Russell Mitchell, the Best Man for District 2

The Candidates

While we officially have three candidates running for District 2 city council, driving around the Ashford Park and Drew Valley neighborhoods, the yard signs seem to indicate that the District 2 council race for the city of Brookhaven is really between Jim Eyre and Russell Mitchell. I feel I have a unique perspective on these candidates as I have known each of them for several years. Though I respect what each has to offer, I believe there is a stark difference between Jim’s and Russell’s leadership styles, expertise, and character.

I have spent countless hours with each of these candidates over the course of numerous meetings, dinners and drinks discussing the community of Brookhaven. As a result I have deep respect for the genuine service each has given to their community.

Jim has served on the Ashford Park Civic Association (APCA), has teamed up with Ronnie Mayer to organize park work days, and has been heavily involved in the zoning decisions made in and around our community through various organizations. This is clearly Jim's strong point. More on these in a moment.

Russell is an active member of the community and volunteered tirelessly in the study and creation of the City of Brookhaven. Russell has worked as Dunwoody’s financial analyst in the past, and his experience afforded him intimate knowledge of the challenges Dunwoody faced as it became a city. He used that knowledge as he volunteered on the boards of Citizens for North DeKalb (C4ND) and Brookhaven Yes.  This is clearly Russell's strong point. In fact, Russell is the only candidate running in any of the city races with local government experience.

My Concerns

Russell has a positive outlook on the city, while Jim’s has been consistently negative. Jim has been against the very idea of a city of Brookhaven since the cityhood discussions first began. He believes that rather than creating a city we should work with DeKalb County. He has stated that the city is fundamentally flawed and will not be financially viable. But now that Brookhaven exists he wants us to forget his past positions and accept that he will be our advocate on the city council. Contrast this with my discussions with Russell over this same time period, in which he has leveraged his experience in the finance department of Dunwoody to recommend how we could best set up our city and learn from the mistakes of neighboring cities. I don't know about everyone else, but I would much rather elect a councilman who believes the city can work and who knows how to make it work.  

I also take issue with some of the ways in which Jim has "served" his community. He has repeatedly used his position with the APCA and other organizations to represent himself in zoning meetings as the spokesperson of our community, fighting against the homeowners and businesses in our community. I fail to see how anyone from the APCA, an organization I'm told has an astoundingly low membership, could justify this claim. I also believe that if a neighbor has a problem with something another neighbor is planning they should discuss it with them directly rather than blindsiding them in a public meeting. Yet, reports abound of neighbors who have been blindsided by Jim as he spoke out against their desire for an addition to their home, a pool in their backyard, or some other home improvement that most anyone else would leave to the discretion of the homeowner. Then there is the example of Jim’s opposition to Savi Market’s expansion, despite overwhelming community support for Savi’s plans. . Most recently, I've heard of home builders who have been bullied by Jim for not building homes that meet his personal requirements for size and grandeur. For the record, I have discussed all of my concerns directly with Jim and he has confirmed that he has in fact done each of these things, although he has a different view of each and I don't expect he would admit to them publicly. This leads me to another of my concerns. I believe that if I can say something in private, I should be able to say it in public. I want my elected officials to hold themselves to the same standard. I have heard of no such issues with Russell. Perhaps this is because Russell wants to serve his community rather than have the community serve him.

Politics as Usual 

Two weeks ago Jim came to my home and claimed that he is the candidate who would lower our taxes while Russell Mitchell wanted to raise our taxes. I pressed Jim to explain this since I know that it is a completely false statement. Jim explained that he was, quote, “playing politics.”. He said that Russell was the treasurer for C4ND and in that capacity developed a budget for the city that represents a tax hike over what we currently pay in DeKalb County. Let me set the record straight. The Carl Vinson Institute created the budget in its study, not Russell Mitchell. Russell's responsibility as treasurer of C4ND was to manage the finances of C4ND, a nonprofit community organization. Russell served his community exceedingly well. In contrast to Jim’s “playing politics”, since announcing his candidacy Russell has run a grassroots campaign, talking with the voters and focusing on their concerns. Day after day he has hit the streets walking door to door in our neighborhoods, talking one-on-one with us and listening to our concerns. Russell may not be the most "political" candidate, but I have no doubt he is the best candidate to start us out on solid footing. Russell Mitchell wants to listen to the people and hear their viewpoints on what should be done to make Brookhaven the best city possible. Jim Eyre has a track record of enforcing his own viewpoints upon the community.

I urge all neighbors to visit Russell’s website at http://russellmitchell.org and to make a point of meeting him.  Talk with him about your concerns and how he might address them if elected.  I trust that you’ll like him as a person and see the positive impact he can make on this city.  For anyone wishing to meet Russell, he and J. Max Davis are hosting an event in Ashford Park this Saturday, October 27th from 3:30 till 7. They will have plenty of family activities including bouncy houses, face painting, children's costume parade and sweet treats. Costumes are encouraged.