Two challengers vying to replace Robb Pitts as chair of the Fulton County Board of Commissioners say his leadership is partly to blame for horrific conditions at the county jail and an ongoing backlog of cases inside the county courts system.
During a debate Tuesday night, attorney Marvin Arrington Jr. and Georgia State University professor Mo Ivory also blamed Pitts for disparities in economic development and health care services that exist between Fulton’s wealthier, whiter north side and its poorer, largely Black population in the south. They say a changing of the guard is necessary to fix what’s broken, and that at age 84, Pitts is no longer the man for the job.
“The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different result,” Ivory said during the debate at Enon Church in South Fulton. “For the past 12 to 20 years, we’ve seen the same leadership, same patterns, same problems. It is indeed time for new leadership, new ideas, and real, actionable steps to address our crisis areas.”
More than 100 were in attendance for the candidate forum organized by Georgia Men For Democracy Now, a political action committee that advocates for candidates who preserve and promote inclusivity, accountability, and protecting fundamental rights.
Pitts is running for reelection in a May 19 primary matchup against fellow Democrats Ivory and Arrington. Ivory vacated her District 4 seat to challenge Pitts, while Arrington represents District 5. The winner will face Republican attorney Eric Tatum, who did not participate in Tuesday’s debate, in a November general election showdown.
Pitts has served as chair of the seven-member Board of Commissioners since 2017 and has been on the board a total of 12 years. He turned 84 in December. His job involves setting the legislative agenda for the county commissioners, who determine how the county’s $1 billion operating budget gets spent.
While there are multiple hospitals operating in northern Fulton County, Arrington noted that the southern part of the county hasn’t had a hospital with a level-I trauma center since the closure of Wellstar’s Atlanta Medical Center in 2022.
He referred to the state of affairs as “medical apartheid.”
“In South Fulton, we are losing lives,” Arrington said. “We have a lower life expectancy because we have a slower ambulance response time. You have to go 30 minutes to get to a hospital. … It is a health care desert.”
Pitts touted Grady Health System’s recently unveiled plan to open a medical campus in Union City as one of the board’ recent successes and a sign that much-needed investment and development are coming for folks living in southern Fulton County.
He took credit for county commissioners refusing to raise the millage rate since 2022, which he said would have led to higher property taxes and more gentrification of Black seniors living on fixed incomes.
“Leadership supports good legislation and it defeats bad legislation,” Pitts said. “That’s what I’ve done and what I will continue to do.”
The candidates’ messages received mixed responses from the more than 100 people in attendance.
Buckhead resident Beverly Walker Jones, a retired college professor who owns property in South Fulton, said she was undecided about who to support before attending the debate, but she’s now leaning toward voting for Ivory.
“I think the consensus might be that we’re looking for new leadership, and we don’t want to do the same thing over and over again, because we’re getting the same results,” Jones said.
Pastor Jarius Dorsey of New Zion Baptist Church in Atlanta, however, said Pitts’ experience on the job make him the best person to fix what’s wrong with southern Fulton County.
“What we’re dealing with now, you’ve got to have somebody experienced,” Jones said. “They’re all experienced, but the most experienced would be Commissioner Pitts.”
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