On Thursday, Oct 8 members of Delta Sigma Theta and Alpha Kappa Alpha Sororities hosted an event to bring together candidates running for local elections in the City of Atlanta. Candidates for the office of Mayor and City Council from nearby districts were present at the event. The event was held to educate students and the campus community about the candidates and also to encourage people to get involved and vote in local elections. College students generally have low voter turnouts for city wide elections.
After serving for eight years, the current Mayor of Atlanta Shirley Franklin is prevented from running in the upcoming election due to term limits. Candidates were allowed to deliver a brief three-minute presentation about their platform. The remainder of the event took on a meet-and-greet style, and candidates met individually with students to answer questions.
Representatives from the campaigns of Lisa Borders, Kasim Reed and Jesse Spikes were present at the event. In addition, representatives for candidates running for City Council were also present at the event. Elections will be held on Nov. 3, 2009.