There have been a flood of blogs urging me to run.”
“With more than 20 years of public service, I can unify us together to make Fulton County effective again,” Norwood said. “I will make improvements in the efficiency and use of taxpayer money and make sure that Fulton County remains competitive. Our county needs to be a place where people want to do business and where we can capture our fair share of regional jobs.”
Norwood said she needs to obtain 23,000 names on the filing petition in order to enter the race, but that added that supporters had already collected several hundred names.