The Georgia primary election is done, and the runoffs are set. Early voting has begun and for the race for Fulton County’s next District 5 commissioner, every vote will count. Helen Z. Willis, formerly a member of South Fulton’s City Council, wants to be the next District 5 commissioner. Willis, who is currently in a runoff with Sojourner Marable Grimmett, believes she is the right woman for the job.
“I’ve already been doing the work and addressing many of the issues that have plagued the South Fulton region, like affordable housing, criminal justice reform, and the lack of senior services,” said Willis. Last week, she visited The Atlanta Voice to discuss why she is the best candidate and what she plans to do if she is elected to the seat.
“My people know that I show up and deliver,” Willis, dressed in the orange and blue of her alma mater, Savannah State University, said.
Willis is getting public support from within the Fulton County government. She has the endorsement of current and outgoing District 5 Commissioner Marvin Arrington, Jr., who finished third in the primary election for Fulton County Commissioner Chair. Arrington, Jr. has publicly endorsed current Fulton County Commissioner Chair Robb Pitts, who is running against first-time Fulton County Commissioner Mo Ivory. For Willis, a veteran of local government, serving the public is important. She has received the endorsement of Dejia Felicity Swindell, who finished third with 12.67% of the vote in the Democratic Fulton County Commission District 5 election.
The endorsements are just icing on the cake.
“The most important endorsement to me is the endorsement of the people ,” Willis said. “That support comes from relationships that I have built.”
During the primary election for the Fulton County District 5 Commission seat, Willis won the majority of the votes, 43%, while Grimmett, who received an endorsement from J. Jazz Thomas-Jones, the fourth place finisher in the election, won 35%, forcing a runoff.
During her time in government, Willis said she created opportunities for the community, including the “Feeding the City” program, which established partnerships with the Atlanta Food Bank, and private partners to provide food to the public. Many parts of South Fulton can be described as a food desert. The program continues, and is now being run by South Fulton District 6 Commissioner Natasha Williams-Brown.
“You have so many people who are not being advocated for,” Willis said. “Being on city council, and working on municipal issues, I went beyond the call of duty.”
Willis said there needs to continue to be ways to grow and sustain our own vegetables and fruit. “It’s an essential human and health service. Teaching people how to address food insecurity is important,” she said.
Asked what future plans she would like to implement, Willis has many ideas, including bringing back community gardens, youth/teens job training, and advocating for affordable housing.
“My goal is to continue that on the county side,” Willis said.
Runoff elections, in Georgia and across the country, are notorious for having weaker turnouts than primary and presidential elections. Willis is aware of this fact, and expects “a significant dropoff, but will do what she can to rally voters.
“I’m doing what it takes to get my people back to the polls,” she said.
The Republican candidate for the District 5 commissioner’s seat is Tiffany A. Henyard, who is an outsider, so the best opportunity to win the seat may come in this race. That runoff election will take place on Tuesday, June 16. Early voting has begun. Asked if she was ready, Willis said she was.
“I have served in the City of South Fulton for over eight years. I have given the City of South Fulton municipality 15 years of my life,” Willis said. “There’s so much work I have to do.”
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