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Anti-hunger advocate Alexis Weaver running for Tucker City Council

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Anti-hunger advocate Alexis Weaver running for Tucker City Council

Alexis Weaver
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Tucker, GA — Alexis Weaver is an anti-hunger advocate and senior manager at Atlanta Community Food Bank who has lived in Tucker for eight years. She has a bachelor’s degree in economics and environmental studies from Baylor University and a master’s degree in community and regional planning from University of Texas at Austin. She is running for Tucker City Council District 3, Post 1.

At the time Weaver registered her candidacy, Neal Stubblefield was running unopposed. She didn’t feel like she could stand by, she said. David Deaton announced his run late last week.

Weaver is passionate about creating a health, thriving community for all people living in Tucker. She is the strategic planning chair at NETWorks Cooperative Ministry and a deacon at Smoke Rise Baptist Church. As a parent of three young children, she spends time at school and on playing fields, as well as advocating for her seven-year-old daughter who has autism.

In support of Tucker becoming a city in 2015, Weaver thinks about how to “capitalize on the growth that we’re seeing in a way that is positive for everybody in the community.”

With a background in urban planning, citizen engagement and stakeholder engagement, Weaver wants to make sure all voices are heard. Her campaign is focused on inclusivity and economic growth. Prior to moving to Tucker, she worked for a chamber of commerce.

Weaver believes Tucker needs to be future oriented. The city can be a community accessible only for people who have enough funds to access it, or it can be a community that leverages economic growth, reinvests in public infrastructure and creates zoning to make sure that people can afford to live there, she said.

“We are going to grow. We are in a great community and a great location, with solid foundations and a wonderful amount of diversity and perspective. I think we can afford to be careful about the kinds of growth that we solicit,” she said.

When City Council proposed an urban camping ordinance in February, Weaver headed up a task force on homelessness in Tucker. She said she was disappointed in the lack of creativity in the city’s leadership.

“The urban camping ordinance seemed almost like a restless pursuit by the council to pass that ordinance, even though the community turned out to say, ‘We really don’t think this is the right thing to do right now.’ Sometimes community engagement takes time,” she said.

She was frustrated last year with Mayor Frank Auman’s refusal to pass a mask mandate for the city. Weaver said the city missed an opportunity for promotion of public health and creative solutions.

“If our case counts are higher now than they were then, what is our thought process around keeping our communities safe? We really could have done some creative things. We could have closed off part of Main Street and created outdoor dining, then encouraged people to eat outdoors when those businesses were hurting,” Weaver said. “I am pro mask mandate because it’s pro science. Having kids that can’t be vaccinated, I see they’re doing such a great job. They wear their masks all day long at school. It’s not fun, but they don’t want to be responsible for making somebody else sick. Public health is really important. And that’s what government is for: to make hard decisions that keep our communities safe. We should be able to make hard decisions, even if they’re not popular with everybody.”

Weaver said Tucker “should absolutely pass” a non-discrimination ordinance. The NDO was written by three Tucker residents who have served on boards or commissions for the city.

“I appreciate that there was a group of citizens that said, ‘This is important to us, so we are going to craft the language.’ Is this the city’s governing philosophy, that if we don’t agree with something, we won’t bring it for a discussion?”  Weaver added, “The reason I like living in Tucker is because we have so many great types of individuals and families that look a lot of different ways. And we, as a city, should be saying, ‘We support you, we believe you. And we are going to make sure we have policies in place that protect you.’ I can’t understand a reluctance to do that.”

The election is Nov. 2. Candidates in the race for mayor and City Council are:

Running for Mayor

Frank Auman, running for reelection

Robin Biro

Running for City Council District 1, Post 1:

Roger Orlando

Karen Peters-Rivers

Running for District 1, Post 2:

Christine Bloodworth

Virginia Rece

Shawn Woods

Running for District 2, Post 1:

Imani Barnes

Cara Schroeder

Thomas Walker

Running for District 3, Post 1

David Deaton

Neal Stubblefield

Alexis Weaver

City Council members Michelle Penkava (District 3, Post 1) and Matt Robbins (District 2, Post 1) are term limited and can’t run again. Pat Soltys (District 1, Post 1) is not seeking reelection. District 1, Post 2 is vacant and was held by the late Bill Rosenfeld.

More information about the Nov. 2 municipal elections

The election will be Nov. 2. Early voting will begin on Oct. 12. The voter registration deadline for the upcoming city elections is Oct. 4. To register to vote, click here.

To see a list of important dates in the 2021 election year, click here.

To learn about qualifying for local elections in Tucker, Clarkston and Stone Mountain, click here.

Voters in DeKalb County are eligible to apply for an absentee ballot beginning Aug. 16. The county will hold municipal elections on Nov. 2, as well as a county-wide E-SPLOST vote for DeKalb County schools.

To apply for an absentee ballot:

— Visit the Georgia Secretary of State website: www.sos.ga.gov.

—  Complete the absentee ballot application using the state’s official paper form or request an absentee ballot in writing. Use blue or black ink only.

Applications can be mailed to the county elections office and voter’s should use this address: DeKalb County Election office, 4380 Memorial Drive, Decatur, GA 30032-1239.

Applications can also be submitted through fax, 404-298-4038 or email, [email protected].

Voters may send an absentee ballot request for multiple people who live in the same household in the same envelope or email.

If an absentee ballot is not mailed to you, contact your county’s elections office. You may still vote in person, either early or on Election Day.

An absentee ballot application must be received 11 days prior to the election, which is Oct. 22.

In accordance with SB202, a new voting bill signed by Governor Brian Kemp in March, a voter ID is required to apply for an absentee ballot. A Georgia driver’s license, Georgia voter card, U.S. military ID, employee ID issued by any branch of the federal or state government, U.S. Passport, tribal ID, or a document verifying a voter’s name and address – including a paycheck, utility bill, or bank statement – are accepted forms of ID.

Voters can obtain a free ID at the DeKalb County Elections office at 4380 Memorial Drive in Decatur or at the following locations:

– On Aug. 25 from 3-6 p.m. at Doraville Marta Station, 6000 New Peachtree Road, Doraville 30340.

— On Aug. 30 from 3-6 p.m. at Indian Creek Marta Station, 3901 Durham Park Road, Stone Mountain 30083.

— On Sept. 15 from 3-6 p.m. at Chamblee Marta Station, 5200 New Peachtree Road, Chamblee 303041.

— On Sept. 14 from 3-6 p.m. at Kensington Marta Station, 3505 Kensington Road, Decatur 30032.

The Tucker Observer is a new community news website owned by Decaturish.comWe provide locally sourced news about Tucker, Clarkston and Stone Mountain.

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