Brookhaven's First Elections Draw Hordes Of Contenders

Brookhaven's timeframe to get a city up and running between Nov. 6 and Dec. 17 got a whole lot tighter this week.

A total of 26 people for Brookhaven's first-ever city elections to be held on Nov. 6, with each race fielding at least three candidates.

Brookhaven's charter stipulates that candidates must receive 50-plus-one-percent of the vote to win a contest without a runoff. But crowded fields in the mayor's race and all four city council seats make runoffs more likely. 

Runoffs are scheduled for Dec. 4, and Brookhaven becomes a functioning city at 12:01 am on Dec. 17. The mayor and city council, after they are elected, will have 12 days or less to make such decisions as hiring a police chief, city attorney and other critical personnel; finalizing a location for city hall; and deciding which firms will be awarded contracts for city services, among other items.

Any day now, Gov. Nathan Deal is expected to announce the members of the , a five-person committee . But the mayor and city council will have to finalize those decisions.

Three candidates qualified for the mayor's race on Wednesday: , Larry Danese and Thom Shepard. They join , who was Brookhaven's first announced candidate, in the race.

District 3 is the most crowded race, with nine candidates. Next is District 1, with six candidates, followed by District 4 with four candidates, and District 2, with three candidates.

Final List Of Candidates:

Mayor of Brookhaven (term ends 2015): Larry Danese, J. Max Davis, Sandy Murray, Thom Shepard

City Council, District 1 (term ends 2015): J.D. Clockadale, Alan Cole, Michelle Conlon, Kevin D. Fitzpatrick, Jr.,  Kevin Meaders, Rebecca Chase Williams

City Council, District 2 (term ends 2013): Jim Eyre, Larry Hurst, Russell Mitchell

City Council, District 3 (term ends 2015): Deborah Anthony, Hope Bawcom, Bates Mattison, Bridget O'Donnell, Ben Podgor, Kevin Quirk, Julia Russo, Gaye L. Stathis, Erik Steavens

City Council, District 4 (term ends 2013): Joe Gebbia, Karen Lord, Francis R. Reedy, Kerry Witt