Avondale Estates, GA — Municipal elections are Nov. 7 and there are the candidates running for Avondale Estates Mayor and City Commission. All three candidates are running unopposed.
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Avondale Estates offices are all elected at-large, meaning everyone in the city votes in every race. Decaturish is listing all the candidates for each race in this article. If you are unsure who is on your ballot, you may find a sample ballot by clicking here to visit the Georgia Secretary of State’s My Voter Page.
The deadline to register to vote or change your address is Oct. 10. Absentee ballots will be mailed and advanced voting will begin on Oct. 16. To check your voter registration, click here. For more information on how to register to vote, click here.
The deadline to request an absentee ballot is Oct. 27. Absentee ballots must be turned in by 7 p.m. on Election Day, Nov. 7. For more information about absentee ballots, click here.
Decaturish gave each candidate running in the Nov. 7 elections a Q&A. All Decaturish.com elections coverage can be found at Decaturishvotes.com
Here are the responses from candidates running for Avondale Estates Mayor and City Commission. The answers have not been edited.
Avondale Estates Mayor
Jonathan Elmore
Jonathan Elmore. Image obtained via Facebook
What is your occupation?
Architect (and current Mayor for eight years)
What is the neighborhood you call home?
Avonwood
Can you tell us anything else about yourself or your life that you think is important for voters to know?
I grew up in a small town next door to my grandparents. My grandmother owned a store and my grandfather was a pharmacist and Marine in WW2. She helped a significant number of veterans secure home loans they didn’t know they qualified for, through Uncle Sam. My granddad led the effort build a clinic and get a town doctor. They taught me a great deal about fairness, honor, and service to others. I could not have been more lucky.
If you are elected, what are your top two or three priorities?
Tackling stormwater projects, continued development of our central business district per our Master Plan to create revenue that will offset the burden on our residents, and preserving the special community we have here in Avondale.
What is Avondale Estates’ greatest strength?
Our residents, hands down. A close second is our location inside 285 between two MARTA stations.
What is Avondale Estates’ toughest challenge?
Addressing critical infrastructure issues such as stormwater given our size and budgetary constraints.
Do you think the city should be doing more work around affordable housing and expanding the housing stock in Avondale Estates? Why or why not?
Yes. Currently, Avondale is 95% single family homes. One of our goals is to foster a greater diversity of housing stock. As such, we have approved around 400 units of rental housing that have been built, 33 townhomes soon to be completed, and are working with a developer to secure an affordable senior housing project. And our zoning has been recently rewritten to encourage a greater diversity of stock including Accessory Dwelling Units.
Stormwater is a big problem in Avondale Estates and the city is starting to address this issue. What are some of the stormwater improvements you would like to see?
We have a Stormwater Priority Plan we are aggressively pursuing and very recently revised our zoning to incentivize residents to address stormwater on their property. I would like to add we have been graciously pledged $2 million dollars by the county to address stormwater.
There are concerns about seniors being able to age in place in Avondale Estates. Would you support establishing a senior homestead exemption? Or in what ways should the city help seniors stay in the city?
We have looked at the data and can’t afford to provide any meaningful relief. However, we are considering amending our zoning code to encourage senior housing development. And as mentioned, we do allow ADUs. Both of these will help our seniors afford to age in place. And we are looking at ways to lower the cost of services for everyone.
The city has been considering different options for sanitation services and moving away from backdoor garbage pickup. What changes would you like to see made to the sanitation services?
I would like to eliminate backdoor pickup except for those persons unable to do so. I also think once a week pickup is more than adequate. And if going to a private contractor is deemed suitable and at a lower cost to citizens, I think we should strongly consider this move.
There has been a perception that Avondale Estates is unwelcoming to outsiders. Do you think this is still the case? If so, what would you plan to do about it? If not, why not?
One of the proudest moments for me was changing the rules at the lake and the park to be welcoming. We later opened the gate in the fence adjacent to Forrest Hills at Willis Park to allow access. While these things may seem small, it marked a shift in direction. We have since built a fantastic Town Green in the middle of our downtown that is and has been host to many multi-cultural events enjoyed by residents and non-residents alike. We have also changed our policing strategy to a more community based approach.
What is your opinion of DeKalb County Schools?
I hope the Board and the new Superintendent can effectively work together to move the system in the right direction.
If elected, do you promise to conduct yourself in an ethical and transparent manner? What will you do to promote ethics and transparency in government?
Yes. I will continue conduct myself ethically and openly as I have for the last eight years.
Avondale Estates City Commission
Michael Smith
Michael Smith
What is your occupation?
Pharmacist
What is the neighborhood you call home?
Avondale Estates
Can you tell us anything else about yourself or your life that you think is important for voters to know?
I moved to Avondale Estates with my family in 2019 and fell in love with the the City’s beauty, amenities, and sense of community. I feel the city is a wonderful place to live, with its connection to the arts, shopping, dining, and special events. My wife and I are business owners in the city and feel a deep connection to Avondale. And as a parent of three young boys, I feel it is important to be involved, be a good steward, and allow the city to continue to prosper in the future.
If you are elected, what are your top two or three priorities?
Continued responsible growth and modernization, safety in the community, and affordability.
What is Avondale Estates’ greatest strength?
Avondale Estates is the perfect mix of a small community where you know neighbors, with the benefit of being part of a large metropolitan area with access to a large variety of services. The fact that the city has its own governing body and self determination allows its residents to truly make important decisions to make the city a better place to work and live.
What is Avondale Estates’ toughest challenge?
The toughest challenge our city faces, which is not unlike most communities, is balancing the need to modernize with the current times while maintaining relative affordability in a major metropolitan area.
Do you think the city should be doing more work around affordable housing and expanding the housing stock in Avondale Estates? Why or why not?
In doing research on current city initiatives, the city has shown efforts to expand housing options through diversification. Currently, many projects designed to offer more affordable housing options in the city are seen around the city, including higher density apartment complexes and townhouse communities to balance out single family home options.
Stormwater is a big problem in Avondale Estates and the city is starting to address this issue. What are some of the stormwater improvements you would like to see?
I would like to see continued work to modernize the stormwater system, as much of the current infrastructure is due for replacement.
There are concerns about seniors being able to age in place in Avondale Estates. Would you support establishing a senior homestead exemption? Or in what ways should the city help seniors stay in the city?
The city’s reduction in the millage rate for property taxes was a step in the right direction to give our senior residents relief from higher property taxes. Continued diversification of housing options in the city will be an important measure to allow seniors remain in our city as well. It will be important to balance the need for city improvements (and the revenue it requires) with also giving relief to those with fixed incomes. I am open to creative strategies and solutions to strike that balance.
The city has been considering different options for sanitation services and moving away from backdoor garbage pickup. What changes would you like to see made to the sanitation services?
It is important to weigh benefits of services such as backdoor pickup while considering costs involved as well. I’m open to exploring ways to streamline and improve delivery of sanitation services so that consistent service is delivered to our residents while delivering good value to the city from a budgeting standpoint.
There has been a perception that Avondale Estates is unwelcoming to outsiders. Do you think this is still the case? If so, what would you plan to do about it? If not, why not?
Since moving here in 2019, I have been impressed with the city’s (and residents’) commitment to establish a welcoming environment for all. The Town Green is a wonderful gathering place for not only our residents, but those from surrounding communities as well. The city has also hosted and sponsored many important culturally diverse events around town as well. I feel our parks and our beautiful lake are enjoyed by not only residents, but many other folks from surrounding communities. And being a business owner, I’ve seen many from outside Avondale frequent our store. Avondale Estates is a great place to work, relax, or have fun, regardless of where your home is, and I plan on working to continue this trend.
What is your opinion of DeKalb County Schools?
Our middle son is enrolled at the Avondale Elementary Pre-K program and it has been nothing but the best experience for him. The teachers and staff that we have met at AES have been wonderful and we look forward to a great school year!
If elected, do you promise to conduct yourself in an ethical and transparent manner? What will you do to promote ethics and transparency in government?
Yes. Transparency and ethical conduct are the two most important things to uphold in public service, and I will conduct myself in a way befitting of the position. I will promote these values by listening to those that have entrusted me to this position and making the best, informed decisions that I can to make our city a better place to live for generations to come.
Graham Reiney
Graham Reiney
What is your occupation?
I am currently a stay-at-home parent. I previously worked as a Reference Librarian.
What is the neighborhood you call home?
I live on Wiltshire Drive in Avondale Estates.
Can you tell us anything else about yourself or your life that you think is important for voters to know?
Professionally, I worked for many years as a Reference Librarian and hold a Master’s in Information Science. Essentially, my role was to help people from all walks of life navigate both traditional information sources and the modern information ecosystem. This work requires a combination of brains, diplomacy, and negotiation skills. For the past few years I have been fortunate to spend my time being a stay-at-home parent. While I certainly stay busy with my family, I will have the necessary flexibility and bandwidth to be an effective, engaged commissioner.
My family moved to Avondale Estates in January of 2014. I married my high school sweetheart, Ragini, and we have been married for 22 years. We have two daughters, Mira (13) and Farrah (11) who certainly keep us on our toes! Ragini is an oncologist and my daughters are in eighth and fifth grade.
Most mornings you can find me walking our two dogs and, if the weather is nice, I like to spend time working in my yard. I love Atlanta United and our family goes to as many home games as possible. Please feel free to stop me anytime and introduce yourself. I like meeting new people and pride myself on being a good listener.
In the almost decade that I’ve been a resident here I have seen our city grow into a fun and exciting place to live. I am happy to have the opportunity to contribute to its future.
If you are elected, what are your top two or three priorities?
If elected, my overriding number one priority will be to be a responsive and proactive commissioner working to meet the needs of our citizens, businesses and community as a whole. Active community engagement is a long-standing tradition in Avondale Estates and I will look for ways to encourage and create opportunities for this engagement. I’ll work to prioritize smart growth in our central business district, work with our public safety department to maintain a high level of safety and security, and ensure that Avondale Estates continues to work towards becoming the best version of itself.
What is Avondale Estates’ greatest strength?
The greatest strength of Avondale Estates is its people. We have so many dedicated and engaged citizens that all want the best for our city. While we all might not exactly agree on what that is or how to get there, we can all rest on the fact that we love Avondale Estates. Listening to each other and putting ourselves in our neighbor’s shoes will help us find common ground.
What is Avondale Estates’ toughest challenge?
I believe the toughest challenge we’re facing is managing our growth while maintaining the level of service and unique characteristics of Avondale Estates that our citizens and businesses have come to expect. In addition, in this charged political climate in which we live, I think we all need to occasionally take a step back and remember to appreciate our neighbors, their points of view and our shared goals. In addition to managing our growth, we’re facing challenges with stormwater infrastructure and a lack of affordable housing. I’m excited about working with our city staff, the Board of Mayor and Commissioners (BOMC), and ultimately the citizens and businesses of Avondale Estates to face these challenges head-on. Like any growing and thriving city, we’re a work in progress.
Do you think the city should be doing more work around affordable housing and expanding the housing stock in Avondale Estates? Why or why not?
I think the city is getting better with the variety of housing we have in Avondale Estates, but there is still work to be done. We have new apartments, established communities of townhomes and condominiums, and new townhomes coming soon. I hope our city and the BOMC can work with developers to offer attractive conditions and zoning for building more than just single family homes. I’d like to see some new affordable condos and senior communities being developed. So to answer the question, yes, I do think the city should do more work around affordable housing and expanding the housing stock in Avondale Estates. Let’s keep pushing to make our city a viable option for anyone looking for a new home.
Stormwater is a big problem in Avondale Estates and the city is starting to address this issue. What are some of the stormwater improvements you would like to see?
Stormwater is a big problem — and these storms rolling through lately seem to be getting worse. The city has a stormwater master plan that is being followed. These are expensive capital projects that take time to complete. I am encouraged to see that the city is following this plan and improvements are being made — although it can’t happen fast enough. While the city government is working to conquer the needed infrastructure, I’d like to see our community really raise the awareness level of the problems that our residents are facing with stormwater. After heavy rains some of our neighbors properties really take the brunt of the runoff while others are left unscathed. Learning how small changes at the top of a hill will improve conditions at the bottom could create some homegrown improvement. Simple measures like keeping yard waste out of the streets, thinking about how water moves through your property and how it might flow downstream, installing a rain garden, and keeping trees and yards healthy so they’ll soak up more rain could all contribute to long term success in managing stormwater. I’d encourage our residents that are experiencing stormwater issues to take pictures and share them with the community so that everyone can be made aware of the problem and then everyone can be a part of the solution.
There are concerns about seniors being able to age in place in Avondale Estates. Would you support establishing a senior homestead exemption? Or in what ways should the city help seniors stay in the city?
I understand the desire to age in place. This is a global problem and certainly not unique to Avondale Estates. People want the independence and comfort of their own home and the ability to remain in that home as they age. It is heartbreaking to think that a senior citizen would have to leave their home in Avondale Estates due to the amount of city taxes levied. Given our small size and high level of community engagement, there may be some creative ways that we can help. But, our city taxes pay for our city services and much needed capital improvements and I don’t believe that Avondale Estates could provide a meaningful tax exemption to seniors that would solve this problem.
I do think the city can play a role in helping to keep seniors in our city through favorable zoning regulations and incentives to encourage senior centered businesses and developers to consider Avondale Estates for their next senior focused project. Ultimately, this is a multi-faceted problem that will take efforts from city government and resident-led initiatives to conquer.
The city has been considering different options for sanitation services and moving away from backdoor garbage pickup. What changes would you like to see made to the sanitation services?
Full disclosure, I have benefitted from backdoor garbage pickup. On many occasions I’ve been thankful to see one of our public works associates in my carport emptying my garbage can and making up for my forgetfulness to take it to the curb. But, to put it simply, backdoor garbage pickup needs to end. Action needs to be taken for the sake of our public works associates’ health and safety. In the process of educating myself on this issue I listened to a recording of a BOMC work session from September 14, 2022 wherein members of our public works team, on their own time, came to the BOMC meeting to explain the negative effect backdoor pickup has had on them personally, on their health and safety, on their ability to do their job, on department efficiency and overall morale. We, as a community, need to hear their stories and collectively take action.
And occasionally on my pickup day I am sure that I’ll forget to take my trash out. But just like when I was a kid, if I forget today, I definitely won’t forget next time.
If getting your garbage cans to the curb by 7:00am on your scheduled pickup day is a physical burden, I’m certain that a trusted neighbor would be happy to help. I know that I’d gladly assist any of my neighbors that needed support. Avondale has been built on neighbors helping neighbors.
I look forward to working with the BOMC and the city manager to make meaningful and effective changes to our sanitation services. We know that Avondale Estates is a great place to live — let’s make it a great place to work too.
There has been a perception that Avondale Estates is unwelcoming to outsiders. Do you think this is still the case? If so, what would you plan to do about it? If not, why not?
I do recognize that Avondale Estates has had this perception and it has been a difficult one to overcome. Even the wording of this question perpetuates it to an extent by referring to people as “outsiders.” I don’t believe that we are an unwelcoming community. In the ten years that I have lived here there have been many positive changes that have worked to overcome this perception. For example, signage at our parks has been changed, the gate at Willis Park is unlocked, the city no longer issues stickers for the vehicles of residents, festivals and concerts of all types are regularly hosted in our city, and our police department has altered their traffic enforcement strategies.
I believe our city government is doing good work to make Avondale Estates more welcoming, but the real work in being a welcoming community lies with our citizens and how we treat people in our city whether they live here or not. It is my hope that people who have felt unwelcome or uncomfortable in the past will give our community another chance. Like I mentioned before, Avondale Estates is a work in progress and all the stakeholders in our city play a role in making it the best it can be.
What is your opinion of DeKalb County Schools?
My opinion is that DeKalb County Schools are continuing to improve — especially the schools in Avondale Estates. I am happy to see the success and local support that Avondale Elementary is receiving and the accolades that continue to come for not only Avondale Elementary, but also The DeKalb School of the Arts and The Museum School of Avondale Estates. As a commissioner I look forward to supporting and celebrating these schools. Good schools attract good families and are essential to a thriving community.
If elected, do you promise to conduct yourself in an ethical and transparent manner? What will you do to promote ethics and transparency in government?
Yes, I promise to conduct myself in an ethical and transparent manner. To promote this I will be available to anyone that would like to talk to me and I promise to listen. Furthermore, I would encourage anyone with any concerns about our city government, its processes and decisions to seek me out, come to meetings and participate.
Lastly, thank you to Decaturish for this Q&A and the opportunity to answer.
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