In the South Fulton mayoral race, legal matters are affecting one candidate. According to FOX 5 Atlanta, Dr. Mark Baker has been served with a temporary protection order following an incident with local resident Christopher McCreary. The order was issued after McCreary reported that Baker threatened him regarding negative comments posted on social media.
Court records show that the protection order prohibits Baker from coming within 200 yards of McCreary. Baker’s legal team is scheduled to appear in court on December 15 to respond to the claims. Meanwhile, Councilwoman Carmalitha Gumbs, another mayoral candidate, is facing an ethics complaint filed by South Fulton resident Reshard Snellings, as per FOX 5 Atlanta. The complaint alleges that Gumbs violated the city charter by not fully disclosing campaign contributions and participating in votes involving contributors to her campaign.
Snellings’ complaint claims that Gumbs’s campaign filings were unclear, making it difficult to determine whether donors had business before the city council. The complaint also points to zoning cases involving developer Greg Boler, alleging that Gumbs voted on matters affecting Boler’s interests without proper disclosure, despite warnings from the city attorney to council members.
Both candidates are set to compete in a runoff after no candidate received more than 50% of the vote in the recent general election. They are seeking to succeed outgoing Mayor Khalid “Kobi” Kamau, who previously faced an investigation over alleged misuse of city funds and a trespassing charge, as reported by Atlanta News First. Kamau initially chose not to run for reelection but later reversed his decision, receiving limited support in the polls.
