SOUTH FULTON, Ga. — South Fulton’s mayor is already hard at work setting his agenda after taking office this week. Tackling crime and creating economic opportunities are at the top of his list.
The City of South Fulton has its second mayor since its inception in 2017. The new mayor just took office on Tuesday and already has three specific goals for the city.
"A lot of the challenges we have are not uncommon to communities of color," City of South Fulton Mayor Khalid Kamau (D) said.
Mayor Khalid Kamau often refers to South Fulton as the blackest city in America, with 92% of residents identifying as African American, according to the 2020 U.S. Census.
“The southside of Fulton County is not unlike the southside of D.C., the southside of L.A., the Southside of Chicago," Kamau said. "Those are undervalued homes, schools that have been under resourced, and entrepreneurs that have been undercapitalized.”
While crime is a concern here, as it is in other metro Atlanta cities, data from South Fulton Police shows overall crime was actually down 17% from 2021 compared to the previous year.
“One of the things we have to do is to reimagine how we solve crime," Kamau said.
Mayor Kamau said part of reducing crime includes being proactive in creating more job opportunities in South Fulton.
“Police respond to crime, but they don’t prevent crime," Kamau said. "What all of the economic studies have shown is that reducing income inequality and increasing economic opportunity are the greatest drivers of decreasing crime.”
The mayor has three big goals and priorities for the city.
“My top three goals are a forensic audit of the city’s finances and contracts. I want to create an office of the public advocate. We want to create public boards and commissions for legislation so that all legislation goes through a committee process similar to Atlanta, Augusta, Macon," Kamau said.
Kamau hopes those goals will provide financial responsibility, find wasteful spending and give the people of South Fulton a voice.
South Fulton’s new mayor is taking a unique approach to address a problem property by moving into a condo complex he’s considering demolishing to get a better feel for what’s going on there.
Kamau moved into the Camelot Condominiums just days ago before he makes any decisions on the complex's fate.
“It’s one of the most troubled communities, most blighted, crime-ridden communities in our city," Kamau said.
The boarded-up windows and peeling paint are a visual indicator of some of the bigger problems at Camelot.
In the last 30 years, the complex has filed for bankruptcy at least twice. Last January, a fire tore through the complex and badly damaged several units. Then in May, three people were shot and killed at the complex. Residents at the time told us they often heard gunfire and some units had become havens for drug use. One went so far as to describe the condominiums as "walking into Iraq."
“Some constituents called me over there," Kamau said. "There were concerns about mold conditions. Some of the buildings are just utterly unlivable."
Mayor Kamau said it’s clear something must be done, but he made a campaign promise not to tear down the condominium complex until he's lived there first. He said many residents are opposed to redevelopment.
“My original plan was to demolish and redevelop Camelot. There are a lot of individual owners that have invested a lot time, money, resources and love. If we demolish the community, they lose all the value that they put into the units," Kamau said.
The mayor signed a one-year lease at Camelot so he'll be here through next January.
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