Steve
Brodie
denies
reports
that
he
will
soon
announce
his
campaign
to
unseat
Anne
Fauver,
a
lesbian,
for
Atlanta
City
Council
District
6.
Brodie,
who
is
gay,
challenged
Fauver
for
the
Midtown-based
district
in
2005.
He
lost
by
five
votes,
then
lost
a
protracted
legal
appeal.
Now
Brodie
is
denying
an
anonymous
tip
to
the
political
blog
Peach
Pundit
saying
he
will
announce
his
campaign
on
Sept.
2.
“I’ve
been
approached,
but
I’m
not
making
any
commitments
right
now,”
Brodie
said.
He,
an
investor,
declined
comment
when
asked
if
he
was
considering
the
race
or
if
there
would
be
a
time
in
the
future
he
might
comment.
He
also
said
he
had
not
filled
out
any
paper
work
to
run.
“It’s
still
a
year
away
at
this
point.
That’s
a
long
time,”
Brodie
said.
Brodie’s
2005
campaign
platform
included
opposing
the
Piedmont
Park
parking
deck
and
support
for
expanding
the
park’s
borders.
His
website
from
that
campaign
is
still
online,
but
appears
not
to
have
been
updated.
According
to
the
City
of
Atlanta
Clerk’s
Office,
no
one
has
filed
the
required
declaration
of
candidacy
to
challenge
Fauver.
Without
the
declaration,
candidates
cannot
officially
raise
money.
Fauver
began
her
fundraising
at
the
beginning
of
July.
“Yes,
I’m
running,”
said
Fauver,
who
seeks
her
third
term
in
the
November
2009
election.
Brodie’s
first
campaign
against
Fauver
ended
in
court.
After
a
recount,
only
five
votes
separated
the
two,
but
Brodie
filed
a
lawsuit
asking
for
a
new
election.
Brodie
claimed
that
nine
write-in
votes
should
have
been
counted,
lowering
Fauver’s
vote
total
to
less
than
the
50
percent
required
to
win,
resulting
in
a
new
election.
Days
before
Fauver
was
sworn
in,
a
Fulton
County
Superior
Court
judge
ruled
the
election
was
valid
and
the
vote
would
stand.
The
race
split
gay
District
6
residents,
with
several
supporters
pulling
their
financial
contributions
to
Georgia
Equality
because
of
that
organization’s
support
of
Fauver.
Fauver
said
she
is
seeking
re-election
because
she
wants
to
take
a
larger
role
in
fixing
the
city’s
financial
problems.
“We’re
not
finished
yet,”
she
said.
“The
city
has
a
lot
of
problems
that
we
have
barely
touched,
and
I
have
not
been
on
the
Finance
Committee.”
Fauver
also
said
the
city
has
bought
the
wrong
computer
system
on
more
than
one
occasion,
and
purchased
items
without
buying
procedures
being
followed.
She
also
wants
to
push
the
city
to
retrieve
training
costs
from
other
law
enforcement
agencies
that
hire
away
Atlanta
police
officers
before
two
years
on
the
job.
“For
three
years
I’ve
been
told
that
we’ve
been
doing
this,
and
now,
only
recently,
I’ve
found
out
we
are
not
doing
it,”
Fauver
said.
MAYORAL
RACE
The
2009
mayoral
race
opened
up
when
presumptive
frontrunner
Atlanta
City
Council
President
Lisa
Borders,
who
had
been
actively
courting
gay
voters,
unexpectedly
dropped
out
of
the
race,
citing
a
need
to
care
for
her
ailing
parents.
“I
was
very
disappointed
to
hear
that,
but
totally
supportive
her
reasoning
of
her
pulling
out,
taking
care
her
parents,”
said
Darlene
Hudson,
a
former
member
of
Border’s
campaign
committee.
“I
believe
Lisa
Borders
would
have
been
the
most
effective
person
for
the
job,”
said
Hudson,
a
leader
in
Zami,
an
organization
for
African-American
lesbians
and
bisexual
women.
Borders
was
tabbed
as
one
of
the
favorites
to
succeed
Mayor
Shirley
Franklin
when
she
steps
down
next
year.
Other
announced
candidates
are
state
Sen.
Kasim
Reed
(D-Atlanta)
and
council
members
Ceasar
Mitchell
and
Mary
Norwood.
Radio
personality
Clark
Howard
has
also
been
discussed
as
a
potential
candidate.
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