Free Republic

ATLANTA – Former state Sen. Kasim Reed appears to have edged out Councilwoman Mary Norwood in a hotly-contested race for Atlanta mayor. But, Norwood did not concede and could still call for a recount as Reed appears to have won by 758 votes. According to the Fulton County elections Web site, Reed garnered 41,901 votes to Norwood’s 41,143 votes. Reed and Norwood faced off in Tuesday’s runoff election after neither candidate received 50 percent of the vote during the Nov. 3 election.

Those high-profile gubernatorial and congressional races in Virginia, New Jersey and New York got most of the headlines, but the genuinely revealing contests may well have been some of the down-ballot contests held in Maine, Georgia and Pennsylvania. In Maine, a referendum to repeal the state's recently enacted gay marriage law won 52-48 percent. despite a massive outpouring of resources by gay rights groups. Gay marriage advocates spent an estimated $4 milion defending the law, while opponents reportedly spent about $2.5 million. Turnout was higher than expected for an off-year election, according to Maine officials, and there were about 100,000...

( Atlanta has thrived in SPITE of it's useless, tax everything, do nothing, give perks to officials city government, NOT because of it!! It's the entreprenuers, transportation hub, and the climate that have Atlanta humming!) White candidate scrambles vote, attitudes in Atlanta race By Joseph Curl For decades as white residents fled to the suburbs, Atlanta's black political establishment, led by a string of strong mayors, revived the moribund economy and so revamped the city's image that it earned a national reputation as "Hotlanta." Ironically, that success - including a winning bid to host the 1996 Summer Olympics and a...