14 Votes! Drake Edges Coleson in Decatur Commission Race

Scott Drake, an interactive marketing agency employee, was narrowly elected Tuesday night to the Decatur city commission for District 1, Post B.

He defeated Greg Coleson, a software consultant and founder of the Decatur Farmers Market, by only 14 votes.

The final tally was 539-525 (50.61 percent to 49.30 percent).

Mary Frances Weeks, DeKalb County elections manager, said only two provisional votes are yet to be considered, and that's not enough to change the outcome. "This is it," she said Tuesday night.

Drake will take the seat held more than 20 years by to take a consulting job.

When reached by phone at his election party at Mac McGee's, Drake said he couldn't pinpoint a reason for his victory. "I don't thing there was one thing," he said.

He said Coleson, his former neighbor on Wilton Drive, called earlier to offer congratulations. "I told him he ran a good campaign," Drake said.

During the campaign, Drake emphasized his roots in Decatur, his undersanding of how the community works and his family's long involvement in public affairs.

Drake, 37, grew up in Decatur and is the son of Walt Drake, a two-term Decatur mayor in the 1970s.

The University of Mississippi grad owned a marketing agency and now works as director of client services for SolDesign. He served as president of the Decatur Business Association. He lives in the Artisan condo building with his wife and two daughters.

Coleson talked more about green issues, such as the need for alternative transportation services and a green building ordinance.

Drake will be sworn in at the next city commission meeting on April 1. His term will run through 2015.

The DeKalb Elections Board said the Tuesday turnout was 11.67 percent, with 1,065 votes cast by 9,123 registered voters in four precincts. Clairemont East at First Baptist Church of Decatur, Ponce de Leon at First Christian Church of Decatur, Glenwood at Holy Trinity Parish and Clairemont West at the Church at Decatur Heights.

Weeks said the vote will be certified on Friday by the county elections board.