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By Grace Donnelly, contributor

DeKalb County, GA — Candidates for DeKalb County Commission District 4 discussed affordable housing, public transit, infrastructure, and economic development priorities during a debate hosted by Decaturish on April 11, which was streamed on Facebook and Twitch. 

Candidates Lance Hammonds, Chakira Johnson, Gabrielle Rogers, and Rita Scott joined moderator and Decaturish publisher Dan Whisenhunt for the Thursday evening discussion. District 4 includes Stone Mountain, Avondale Estates, Tucker, Clarkston, and Pine Lake and is currently represented by Steve Bradshaw, who is running for DeKalb CEO. 

Here is a recording of the forum:

Housing and mental health services 

All four candidates agreed that the county should invest local dollars into affordable housing solutions and incentivize private investments in diverse housing developments. 

“Can we look around to see what the cities are doing?” asked Hammond, a commercial real estate broker. He suggested using the converted shipping container model implemented in Atlanta to create a facility on Memorial Drive using investment from the county where unhoused people could find a place to sleep, receive mail, make phone calls, and access resources.  

Johnson, a civil engineer and 16-year member of the Stone Mountain City Council, named accessible mental health care as a “critical” issue for the community in District 4. 

“The county needs to be investing more into the programs that we have currently,” she said, starting with the police training programs that ensure staff are equipped to respond to mental health needs, not just crimes. 

“We must increase our mental health availability to the medical system as well as our police department, our health department, and our hospitals,” said Scott, who serves as President of Communication Workers of America Local 3204 RMC and as a MARTA board member. “We’ve got to do more as a county to provide finances and services for those who are in need of support for mental health, including our children.” 

Economic development

The candidates agreed that Memorial Drive needs new investment to revitalize the corridor. 

Rogers, Ambassador of Student Transformation at Maxwell Leadership Foundation, emphasized the need to support business owners who also live in the district in her vision for improvements along Memorial Drive. 

“Part of that plan is making sure that those businesses that have sustained us over the last 20 or 30 years have the same equity and support and resources to be able to thrive when we bring in the mixed-use development and other business development to the district,” she said, adding that she would propose legislation to offer additional tax incentives to residents who invest in their communities. 

Scott emphasized the need for transit-oriented development in the area, especially near the bus hub at the end of Memorial Drive, which connects to Clarkston and Stone Mountain.

“We’ve got to develop other entities on the east side of Memorial Drive that will draw businesses and create equity for those residents as well,” she said.  

Transportation

Candidates said that making the district an area to live, work, and play includes creating a more pedestrian-friendly environment and expanding public transportation. 

All the candidates noted the lack of sidewalks and the hazard it presents for residents walking to bus stops. 

“In a lot of areas, people would love to do more walking, but sidewalks are difficult. Sidewalks are expensive,” Hammonds said. “Can we create more trails and paths in District 4 to do the same thing?”

Scott noted that senior citizens, in particular, have expressed their desire to travel by foot more often.

“We need to ensure when new developments are coming that they are putting in that type of infrastructure, and then it makes it easier for the county to put dollars in to make connections on where sidewalks are missing,” Johnson said, especially to connect developments to MARTA bus stops. 

All the candidates agreed that the public transportation service footprint needs to expand. 

“Many communities around us have a local tax to invest in transit, and that’s a decision DeKalb needs to make “sooner rather than later,” Hammonds said. 

“What do we want and what is it going to cost? That’s one of those areas where we have to engage the citizens of our community on what they want and how to get there,” he said. “We have to enhance the mobility of citizens in DeKalb County.”

Scott highlighted the two transit hubs already planned for Stonecrest and South DeKalb and noted that factors like decisions made by the Georgia Department of Transportation affect how transit development happens in the county. 

“I’m working every day at our MARTA meetings to make sure that our residents of DeKalb receive what they deserve in DeKalb County when it comes to transit,” she said. “No community will thrive without transit.” 

Rogers said long-time residents she’s heard from have been frustrated about MARTA making decisions for them. She emphasized that expanding transit is essential to improving air quality and reducing traffic congestion, but also said plans need to be financially realistic. 

Johnson pointed to light rail and bus rapid transit (BRT) as potential alternatives that could be less expensive than constructing additional heavy rail lines.

“I don’t think we’re probably going to get heavy rail further out in District 4, but I think there are other alternatives that can be explored, and I would be in support of that,” she said. 

Candidates also shared their views on the “Cop City” Public Safety Training Center proposal in DeKalb, their plans for parks, traffic calming measures, dilapidated properties, and their strategies for collaborating with municipalities and with other county departments. 

Correction: An earlier version of this story contained incorrect information about MARTA’s footprint in District 4. This information has been removed and the story has been updated.

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