Tuesday, March 19, 2013
Scott Drake topped Greg Coleson in a two-man special election for the District 1 seat that Bill Floyd held for two decades.
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 Bill Floyd, who resigned Jan. 7 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 …
Wednesday, February 13, 2013
Candidates will run March 19 to fill the Decatur City Commission seat formerly held by Bill Floyd.
Decatur residents interested in running for an open city commission seat can sign up 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Wednesday to Friday at city hall. The candidates must file the proper papers at the city clerk's office and pay the $144 qualifying fee. They must be legal adults and have lived in District 1 for at least a year. The candidates will run March 19 in a special election to fill the District 1 city commission seat Bill Floyd held for 22 years. Floyd resigned last month to take a consulting job. Only residents of District 1 will vote in the special election. Most of the district is north of College Avenue.
Friday, February 1, 2013
This video was shown Tuesday night at a meeting of the Decatur Business Association.
Bill Floyd, the former Decatur mayor, got a lot of love Tuesday night at the meeting of the Decatur Business Association. One of the highlights of the evening was this video "Tribute to Bill Floyd."
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
After new Decatur Mayor Jim Baskett gave his state of the city speech, the honors started for former Mayor Bill Floyd.
Bill Floyd is no longer the mayor of Decatur, but his name won't be forgotten soon. At Tuesday's meeting of the Decatur Business Association, it was announced that the gym at the newly renovated Decatur Recreation Department will be named the W.F. Floyd Gymnasium. Also, the Decatur Education Foundation will establish a Bill Floyd Leadership Fund to help young people learn the tenants of leadership. And for a real crowd-pleaser, the Brick Store Pub and the business association created a "Buck For Bill," which was handed out as the crowd left the Courtyard Marriott. It's not real currency, but it entitles the bearer to a free beer at the pub. "It's really been an incredible 22 years," Floyd told the crowd. "I'm most proud of what the city …
Sunday, January 6, 2013
Floyd, mayor since 1998, fielded questions from Patch about why he decided to resign and how the city has changed.
Bill Floyd has been the public face of Decatur for years. He's served as mayor since 1998 and has been a city commissioner since 1991. On Monday, Jan. 7, he officially leaves office to take a job with the Dunwoody-based Pendleton Consulting Group, where he'll work as a consultant with local governments. Floyd said he's resiging to avoid any conflict of interest. (By the way, Floyd said he won't attend the city commission meeting on Monday, at which the commission will choose a new mayor from among their own members.) On Thursday, Floyd sat down with Decatur/Avondale Estates Patch to field some questions. The second set of questions and answers will run Sunday. The answers have been edited for length. Why now? Well, I am 66 years old. I …
The soon-to-be-former mayor talks about what he's proud of, annexation, why the city needs a popularly elected mayor and what he sees in Decatur's future.
Bill Floyd talked to Patch recently about his years on the Decatur City Commission. He was first elected in 1991 and began serving as mayor in 1998. Part 1 of the interview has already run. As mayor, what are you proudest of? I’m most proud that this is an incredibly well-run city, you know, a financially sustainable city. I think we do a very good job of spending taxpayer money on things taxpayers want it spent on. I get [fewer] complaints about taxes than probably anything. People will complain about the value of their house going up, and that can be a good thing. Taxes are like anything else you buy. If you don’t think you getting your money’s worth, then you paid too much. People in Decatur see that what they paying taxes for, they’re …
Friday, December 21, 2012
Decatur Mayor Bill Floyd announced Thursday that he'll resign his post to take a job with a consulting agency.
The Decatur City Commission is expected to respond quickly to the resignation of Bill Floyd, mayor since 1998 and a commission member for more than two decades. Floyd announced Thursday he's stepping down Jan. 7 to take a job with a consulting company. Jan. 7 is the date of the first commission meeting of 2013. The commission will pick a mayor from among their members that day. The commission next meets Jan. 22. A message from city hall said the commission is likely to set a special election for March 19 and establish qualifying dates for candidates. The term for Floyd's seat, representing north Decatur, runs through 2015. Jim Baskett is the current mayor pro tem and the commission member with the second most seniority. He was first …
Thursday, December 20, 2012
Daren Wang, Karla Drenner, Hank Johnson and Burrell Ellis share their thoughts on Decatur Mayor Bill Floyd's decision to resign. Feel free to add your thoughts in the comment box.
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Thursday, December 20, 2012
Decatur Mayor Bill Floyd announced Thursday that he's resigning after leading the city for more than a decade. Here's what people had to say. Daren Wang, Decatur Book Festival Executive Director "Bill Floyd has always struck me as a very smart man that isn't interested in being thought of that way. Famously, One of Bill Floyd's first question's about the DBF was whether we were going to have funnel cakes. He was reminding us that the festival had to be fun, and not stuffy. He has supported the festival in every way I could have imagined, often times working behind the scenes, both in Decatur and in the greater metro area. We have never asked the mayor for anything that he didn't do whatever he could to help. I'll sure miss having him …
The mayor of Decatur sent this statement to Patch early Thursday afternoon.
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Thursday, December 20, 2012
Statement released Thursday by Decatur Mayor Bill Floyd. Serving the people of Decatur as a commissioner and Mayor for the last 21 years has been an incredible experience. Recently, I have been given an opportunity to join the Pendleton Consulting Group in assisting businesses and local governments around Georgia. There is the possibility that some of the work that I will be doing might be considered by some to present a conflict of interest. For that reason, I have decided to step down as Mayor and Commissioner of the city of Decatur. As I have wrestled with this decision over the last few months it has been a very emotional time for me. As a resident and Mayor, I am extremely proud of the cities employees and the manner in which they …
Wednesday, May 16, 2012
Residents are urged to sign up for a phone conversation with the leaders about the July 31 transportation referendum.
Decatur Mayor Bill Floyd and DeKalb County CEO Burrell Ellis will promote the transportation referendum on June 13 in a modernized version of President Franklin Roosevelt's "fireside chats." The local leaders will be on the phone at 7:30 p.m. June 13 for a "wireside chat" -- a play on FDR's national radio broadcasts during World War II. To sign up to hear the chat, residents should go to www.metroatlantatransportationreferendum.com/wireside. People who register will receive an email reminder and background documents several days before the wireside chat. On June 13, they will receive a call on the number they provided. After a brief overview of the referendum, they can ask questions. Floyd and Burrell support the 10-county referendum and …
Paul
8:49 pm on Wednesday, March 20, 2013
Low voter turnout here. Who is responsible for getting the word out that there was a special election? more ›