It is the privilege and the honor of my life to serve you as Mayor of College Park. Four years ago, I ran for mayor because I believed that our community could be better served by its leaders. I am running for re-election to continue the job we started.

 

It has been an exhilarating, impactful few years. We’ve seen challenges – both from outside our city and within it. Nevertheless, we’ve continued to grow. Since 2020, there has been over $100 million in public and private investment in College Park. Given the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on our city as a hub for travel and hospitality, this is an impressive achievement. 

  • We’re uniting our city with events like our annual Senior Summit, community clean-ups through Keep College Park Beautiful, our Faith Leaders Breakfast and Santa Claus is Coming to Town.
  • We’re creating more economic opportunities for locals through our participation in programs such as the National League of Cities’ Southern Cities Economic Inclusion Initiative and In Her Hands. We are officially a Smart City, linking technology to help foster a more responsive government for residents and businesses alike. We’ve also tackled housing issues head-on, leading the fight for greater access to quality options and more pathways to home ownership.
  • We’re supporting investments in high quality educational partnerships such as the Promise Career Institute, which will serve to prepare the workforce of tomorrow for the good-paying jobs in our region.
  • We’re advocating to restructure our city-wide spending practices – and it’s paying off. Our credit rating was recently upgraded, even with the challenges we faced during the COVID-19 pandemic. 
  • We’re integrating new cultural programming and recreation opportunities with movie nights at all of our parks, Main Street wine strolls, public art and murals, mini-pitch soccer fields, a climbing wall, a splash pad and more.
  • We’re increasing community access to quality job opportunities through partnerships with Aerotropolis Atlanta, Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport and local employers such as Coca-Cola United and Chick-Fil-A.

In the last four years, we’ve made a lot of strides, including:

 

  • We have championed our employees, raising the minimum pay to over $15/hour. Our retirees are going to receive a cost-of-living increase that addresses the pressures inflation has placed on them and their families.
  • We’ve strengthened our staff with the hiring of a new city manager who has brought dedicated, professional leadership to our team.
  • We updated our strategic plan to better align our vision, mission, core values and goals.
  • We’ve provided greater accessibility and transparency in our government – from full agenda packets available before each meeting to monthly one-on-one meetings and more.
  • We have supported the development of quality housing options in all areas of our city – from Diamond College Park to South Park Cottages and Somersby.
  • We’ve continued important work on the Six West development, authorizing construction of the main thoroughfare, Lottie Miller Boulevard, constructing the pedestrian bridge across Camp Creek Parkway and recently partnering with Stream Realty to take the project to the next level. 
  • We opened the Georgia International Convention Center to the community during the COVID-19 pandemic to help facilitate the administration of over 65,000 vaccines. We also partnered with county officials to use GICC and the Gateway Center Arena as voting locations during 2020 election season.
  • I have been proud to represent College Park on the state and national level, serving in leadership positions through the Georgia Municipal Association, the National League of Cities and other organizations.

The list goes on. No matter how you look at it, we’ve done a lot – by working together, lifting each other up and supporting the amazing things happening in College Park each and every day. This, however, is not the time to rest on our laurels. There is more to do – and I’m here for it. Let’s roll up our sleeves and keep on doing the work.