Fulton County Chair Robb Pitts, a longtime player in Atlanta politics, debated former Commissioner Mo Ivory on June 1 at the Atlanta Press Club Loudermilk-Young Debate Series‘ County Election Runoff Debates. The winner will face the Republican candidate, attorney Eric Tatum, in November’s general election.
Topics included the jail crisis, property taxes, healthcare in South Fulton, and the direction of Georgia’s largest county.
While the candidates shook hands immediately after the debate, they traded heated accusations throughout the 25-minute Q&A. Allegations involving personal finances, Republican support, lack of experience (or too much of it), and tax hikes surfaced throughout the debate.
An incumbent versus a protégé
“For too long, we have had the same leadership, the same excuses, and the same unresolved problems,” Ivory said to open the debate. “The jail is still in crisis, and the courts are underfunded.”
When Ivory was running for the District 4 seat on the board of commissioners in 2024, Pitts helped fundraise for her. Less than two years later, both are headed to a runoff to lead the county for the next four years.
After Pitts implied she would need “on-the-job training,” Ivory said she will resolve decades-old problems with new leadership. She said it’s the right time for someone to take over for Pitts after his nearly 50 years of public service.
“‘On-the-job training’ sounds like a great campaign slogan,” Ivory said. “Although a few months ago Chairman Pitts praised my experience and actually called me, and I quote, the future of Fulton County.”
While Ivory pitched herself as a fresh alternative to the incumbent, Pitts said voters can trust his political experience and ongoing initiatives.
“We have problems in Fulton County that we’re going to address with sound public policy,” Pitts said. “It’s not the loudest voice in the room, it’s not the flashiest voice in the room, it’s getting the work done.”
Recap of three-way primary
Fulton County is governed by a seven-member board of commissioners, led by an at-large chair. The District 1,3, and 5 seats are also up for election this year.
Ivory, who stepped down from the District 4 seat on the board of commissioners in March, won a plurality of votes (39.9%) in the May primary.
Pitts, who has served as an elected official in metro Atlanta for about five decades, is running for his third full term as chair of the Fulton County Board of Commissioners. He trailed Ivory by around 8,000 votes in the May primary, with 34.8% of Democratic ballots.
Commissioner Marvin Arrington Jr., representing District 5, also ran for chair in the Democratic primary, winning about a quarter of all votes.
Regardless of November’s result, there will be at least three new members of the Fulton County Board of Commissioners with Arrington Jr., Secretary of State candidate Dana Barrett, and Ivory vacating their seats.
If North Fulton Republican Bridget Thorne loses the District 1 race to the Democratic challenger Maggie Goldman, then there would be four new faces.
Commissioner Bob Ellis, representing District 2 in north Fulton, and Vice Chair Khadijah Abdur-Rahman, representing District 6 in west-central Fulton, are in office through 2028.
Heated run for Democratic nomination
In her closing statement, Ivory said Pitts has failed to take necessary action during his time as chair (2017-present) and a commissioner (2003-14). She criticized Pitts’ record of voting with Republican commissioners from north Fulton to defeat some spending measures and proposed tax increases.
“The people of Fulton County did not elect me to make the political establishment comfortable; they elected me to get results,” Ivory said. “The voters of Fulton County have made something clear throughout this campaign: they want accountability, they want results, and they are ready for a new generation of leadership.”
Pitts said he will continue to vote against increasing the property tax rate and work with commissioners across the county.
“If it means stepping across the aisle and getting two people who happen to belong to another party to vote with me to defeat raising property taxes on people who cannot afford it … I will do it every time,” Pitts said.
Pitts said he will work with anyone to pass legislation benefiting the citizens of Fulton County.
“This is not the time, as I said earlier, for on-the-job training,” Pitts said in his closing statement. “This is not the time for raising taxes, as she proposed … because there are people in Fulton County who cannot afford it.”
