Brookhaven’s mayor and two city councilmembers aim to stay in office another four years, saying they’ll run in an election scheduled for Nov. 5.
Incumbents Mayor John Ernst, District 1 Councilmember Linley Jones and District 3 Councilmember Bates Mattison all say they intend to run again for four-year terms.
“Yes, I’m running again,” said Ernst, whose first term began in 2016. “We’re providing results.”
“Everything that I’ve asked for in my previous election, I’ve completed … We’re a highly efficient government right now,” Ernst added, noting the city’s major public projects on the way, such as the Peachtree Greenway trail and revamped parks. “I don’t know of another city that’s building as aggressively as we are,” he said.
“Absolutely, I’m going to run again,” said Jones, who has served District 1 since 2015. “We have so many terrific plans I want to see to fruition.”
District 1 includes the northern half of the city, roughly between Windsor Parkway and I-285.
Mattison, who has served on the council since its inception in 2012, also cited the many big projects as reasons he will run for reelection in District 3, which roughly includes the east-central part of the city centered on Brookhaven Park.
“I love what I do,” Mattison said, adding that the work takes a lot of personal time, but “I’ve learned the value of experience” and is looking forward to carrying out such long-planned efforts as the Greenway.
The officials confirmed their reelection plans in interviews after a Jan. 22 meeting where the council set the candidate qualifying period and fees for the offices. The qualifying period will run Aug. 21-23 at the City Clerk’s office.
The qualifying fees – a payment essentially intended to show a candidate’s seriousness – is set at 3 percent of the office’s gross salary. For mayor, the salary is $16,000 and the qualifying fee is $480. For the council seats, the salary is $12,000 and the qualifying fee is $360.
Brookhaven elects a mayor every four years, and its four councilmembers on staggered four-year terms. The other council incumbents – John Park in District 2 and Joe Gebbia in District 4 – were reelected in 2017.