From the AJC/WSB debate: ‘We all know I’m not a Republican,’ says Mary Norwood
The AJC/WSB debate of four Atlanta mayoral candidates just ended a few minutes ago.
The program is set to air at 6 p.m. This report should keep you a couple steps ahead of the game.
Front-runner and Councilwoman Mary Norwood was the object of most of the attacks, particularly from former state senator Kasim Reed.
But Reed himself found himself at some of the receiving end of a number of barbs from Atlanta City Council President Lisa Borders, who refused to concede Reed that second run-off slot – if there is one after Tuesday.
The first nine minutes of the 55 minute debate was devoted to whether or not Norwood is a Republican – and whether it matters.
The state Democratic party and Reed have accused Norwood of being a closet member of the GOP. Lori Geary of WSB immediately asked Norwood whether she thought she had offended her Republican supporters with a TV ad in which Norwood declared that she had voted for the last four Democratic presidential candidates.
Including Barack Obama.
Norwood modified her answer of previous days, and declared herself as disappointed in Democrats as she was in Republicans. In addition to admitting her attendance at a state GOP convention in 1999 as a delegate, Norwood said attended a state Democratic in Florida – as a vendor, her campaign manager has said.
“What I found distasteful was the whole party politics. So I never went to a convention again, for either party,” Norwood said.
Borders explained why she thinks Norwood’s party identity is an issue. “It goes to truthfulness and transparency,” she said. “The question of whether she’s a Republican or Demcorat doesn’t matter to me, but I think it matters in this race that people be truthful about who they are.”
Said Reed: “I believe it shows a pattern [by] Miss Norwood of misleading the voters.”
Reed noted a Norwood television ad in which the councilwoman visited the sites of recent murder victims. The ad doesn’t mention, Reed said, that Norwood voted against police funding in 2008 and 2009.
Reed mentioned a radio ad – which I have not had – in which Norwood claimed the late Maynard Jackson’s admiration. Reed said that offended the Jackson family.
And here was a twist that showed the lawyer in Reed: Norwood, he said, claimed to be an independent. But in her ad, she claimed to have voted for all Democratic presidents – except for independent Ross Perot.
“I think it’s a pattern of misleading people,” he said.
Even Spikes said it mattered: “People do care about that issue, and they have a right to know, if they’re interested. People should stand up and tell the truth about that.”
To sum up, Norwood said: “We all know that I’m not a Republican. We know that that is just a way to divide the city, and that is very saddening to me. The chairwoman of the Republican party, who I didn’t know, said in the paper today (the Insider column for Sunday) that she’s never heard of me at all.”
“This is distracting us and dividing us from the true issues,” she said.
Editor’s note: Given the impending Atlanta mayoral election, instant commenting has been closed on the Political Insider blog. Readers are invited to submit comments on all posts, which will be published as soon as possible after review.
For instant updates, follow me on Twitter.
Tell us what you think about the site
Customer Care »
Vacation stops, manage subscriptions and more
AJC Services
Sections
Other Editions
Guides
Visitor Agreement | Privacy Statement
© 2009 The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
17 comments Add your comment
Wow, Just Wow
November 1st, 2009
7:08 pm
This is a non-partisan race and I am absolutely disgusted that these candidates spent so much time avoiding the real issues in the race.
Will
November 1st, 2009
7:15 pm
Has the AJC website not adjusted for DST yet? All the times seem to be ahead one hour.
tm
November 1st, 2009
7:20 pm
you know vote in who you think can do the job, leave race out of it.
Shananeeeee Fananeeeeeee
November 1st, 2009
8:29 pm
Wouldn’t it be nice if the personal attacks ended and they just talked issues? Maybe one day. Change in 2010 and 2102, Change we are looking forward to.
Eric
November 1st, 2009
8:32 pm
Spikes looks like the best candidate, Borders seems to have the most experience, Reed looks inexperienced, and Norwood just looks like a fraud. Reed and Spikes took jabs at Norwood and she stumbled.
Confused with Norwood
November 1st, 2009
9:13 pm
Someone explain to me what Ms Norwood meant when she said “City Hall lost more than $100mil of taxpayers money”
I thought city council (her current job) WAS City Hall.
BPJ
November 1st, 2009
10:39 pm
Wow, Shananeeee, change in 2102? That is really looking ahead! Will Captain Kirk be involved?
Tom
November 1st, 2009
10:46 pm
Norwood shows inconsistency, typical woman. We don’t need another female Mayor, it shows a lack of male leadership for our City.
Reed is sharp, no doubt about it. Spikes and Borders just want to play the race card. Typical City of Atlanta personnel.
Angry Taxpayer
November 1st, 2009
10:46 pm
Confused – the Mayor brought to Council a defacto Memorandum of Understanding acknowledging the transfer of $116 million an bills due to Watershed of $24 million. It was not authorized at the time it took place. Caesar Mitchel and Mary Norwood co-authored and over-rode the Mayor’s veto requiring an audit of Watershed. When the audit was conducted this was revealed. The Council was then asked to approve it otherwise the bond ordinance and covenants would have been violated causing a huge, huge problem for the City. So the Council had no choice in approving the defacto illegal loan.
It has been in the news for sometime – I wish you well Confused but the truth always comes out – especially when they are out of office regardless of who wins. The Franklin Administration (no doubt your supporter) will go down in history as one of the worst in fiscal management in our nation – again regardless of who wins.
Disgusted in Atlanta
November 2nd, 2009
6:47 am
What difference does it make with whether you are a republican or democrat. Both parties are spending way beyond their means. Both parties put this country, therefore each state and city, in the mess it is in today. To me these candidates are attacking each other on nothing but race. No one is and never has talked about the issues facing the city today. Just like in national and state elections the parties are too busy personally attacking each other to even begin to talk about the issues. Wake up America. We need candidates who will talk about the issues and what they are willing to do instead of attacking their opposition. Voters need to decide on the issues, not political party affiliation or race. When people realize that both parties are too blame, then just maybe, something will be done to clean up the mess that BOTH parties have put the country, states and cities in.
Maniac
November 2nd, 2009
8:01 am
When black people realize that democrats started Jim Crow and segregation, discriminated against black to vote and the Republican party was founded to abolish slavery they will be free. Until then they are slaves of the Democratic party and living on the mental plantation of a false reality. White Republicans started the NAACP and Franklin Roosevelt voted against anti-lynching laws to get the white Democratic vote in the South, yet these people jumped on the Democratic bandwagon.
Both parties have corrupt people in them however the hatred of Republicans and white people had reached an epidemic proportions as Reed uses Republicans as a weapon to get blacks to blindly turn against Norwood whom is qualified to be Mayor. Just like Campbell said the candidate he was running against had a white wife does it really matter if the candidate is white or republican if they can provide quality leadership and solve the problems the city has. Yes if you are black in Atlanta………..so then stay in poverty as far as I am concerned. An I is a Negro and proud of it.
zeke
November 2nd, 2009
9:00 am
Hopefully Norwood will win outright! Anything will be better than what we have had the last 30 or so years! Best thing possible would be that she turns out to be a very conservative Republican!!
Midtown Momma
November 2nd, 2009
9:07 am
Maniac, the Republicans lost the Black vote when they voted against and filibustered the Civil Rights Act (I believe it was around the time that Goldwater was running for president). The Republican Party started off as a party that cared about inclusion and equal rights, but have since done a complete 180.
Anyway, I don’t care about party affiliation in a mayoral race; just qualifications. Kasim Reed is bright and has vision. He has earned my vote for mayor!
Your morning jolt: We've entered the 48-hour political hijinks zone | Political Insider
November 2nd, 2009
9:51 am
[...] on their statements in Sunday’s AJC/WSB debate, in which they accused Norwood of misleading voters on her party identification, it seems unlikely that Kasim Reed, Lisa Borders or Jesse Spikes would [...]
Lee
November 2nd, 2009
3:09 pm
All this is is political gamesmenship. One individual trying to get a leg up on another by any means neccesssary. I do not care what party takes the mayors seat as long as they can straighten the ship now from crashing into shore caused by the previous administration and their advisors, to include Kasim Reed. We do not need some of the same old politics associated with this administration and its past. That past 30 years of a black administration consisted of contractors, especially minority contractors, getting tax payers dollars and giving nothing back to the community in terms of training, community services, foundations, etc. They just take our tax money to finance the next campaign that impacts them. Whomever gets into office needs to establish stipulations to contractors that a portion of the contracts they reciev should assist in financing community problems and issues that impact the city. The last 30 years in this area has been a joke. A lot of black contractors were able to become millionaires through minority contractor legislation, however, they have done nothing for the community except flaunt their money and arrogance within the community. They act worser than white people. Therefore, to me, it does not matter if we have a black mayor or white mayor, Republican or Democrat. As long as they address the issues in this city and tie those contractors down to utlizing a portion of the tax payers dollars they recieve in servicing community projects (i.e., recreation centers, training schools, ect.) instead of flaunting their money in our faces.
Ed
November 2nd, 2009
9:36 pm
The whole argument about which candidate is a Democrat and which is a Republican is irrelevant in a NON-PARTISAN race. As a voter in Atlanta, I was undecided until the last week. I have been very offended by Kasim Reed’s commercials proclaiming that Mary Norwood is a Republican and that Reed is the “Democrat who can win.” In a non-partisan race, those labels mean nothing. Quite frankly, I view these ads as a subtle way of inserting race into the election. It seemed to me that Reed’s ad basically was telling voters “Don’t vote for Norwood. She’s not one of us.” I highly doubt that Reed would be running these type of ads if Norwood was an African-American. I find the commercial unfair and Reed’s campaign as being racist. He will NOT be getting my vote on Tuesday.
.
November 3rd, 2009
8:27 am
She hurt my feelings, as a Republican. I can’t vote for her. She is cruel. Why take my money, ask me to put a sign in my yard, and then say she would never be associated with me????