Local

Four APS Runoffs Tuesday

December 2nd, 2013

There will be four runoff elections today to determine who will sit on the Atlanta board of education.

Hear the broadcast version of this story.

Current APS board chair Reuben McDaniel will face attorney Cynthia Briscoe Brown in a runoff for the District 8 At Large seat. The night of the general election, McDaniel told WABE he was a little surprised by the results.

“I certainly thought going into this, we’d end up with a runoff,” he said. “I’m a little surprised that Cynthia Brown is the opponent in the runoff, just given the money spent by the other opponents.”

Attorney Jason Esteves will face former APS administrator Lori James in the District 9 At Large runoff. The seat was vacated by long-time board member Emmett Johnson, who decided not to run again.

Ditto for La Chandra Butler Burkes, who currently holds the District 5 seat. Counseling center director Stephen Lee and APS academic coach Mary Palmer are vying for her spot.

Yolanda Johnson, who currently represents District 6 didn’t seek re-election either. Eshé Collins and Dell Byrd will compete in a runoff to secure her spot. Collins taught in APS through the Teach for America program and currently works at Georgia State. Byrd is an attorney and retired Fulton County teacher.

The new board will have some big issues to tackle, including a 51% high school graduation rate and hiring a permanent superintendent to lead the district.

A note of disclosure: Candidate Lori James has provided educational programming consultant work for Public Broadcasting Atlanta.

WABE’s broadcast license is held by the Atlanta Board of Education.

Polling places in the City of Atlanta are open Tuesday, December 3, from 7 p.m. until 8 p.m. We have uploaded a list of polling places provided by the Office of the Municipal Clerk.