For the city of Clarkston in DeKalb County, Ga., Election Day is just around the corner. On Nov. 5, Clarkston citizens will be voting for a new mayor.
The city of Clarkston is known as the “refugee melting pot.” In 1980, Clarkston was 90 percent white. Based on the 2010 census, that number has gone down to just 14 percent. Since refugees first started relocating to this city, it has become home to people from more than 40 different countries.
Three candidates are currently running for mayor: current Mayor Emanuel Ransom, Ted Terry and Ibrahim Sufi.
Ransom, Clarkston’s first African-American mayor, moved to Clarkston in the early 1960s. He took office in 2010 after a Christmas Day tragedy, in which Howard Tygrett, Clarkston’s mayor at the time died during a Texas visit with his wife’s parents. Tygrett was only 40 years old. Ransom, who held the position of vice mayor at the time, took his place.
Ted Terry was born and raised in Tallahassee, Fla., and graduated from the University of Florida with a degree in nutrition. He has lived in Clarkston for two years and has been interested in politics since the age of 18.
The third candidate is Ibrahim Sufi. Sufi is a native of Somalia who left the war-torn country for Nairobi, Kenya, in 1991.
After moving to Clarkston in 2003, Sufi began his college studies in Clarkston at Georgia Perimeter College and furthered his education at the Georgia Institute of Technology.
On Sunday, Sept. 22, Sagal Radio hosted the 2013 mayoral debate between the three candidates. I am an intern at Sagal Radio and was chosen to moderate the hour-long debate, which was held at the Clarkston Women’s Club. Listeners were asked to send in questions and segment subjects through the Internet or any other means of communication. Director of Sagal Radio Hussein Mohammed and I took the time to walk around Clarkston and interview different people, asking them what they would like to see changed and improved within the next four years.
The questions people asked revolved around the improvement of Clarkston and questioned in which ways the mayors were going to change and improve the city if elected. Their questions and demonstrated interest showed a promising future for Clarkston. The event was filmed live and recorded with a live audience. To listen to the debate visit sagalradio.org.