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The Champion, Thursday, December 17 - 23,2015 LOCAL
Tucker prepares for city elections
by Carla Parker
carla@dekalbchamp.com
Tucker municipal elections will
be held March 1, 2016, and candi
dates are now gathering information
needed to run a successful campaign
and city.
The Tucker Civic Association
held a candidate information ses
sion about holding elected office in a
city on Dec. 8. The session included
Brookhaven Mayor Rebecca Chase
Williams, Sandy Springs City Coun
cilman Gabriel Sterling and political
consultant Mike Hassinger.
The three shared their experi
ences as city officials and how they
ran their campaigns. Williams said it
will take a lot of time and dedication
to get a city going.
“But it looks like Tucker is off to
a great start on that,” Williams said.
“They had a really successful referen
dum, they already have a good core
of people who have been very active
in the community and civic associa
tions, and they actually have some
better infrastructure than Brookhav
en had to start a city. I think that is a
real plus in Tucker’s favor.
“It does take a lot of time and it
takes a lot of planning and everyone
gets real impatient at first too—you
want to have an instant city and in
stant results too,” Williams added.
“But it takes time. It takes time for
plans to be made, to involve the citi
zens in all of those plans and then
deliver on them. You only have so
much budget, too. It’s all doable.”
Williams was elected to
Brookhaven City Council in 2012
before she was named mayor in June
following the resignation of the city’s
first mayor, J. Max Davis. Brookhav
en has had its ups and downs as city
officials continue to build what they
hope is an efficient city. Williams
said she hopes Tucker can avoid
some bumps along the way.
“There are great resources out
there and they’ll get training from
the Georgia Municipal Association,”
she said. “It’s why people like me and
Gabe will come over here and talk to
them because we want to share our
experience too, help them avoid—if
they can—some of the mistakes that
have been made, if that’s possible.
Every city is unique and they’ll have
their own unique personalities, and
there are some things you just can’t
avoid.”
Some of the people who worked
on the Tucker 2015 campaign plan to
run for either mayor or one of the six
council seats.
Frank Auman, one of the lead
ers of Tucker 2015, plans to run for
mayor. Auman said he wants to fulfill
some of the promises made during
the Tucker 2015 campaign.
“We made a lot of promises
about the kind of city we’re going to
form, the character of it,” he said. “I
really want to see that through. We’re
all learning; there isn’t anyone who
has done this before, so it’s a learning
process.”
Michelle Penkava, who was also
a top advocate for Tucker, plans to
run for city council district 3.
“I’m really excited about getting
to this place and I’m even more ex
cited about being a part of the transi
tion,” she said. “I’m really passionate
about it.”
Hassinger said the two most
important aspects of running a cam
paign are time and money.
“ [They should] spend five nights
a week going door to door and at this
time of the year it gets dark early so
you want to be done by sundown,” he
said. “ [They’re] going to have to find
ways to reach people face-to-face, in-
person, from [the time] school gets
out until sundown. [They’re] going
to have to shake all of those hands,
get the commitments and talk to a
lot of people. The second thing is fi
nancial. They have to set a budget of
what they want to spend.”
NEWS BRIEF
Brookhaven police trying to identify robbery
suspect
Brookhaven police need help from the pub
lic in identifying the person responsible for the
armed robbery of a Starbucks.
The robbery occurred Dec. 8 around 6 a.m. at
the North Druid Hills Road location. Police said
the suspect was waiting outside Starbucks for em
ployees to unlock the doors.
“Once they began to unlock the doors, the
suspect pulled a black handgun and forced his way
into the business,” Maj. Brandon Gurley said. “His
face was covered with either a scarf or ski mask.
The suspect demanded money from the registers
and safe.”
Gurley said the Robber stole an undisclosed
amount of cash before leaving the store.
Witnesses described the suspect as a Black
male, approximately 6 feet tall and slender build.
Anyone who has information about the rob
bery or suspect can contact the Brookhaven Police
tip line at (404) 637-0636. The tip line is prepared
to accept both English and Spanish-speaking call
ers, and every caller can remain anonymous.
Those who leave tips through Crime Stoppers
Atlanta may be eligible for a reward. Crime Stop
pers tips can be made at (404) 577-8477 or by tex
ting 274637.
DeKalb Sheriff’s Office arrests suspects in
Lithonia drug deal murder
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The DeKalb County
Sheriff’s Office Fugitive
Squad has arrested two men
in connection with the Nov.
28 shooting death of one
person and injury of anoth
er at 7712 Rockbridge Road
in Lithonia during what
police say was a narcotics
transaction.
A warrant was issued
Dec. 2 by DeKalb County
Police for 19-year-old Hoye Rashad Anderson on
charges of felony murder and aggravated assault.
It alleges Anderson was involved in the death of
Willie Jackson, who was shot in the head, and
the injury of Kendrick Ellison, who suffered a
gunshot to the throat and neck. Police found Jack-
son in a burning vehicle at the scene. Ellison was
found outside a nearby residence.
Sheriff’s Office investigators located and ar
rested Anderson without incident on Dec. 3 and
took him into custody at the DeKalb County Jail.
Based on information obtained during the arrest,
investigators were able to identify a second sus
pect, 19-year-old Raekwon Roseboro, who was
already in custody at the DeKalb County Jail on
unrelated charges. DeKalb Police issued a warrant
for Roseboro on Dec. 7 on charges of felony mur
der and aggravated assault in connection with the
Nov. 28 shooting death and injury.
Clemson student from Dunwoody dies near
college stadium
CLEMSON, S.C. (AP) State agents say no foul
play is suspected in the death of an 18-year-old
Clemson University student at the school’s football
stadium.
The university said in a news release that
freshman Michael Allen of Dunwoody, was found
dead by campus police outside a gate at Memorial
Stadium around 8:20 a.m. Dec. 1.
The Pickens County (S. C.) Coroner’s Office is
investigating and has not released a cause of death
for Allen.
State Law Enforcement Division spokes
man Thom Berry said agents don’t think anyone
caused Allen’s death, but are awaiting the coroner’s
report before making a final determination.