Tim Denson, Dexter Fisher, LaKeisha Gantt, Sharon Miller and Mara Zúñiga gathered at the University of Georgia Chapel for a mayoral debate hosted by The Red & Black in honor of inaugural Local News Day on Thursday. The event was open to students, faculty and community members.
The full debate can be viewed on The Red & Black’s Instagram page.
Below are candidates’ views on the topics discussed during the debate.
Affordable housing
With over 26,000 students on average looking for off campus-housing each year, student housing is in high demand in Athens, with some properties reporting 99% occupancy rates. Monthly rent prices range from $964 to $1,720, and efforts to increase affordable housing in the area are a key priority for both students and locals.
All the candidates agreed that Athens is experiencing a housing crisis.
Fisher, Gantt and Zúñiga proposed collaboration with the university, saying that UGA could offer more on-campus student housing to offset the high demand for student housing.
“Too many times in a college community, the housing is sometimes inflated because we have a student population and put more pressure on the people that live and work here,” Fisher said.
Gantt hopes to increase the flexibility of zoning laws regarding diverse housing options, such as tiny homes.
Because Athens-Clarke County is only 122 square miles — making it the smallest county in Georgia by land area — Denson stated that housing must be built up instead of out. He plans to establish a “student overlay district,” a district near UGA where developers would be incentivized to build student housing.
Miller emphasized her hope for Athens’ future despite these drawbacks, while being asked why she’s running for mayor.
“I want to see Athens-Clarke County rise above its image of being the poorest county in Georgia,” Miller said. “I want us to be more than that.”
Renewable energy
Denson expressed concern about the rate at which climate change is occurring. He hopes to increase the city’s investments in sustainable energy, specifically pointing to solar energy. Denson also hopes to provide grants to low-income families to allow them to access solar energy as well.
Gantt and Zúñiga pointed to education and UGA as a resource in the pursuit of renewable energy. Gantt said young adults — both at UGA and in Athens — should be prepared to enter “environmentally-friendly careers.”
Zúñiga hopes to discuss sustainability initiatives with community members and students and conduct studies on the city’s best way forward.
“I think we have a wealth of information from our students at UGA,” Zúñiga said. “We have such a huge resource here in town from an elite university.”
UGA’s financial responsibilities
Regarding the financial responsibilities UGA has to the Athens community, nearly all of the candidates called for a stronger relationship between the city and UGA.
Gantt hopes that UGA and Athens partner to alleviate the housing crisis, proposing that the university subsidize some of the city’s housing needs.
“We are sitting on land right now, acres and acres of land that are not on the county’s tax digest,” Gantt said. “When you have a relationship and you share a community, you have a responsibility to each other to solve that community’s problems.”
Zúñiga believes that UGA should invest more money into services in the Athens community, emphasizing the need for stronger communication between the city and university.
Denson said the university and community both have a responsibility to each other, but noted that Athens should also be prepared to develop solutions on its own. Denson also wants to ensure that every UGA worker is paid a living wage.
“There are too many workers who run the day-to-day operations of this university who are not getting paid what they are due and not getting paid a wage where they can actually live a quality life here in this community,” Denson said. “I think that’s the absolute bottom that we must be actually encouraging and asking for [UGA] to do.”
Miller said that UGA has no financial responsibility to the county, but expressed her hope of strengthening the relationship between Athens and UGA.
“I don’t believe that the University of Georgia owes our county anything,” Miller said. “But it is the onus of our county to make sure that they’re doing the manageable things to handle the income that is under their authority.”
City infrastructure
Many of the candidates discussed the lack of funds available to improve the infrastructure in ACC.
Fisher suggested looking into how Athens receives its federal and state programs that provide the city with funds, and potentially using Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax (SPLOST) dollars to invest in infrastructure.
Zúñiga said the city needs to reexamine their budget and — instead of looking for additional revenue — use money that is already available more efficiently.
“Let’s look at the budget and see where we can look at those things that are working and those things that are not working,” Zúñiga said. “From there, we can see where we’re standing, and we can make decisions.”
Denson proposed an infrastructure reporting system that would allow residents to report issues — such as potholes and broken powerlines — to ensure they do not go unnoticed by the city.
Community voices
Gabby Gantt, Makenzie Campbell and Kennedi Campbell, Athens residents who were in attendance, thought the debate was interesting, informative and organized.
Darya Kalantari, an Athens resident and co-leader on Denson’s campaign, voiced a similar opinion.
“[The debate] was great. I think any kind of opportunity to have civic engagement for everyone in the community just strengthens us,” Kalantari said. “Seeing young people get involved and want to learn, have their voices heard too — it’s great.”
Kalantari plans to cast her vote for Denson, as she has been inspired by the work he has done in the community.
Not all reviews of the candidate’s performance were positive. Keenan Kharrat, a senior civil engineering major, said that he felt many of the candidates gave non-answers and failed to provide concrete plans for the future of ACC.
“A lot of the questions were asking ‘how?’” Kharrat said. “There weren’t a lot of ‘how’ answers.”
ACC’s mayoral election will take place on Tuesday, May 19. More information on voting, polling locations and election details can be found on ACC’s Elections Department website.
