Early voting began Monday for a smattering of local elections around the state. Cities including Brookhaven, College Park and Lilburn all have mayoral seats up for grabs while other voters may find school board races or tax proposals on their ballots. To see your personal ballot click HERE,
The most high profile race in Georgia this fall is in Savannah, where incumbent Mayor Van Johnson faces a pair of challengers as he runs for a second term: Alderwoman Kesha Gibson-Carter (Post 1, At-Large) and Tyrisha Davis.
Johnson has leaned on his record as mayor, pointing to efforts to reduce homelessness, raising the minimum wage for city employees, and government transparency. He held 51 weekly press conferences in 2022.
“I don’t think anybody has gone harder in the paint for Savannah than me,” Johnson told the Savannah Morning News earlier this month. “I’m not overconfident, I just know that we have a record that speaks for itself.”
While Johnson maintains his incumbency advantage and all that entails – a large edge in fundraising and name recognition – some supporters are worried about Gibson-Carter’s strong grassroots campaigning and fierce attacks on the mayor.
Gibson-Carter has hit Johnson over Savannah’s rising crime rate throughout the campaign, where the city’s aggravated assault and aggravated assault with a gun rates have jumped double digit points since 2021. She has also positioned herself as the fiscally conservative option in the race, saying at a recent event, “To the dissenters and detractors on the council, by way of my colleagues, read my lips: no new taxes.”
Last year she was the face of an anti-Transportation Local Option Sales Tax referendum movement, which proved successful as the vote failed county-wide much to the chagrin of Johnson.
Gibson-Carter has had a rocky relationship with her fellow members on the Savannah City Council, being removed from her position as council chair in 2021 after calling fellow member Nick Palumbo “racist” during a council meeting (a move she labeled a “political maneuver.”) But her old-school retail campaigning style could make the race a little close for comfort for the more traditional Johnson in November.
