City of South Fulton Swears in New Leaders

During Inauguration activities for the incoming council members, newly elected South Fulton Mayor khalid kamau was on the steps of City Hall calling for the resignation of the City Manager, City Clerk and City Attorney.

The City Council called a Special Meeting on January 6 to pass a resolution of disapproval in light of Mayor kamau’s actions with a vote of 6-0. The resolution notes that kamau overstepped his authority and violated several steps sections of South Fulton’s city charter.

“The Mayor or a Councilmember may only recommend the removal of the City Manager from office in accordance with procedure set forth in the Charter, and the recommendation has to have the affirmative vote of five Councilmembers,” Councilwoman Willis stated. “The City Manager has a contract and we can not breach that contract.”

Prior to the events stated above, South Fulton’s inauguration ceremony was streamed live on the city’s YouTube channel amid COVID-19 concerns.

Each official was sworn-in in 30-minute staggered commencements to allow for sanitation in between.

The first person to be inaugurated into office was new South Fulton Mayor khalid kamau, who purposefully spells his name in lower-case, making him the city’s second mayor. According to his website, kamau’s lower-cased name comes from the Yoruba tradition where the community is emphasized over the individual.

The recently elected mayor formerly worked for Black Lives Matter and even helped establish Atlanta’s chapter.

At his inauguration, Mayor kamau shared how his family’s history has given him confidence to lead the City of South Fulton.

“Ladies and gentlemen, my father has worked as an accountant for every mayor in the City of Atlanta from Maynard Jackson to Kasim Reed,” kamau said. “He taught me everything I know about these four walls.”

Kamau identifies as a Democratic Socialist that has an array of plans as mayor. South Fulton has a population that is approximately 92% Black, making it the Blackest large city in America.

Established in 2017, the 85.64 square mile town has a population of approximately 107,436, making over 98,000 residents of African American descent.

Kamau is determined to make South Fulton “Black on purpose”- “which means a city that is not just unapologetic about its demographics, but moving on purpose to be a laboratory for economic, housing and restorative justice policies aimed at improving the lives of African Americans.”

As mayor, kamau also plans to increase local land ownership, access to capital for local businesses and career opportunities and entrepreneurship for local youth.

Councilmembers Carmalitha Gumbs of District 2, Jaceey Sebastian of District 4 and Natasha Williams of District 6 were sworn into office as well.

Gumbs, an incumbent in her district, has four main areas of focus, including public safety and accountability, fiscal responsibility and transparency, strategic economic development and improving quality life issues.

Newly elected Sebastian’s priorities for his district include public and environmental safety, fiscal responsibility and infrastructure and smart development.

For Williams and her newly acquired district, her main goals are to improve transportation and infrastructure, public safety and zoning.