This story has been updated.

Decatur, GA — Decatur City Commissioner Kelly Walsh has been reelected to the District 1 seat and will serve a second four-year term.

Walsh ran against Katie Bell. Mayor Patti Garrett, who ran unopposed, was also reelected.

Here are the election results as of 10:40 p.m (votes are still being counted):

Decatur City Commission, District 1  (Precincts reporting: 4 of 4 )

Katie Bell  1274 /40.73%

Kelly Walsh (I) 1845/ 58.98% WINNER

Decatur City Commission, District 2   (Precincts reporting: 5 of 5)

Patti Garrett (I) 1811 / 98.05%

“I think this it’s a great day for Decatur,” Walsh said. “I’m always glad to see democracy in action, civic engagement, great voter turnout. I’m always proud of Decatur to see how we vote and get involved together to be part of the process and be stewards of our community by just showing up and being engaged in voting.”

“I always appreciate my neighbors, supporters and everyone in Decatur who does what they need to do to be politically involved and engaged,” Walsh added.

She added that her first term felt like a reawakening and a reset for the City Commission, as each election cycle can sometimes be an inflection point.

“We’ve got a great strategic plan to accelerate through the pandemic and strive for a lot of the sustainability and resiliency that we’ve been planning for,” Walsh said. “We’re a good team and I think we work well together.”

Going into her second term, Walsh is focused on implementing the Destination 2030 strategic plan. She looks forward to seeing how work will overlap regarding the strategic plan, as equity and racial justice is the backdrop for the issues the City Commission will look at.

“It’s only opportunity, in my opinion. I think we’re a healthy city and our house is in order, and we can springboard off of that platform to do the work we plan to do for Destination 2030,” Walsh said.

Decatur also had three School Board seats on the ballot. Dr. Carmen Sulton was elected to the Decatur School Board and will serve her first four-year term on the board. She ran against Dan Baskerville for the District 2 seat.

Candidate for the City Schools of Decatur School Board District 2 seat Dr. Carmen Sulton, on right, with her mother Jackie Sulton at Wahoo Wine and Provisions on Nov. 2, Election Day. Photo by Dean Hesse.

Hans Utz, who ran unopposed, will fill the District 1 seat. Incumbent School Board member Jana Johnson-Davis was reelected. She ran unopposed for the At-Large seat.

CITY SCHOOLS OF DECATUR BOARD OF EDUCATION (Votes/Percentage) 

BOE, District 1  (Precincts reporting:)

Hans Utz 2698 / 98.07 WINNER

BOE, District 2  (Precincts reporting: 5 of 5)

Dan Baskerville 630/ 33.05%

Carmen Sulton 1271/66.68% WINNER

BOE At-Large

Jana Johnson- Davis (I) 4415/97.42% WINNER

“We’re excited that it was the result we were looking for. My campaign team worked so hard, and they deserve a lot of the credit for this,” Sulton said. “I’m humbled by everyone’s faith in me to do a good job and to do what’s best for our community and for our children…I hope this is an opportunity to make some impactful change for the community and to move us forward.”

Sulton is looking forward to working with the superintendent and other board members to put words into action. Her immediate goal upon being sworn in is to form a good working relationship with the other board members and the superintendent.

“I am looking forward to seeing where we can build positively to get the best superintendent in place who is committed and who is the best fit for our school system,” Sulton said. “I’m very committed to holding ourselves, our community, our school system accountable for all of our equity initiatives.”

She added that it takes commitment and some discomfort, but during her first term she hopes to see more impactful change regarding including kids with educational differences, students of color and teachers of color, and making sure that she puts a lot of her campaign promises into action.

The City Schools of Decatur senior homestead tax exemption also passed. Decaturish has not yet been able to obtain results regarding the City Schools of Decatur ESPLOST vote.

Here are the results for the senior homestead tax exemption:

CITY SCHOOLS OF DECATUR HOMESTEAD TAX EXEMPTION (Votes/Percentage)

Precincts reporting: 7 of 7

YES 4559/89.04% PASSED

NO 561/10.96%

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