Cornelia voters will not cast ballots for mayor and city commission this year. That’s because the incumbents are the only ones who qualified to run.
Qualifying for write-in candidates ended on Friday, September 1. Since no one else put their name forward to be on the November ballot, the incumbents are running unopposed. Georgia law considers those candidates to have voted for themselves, so no election is required.
Cornelia Mayor John Borrow, Ward 1 Commissioner Mark Reed, and Ward 4 Commissioner Tony Cook will retain their seats on the city commission.
Cornelia voters will still go to the polls in November for a special election on a referendum question regarding the Redevelopment Powers Law.
Cornelia City Manager Donald Anderson explained the need for the referendum, “These powers are not automatically granted to cities, hence the need for the referendum. Redevelopment Powers allow municipalities to create redevelopment areas, create redevelopment plans, create tax allocation districts, and acquire and dispose of property for redevelopment purposes.”
According to Anderson, “While the city has no immediate plans to utilize any of the powers granted under the law, we feel it would be good to have them in case a need arises in the future.”
