You can count them all on your fingers. East Point, College Park, Fairburn, Union City, The City of South Fulton, Palmetto, and The City of Chattahoochee Hills. All of these cities make up the small towns of South Fulton County.
One unique thing about them is all, except two, have had Black mayors. In this next election, that could change in that the number of African-American mayors in South Fulton County could increase by at least one.
The City of Palmetto, Georgia, founded in 1854, has been upward and mobile for several years with new construction, new businesses opening up, and a new attitude towards change. In almost 170 years, Palmetto has never had a Black mayor. In steps, Teresa Thomas-Smith, is a native Atlantan; and, she and her husband have made Palmetto, Georgia, their home. She comes at a time when the people of Palmetto are open to change.
Thomas-Smith is comfortable speaking before any gathering in the town, regardless of the make-up of the audience, and she will be qualifying to run for mayor of Palmetto in the upcoming election. The election itself is historic because this is the first time in the city’s 169-year history that there has been a female candidate for mayor, not to mention an African-American female candidate.
