STOCKBRIDGE, Ga. -- It appears the move to carve the city of Eagle's Landing out of the city of Stockbridge is dead.
The Henry County ballot measure that would have allowed a portion of the city of Stockbridge to break away and form into a new city was soundly defeated, 57 percent to 43 percent.
11Alive's Nick Sturdivant spoke to mayor of Stockbridge Anthony Ford the day after the Nov. 6 election, who said he hopes to bring the community together following the failed measure.
"We are going to see what we can do to live together in harmony," Ford said.
Officials and residents of the city of Stockbridge argued that the de-annexation measure to establish the city of Eagle's Landing violated the Voting Rights Act and would take away much of the city's tax base.
A portion of the 100-year-old city would have been de-annexed, including about 9,000 residents, in order to create the new city. In addition, another 3,500 residents would have come from property in unincorporated Henry County.
Residents pushing for Eagle's Landing to become an independent city said they wanted to secure better city services, increase property values and to attract high-end businesses. Opponents said the creation of the new city would take away a significant amount of the Stockbridge tax base.
But Vikki Consiglio, the chairperson of the committee pushing for the city of Eagle's Landing, said the vote was never about Stockbridge.
"It was about how can we better our community," she said. "How can we bring back the taxes that we already pay back into our community so we can invest into the things that are around us and have that voice that we wanted to have."
Critics have said they believe that both racism and classism played parts in the rationale behind the move to create the city of Eagle's Landing.
"I look at it like the haves versus the have-nots," Ford said.
Currently, 29 percent of Stockbridge residents are white, while 56 percent are black. The city of Eagle's Landing would be more diverse -- with about 39 percent white residents and 44 percent black. The median income of Stockbridge is at $58,000, slightly below the Henry County median of $60,000. The city of Eagle's Landing would have had a median income of $120,000.
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Stockbridge city officials had previously filed suit against the Eagle's Landing proponents in September, pointing out that among other items, Capitol One Public Funding owns about $11.75 million of bonds to the city of Stockbridge from 2005 and 2006, under the assumption that there would be a certain number of taxpayers living in the city.
If Eagle's Landing were to peel itself off, Stockbridge would have been left paying off the bonds.
Consiglio dismissed those lawsuits at the time, saying cityhood proponents were looking ahead to the November vote.
"A lawsuit has already been filed and the courts have ruled in our favor," Consiglio said in September. "This is about the vote and them trying to do everything they can to stop the vote."
With the measure's failure, Eagle's Landing cityhood proponents may take their move back to the General Assembly, but it is not likely that lawmakers would craft a similar ballot initiative in the near future.
Ford said he is hopeful that now that the measure has failed, he hopes to sit down and meet to come to an agreement with those who wanted to break away.
"What is it that we need to do for you, specifically, and what are your demands or issues that we need to work through," Ford proposed.
The Eagles Landing committee said they would sit down with the newly-elected District Four county commissioner and state representative to hash things out.
