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DeKalb County, GA — A candidate for DeKalb County Commission District 5 discussed sidewalks and transportation, among other topics, during a debate hosted by Decaturish on April 25.

The candidates for County Commission District 5 are incumbent Mereda Davis Johnson and Gina Mangham. Davis Johnson did not participate in the forum. Decaturish.com’s policy is to move forward with a debate even if one or more candidates do not attend. Since only one candidate was at the debate, there was no need to keep time. Mangham was asked various questions and given unlimited time to answer them.

District 5, which serves Stonecrest, Lithonia and unincorporated areas in Southeast DeKalb.

Here is a recording of the debate:

Mangham is an attorney who has also served on the DeKalb Zoning Board of Appeals. Transportation and economic development are among her priorities. Mangham would like to see MARTA expand to Southeast DeKalb.

“Transit is vitally important, not only for transportation but for transit oriented development. We sorely need economic development in Southeast DeKalb,” Mangham said.

She added that a bus line goes from the Indian Creek Station to Stonecrest, but there are no other lines in the southeast part of the county.

In 2018, community advocates circulated a petition that garnered 10,000 signatures in support of transit in South DeKalb.

“We produced a white paper, and we presented it to the board in June of 2018 because we knew there was an upcoming plan that would be adopted soon,” Mangham said. “Nothing ever came of that recommendation and in 2019, a plan was submitted, which was virtually every possible scenario for transit, which was not feasible.”

She committed to developing a feasible plan for transit in Southeast DeKalb that includes bus lines, bus rapid transit and light rail that connects to the current system.

“That is doable, but we have not taken the initiative as a county to present a plan to MARTA,” Mangham said. “It’s time that we get equity in transit and that we get a transportation system and some investment from MARTA using public private partnerships to provide transit in Southeast DeKalb.”

During the debate, Mangham said the county needs to have more plans to address various issues, like pedestrian infrastructure.

“What we seem to be doing is solving problems on a one on one basis rather than setting policies or plans that will deal with the issues overall,” Mangham said.

She added that there aren’t many sidewalks in District 5.

“We don’t necessarily need sidewalks on every street, but we certainly need to investigate where sidewalks are needed,” Mangham said. “We need more community engagement where people see that they are needed, especially where there’s bus stops where children are getting off the bus and walking home.”

Mangham also discussed DeKalb County Watershed and said this service belongs to administrative offices.

She said the county needs to fulfill the requirements of the consent decree and deal with its infrastructure. The county has seen multiple water main breaks recently, including two on McLendon Drive in the span of a couple of months.

She also heard from a constituent that she had a water bill that was $1,500.

“We have to do a better job at county services. I firmly believe that that does belong in the administrative offices,” Mangham said. “I think a lot of times commissioners spend too much time being a liaison between the administration and the commissioners. Commissioners are legislators and policy setters.”

When it comes to affordable housing, Mangham would also like to see projects and plans to be able to identify funding sources and leverage public-private partnerships.

“Depending on the dollars that are available, then we decide where those resources should come from. If part of it is from the county and it makes sense, I would support that,” Mangham said. “I don’t think that the county should have to foot the whole bill and I don’t think that it’s realistic.”

She is also supportive of creating a housing advisory board.

“The more community engagement, the better,” Mangham said.

She said it could help resolve frequent zoning issues that come up. For example, a multifamily townhome proposed project in the district was in the middle of a neighborhood.

“I understand the need for multifamily housing, for more affordable housing, but we have to do it in a way that respects the property values and needs of the existing residents, especially residents who have invested their whole lives, they may be paying off their homes and this is their legacy for their children,” Mangham said. “We need to come up with a plan and say ‘ok, this is a good place for affordable housing,’ and we go to the community, and we tell them what the options are. The community can tell us what they can live with, where it best fits.”

“If we come up with a strategy on where affordable housing and more dense housing makes sense, then we can all move forward and everybody knows what the plan is,” she added.

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