In an unprecedented move last Tuesday, Fairburn City Councilman Mario Avery defeated Mayor Betty Hannah for her seat beginning in January 2010. Avery garnered about 61 percent of the vote to become Fairburn’s next mayor, while Ms. Hannah, who had been mayor for more than 20 years, received only 39 percent of the votes.

For the past five years Avery has been on the city council and chose to run due to his desire to see smart growth in the city of Fairburn.

“I ran on the basis that as great as some of the project the current mayor and administration has in place like Georgia Military College, and the nature preserve we brought in—there is also a problem in bringing in projects that will possibly land us in court,” said Avery.

One of those is the medical waste transfer station on Creekwood Road. Avery said it would be the first in the county of its kind and a detriment to all of south Fulton. Avery would like to join forces with the business community and organizations to help bring attractive commercial development such as restaurants to downtown Fairburn.

Avery is also dedicated to ending the gridlock between the county government and the city of Fairburn over Duncan Park. He mentioned he is working on now what it would take to either acquire the park or lease it so the city can still fiscally remain responsible as it relates to the budget.

“I would like to see major recreational and educational programs developed at Duncan Park and a level of commercialization downtown that will allow the city to be seen as a market for people to look forward to coming on the weekend,” said Avery.

He added that many people bypass the city of Fairburn en route to places like Union City, Peachtree City and Atlanta on the weekends to do shopping or dining. He would like to see that change.

“I want Fairburn to be an attractive force when people ride up and down Highway 29,” said Avery. “I want the residents to enjoy coming downtown. It won’t happen overnight, but that’s what I want to see and I’m convinced the city manager and I can work as a team to make it happen.”

Avery said he ran on three words: transparency, accountability and wisdom. Counting his current employment as the Compliance Manager for Fulton County Government, he said he feels he is in a better position to assess the different contracts and fiscal responsibilities of the city and help determine, along with the council members wasteful spending.

“As a former military person I possess the discipline and training to help people see the vision and help them understand the pros and cons of every type of vote or decision that has to be made,” he said.

Avery said he is looking forward to utilizing all the unique attributes each council member brings to the table to end the dissention that has plagued the city government for the last several years.