Randall Gibbs

On Being Good Neighbors
District 12 has a rich history and enormous pride. As you know, wonderful people have lived in our neighborhoods for many years. However, other folks are just now realizing that District 12 is a great place to live, too. Some might view the mix of established residents and newer neighbors as unsettling. Change may not always be easy, but it doesn’t have to be contentious either. I believe that our established residents have been foundational in shaping and creating attractive neighborhoods. Similarly, I welcome the energy, enthusiasm, new talent and even businesses that newer neighbors will bring to this community. I believe that we all benefit from the rich, dynamic diversity in our neighborhoods. By showing mutual respect and appreciation, District 12 can be the beloved community for everyone who calls it home!

On Education
I cannot stress enough the importance of education here in District 12. The one thing that I learned from the closure of the Latin Academy was that those kids truly cared about receiving a quality education. It hurt my heart to see that school close just like I know it hurt many parents and students. The good news is that the Latin Academy kids are not an anomaly in our district. I know that we all care about the quality of education that our children receive.

There are several reasons to be excited about the provision of education in District 12 for both our children and adults going forward. Atlanta Public School’s (APS’s) bold Turnaround Strategy will soon be fully implemented and the impact on our youth is quite promising. I look forward to working with our School Board representatives to develop more ways to better connect our neighborhoods with our schools. Finally, we need to take advantage of the steady growth of Atlanta Metropolitan State College and Atlanta Technical College in our communities, and the opportunities that these institutions of higher learning provide to both local HS grads and adults.

On Local Economic Development
I have had the great fortune of teaming with neighborhood leaders and residents from eight neighborhoods – including Adair Park, Capitol View, Capitol View Manor, Oakland City, Pittsburgh, and Sylvan Hills – to address the relative lack of food retail options in our region. We conducted Development Days, which were designed to expose the numerous developmental opportunities to restaurant owners and real estate developers who may be unfamiliar with our community. Next, we created Cash Mobs as an effort to support the local grocers and restaurants providing fresh, healthy food offerings to our community. Finally, we created the Intown SW Atlanta Small Business Bootcamp, in which business owners in our community received business education and consultation to improve their business.

I will continue these efforts of supporting and growing local businesses as well as attracting larger, regional-scale developments to our community. Despite what traditional metrics may indicate, the demand for quality goods and services is here. More importantly, the ability to support new restaurants, coffee shops, bars, etc. is here too.^[3][4]