Sandy Springs Mayor Rusty Paul announced during his State of the City address today that he will seek reelection for a fourth term.
Paul is the city’s second mayor following inaugural mayor Eva Galambos term from December 2005 until January 2014.
The next municipal election will be in November 2025 when the mayor and all six city council seats will be up for election.
Paul told Rough Draft that he spoke with his wife and family to explore all his options before coming to a decision.
“In the end, after talking to family and everything else, I’ve decided that I want to go one more term, and this would be the last term,” he said.
Paul said the city has projects to finish that he wants to see through. One example is City Springs Phase II. The city chose a developer in June 2023. Construction hasn’t begun because of the cost and the absence of capital. He said banks are not making many retail or residential project loans, particularly for multifamily.
Another project he wants to see completed is the widening of Hammond Drive. City leaders thought they’d have to wait to start the project and might have to ask voters in May to approve more funding. But the mayor said sales taxes have come in better than expected.
Other projects he intends to see completed are the Johnson Ferry-Mount Vernon Highway-Roswell Road project, and the side path along Mount Vernon to the Sandy Springs MARTA station.
Paul also wants to meet the goals he shared in the State of the City address at the Perimeter Sandy Springs Chamber of Commerce Signature Luncheon. Those include getting Sandy Springs at the forefront of artificial intelligence to make the city more customer-friendly, efficient, and effective; simplifying the city’s permitting process, and turning the city’s growing trails system into a series of destinations along the paths.
Paul said the city will conduct a Perimeter district study as it did for the city’s North End.
“We’re going to take two or three parcels over there that are either vacant or underperforming and show developers what could be done there,” he said.
The city won a huge victory by keeping Newell Rubbermaid. He expects that a Fortune 200 will announce its move to Sandy Springs and the Perimeter market in the next three or four weeks.
He said the Perimeter market is still healthy and popular, but it’s 50 years old and needs a refresh to meet today’s expectations.
“It’s still an area where, if you come down out of one of the high-rise buildings, you’ve still got to get your car to go to lunch or if you want to hang out with your friends after work,” Paul said.
Paul said all his plans depend on the voters deciding to keep him in office for another four years.