Candidates for Athens mayor — Mara Zuniga, Tim Denson, Dexter Fisher and Lakeisha Gantt — faced off at a public forum at Ciné on Feb. 7. Immigration enforcement, rapid growth and homelessness emerged as key issues shaping the future of Athens.
Hosted by AthChat podcast co-hosts Drew Abney and Russell Edwards, the event featured opening statements, prepared questions, candidate-to-candidate exchanges, audience questions and closing remarks.
Why It’s Newsworthy: Athens voters will be electing a new mayor for the first time in eight years. Four candidates sat down with the public to address their main platforms and initiatives.
Here’s a rundown of how the candidate addressed the top issues.
Immigration
Immigration emerged as one of the night’s most divisive topics.
Mara Zuniga, an immigrant herself, felt she was uniquely qualified to talk about immigration and its role in Athens.
Zuniga said she believes the misinformation on both sides is harming undocumented immigrants the most. She wants to help police officers obtain violent criminals before U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) comes.
“There are too many undocumented immigrants who experience violence and sex crimes from criminals who ICE is trying to get,” Zuniga said.
Tim Denson had a different stance, saying ICE has no place in Athens.
“There is no way my administration is going to work with ICE and help them come in as masked individuals terrorizing families and dragging them out of their homes,” Denson said.
Lakeisha Gantt acknowledged recent legislation, requiring local law enforcement to notify federal officials when undocumented immigrants enter county jails, but criticized the broader national climate surrounding immigration.
“The climate that we have now nationally is inhumane. It is dangerous. It sends a message to our local immigrant community that they are not welcome,” Gantt said, adding city leaders should, “validate the humanity of our immigrant community.”
Rapid Growth
As Athens continues to grow, many worry about the effects on its local residents and the balance of affordability with infrastructure needs.
Dexter Fisher said in an interview on Friday afternoon that rapid growth and how it is managed is Athens’ biggest challenge right now. He said updating the sewer and water systems should be the government’s top priority.
We need to not only improve and replace some of our infrastructure, but we also need to expand it,” Fisher said.
Candidates later discussed whether to encourage or limit student housing expansion into nearby neighborhoods.
Denson said he supported a student housing overlay district, arguing that the city must address demand from a growing student population.
“Where are they going to go?” Denson asked, emphasizing the need for designated areas that can absorb growth without creating broader housing shortages.
Gantt pushed back, saying the real question is where longtime residents will go as rising rents and new developments squeeze working Athenians on fixed incomes. She argued continued expansion risks displacing the people who already call the city home.
Homelessness
Candidates addressed homelessness, a concern in Athens and across Athens-Clarke County.
Fisher referenced House Bill 62, which states that transporting homeless people to different counties is illegal. He plans to write letters to the leaders of surrounding counties.
“It should not be the responsibility of the taxpayers in this community to take care of the folks that come from other places,” Fisher said.
Zuniga said Bigger Vision confirmed there are more homeless people being dropped off in Athens. She wants to get funding from the counties dropping off their residents to ensure they have resources once in the Classic City.
We have the heart. We have hands. We just don’t have the funding,” Zuniga said.
Denson said Athens has unique resources that qualify it to take better care of homeless people greater than our surrounding counties, so the federal government gives us more money to make up for this margin.
Gantt emphasized prevention and support services, saying policymakers must address the circumstances that lead people to lose housing in the first place.
“You can’t address the physical space without addressing the underlying causes and contributions to what that person is experiencing,” Gantt said.
Election Timeline
Voters will elect the Athens-Clarke County mayor on Tuesday, May 19. The Red & Black will host another debate from 6–7 p.m. on April 9, and officials will hold a runoff election on June 16 if no candidate receives a majority of the vote.
Olivia Suite is a third-year student majoring in journalism.
Show Comments (0)