Savannah City Council At-Large Post 1: Meet your candidates for November's election

There is only one race in Savannah's municipal elections without an incumbent, and the race has drawn a range of seasoned veterans, policy wonks, small business owners and community advocates.

Savannah's At-Large Post 1 seat was left vacant by Alderwoman Kesha Gibson-Carter, who is challenging Mayor Van Johnson in the mayoral race. The seven candidates vying for the open seat are Carol Bell, Jason Combs, Roshida Edwards, Curtis Singleton, Tony Thomas, Marc Anthony Smith and Clinton Young.

The group has discussed top issues at various forums this campaign season. Here is more about the candidates and their top priorities.

Carol Bell

While there is no incumbent in the race, Bell is the candidate who has held this post previously. She was unseated by Carter in the 2019 election, but Bell decided to jump back in the race after seeing the discord on council the past four years.

At the top of Bell's priority list are two issues: public safety and housing. When it comes to public safety, Bell advocates for proactive policies that prevent youths from partaking in crime. She points to the Savannah 500 initiative, passed while she was on council, as an example of such a policy.

"I will be a strong advocate for not only providing recreational activities for our young people, but also activities that help produce graduating seniors who are part of the workforce," Bell said.

The Savannah 500 initiative was a public-private partnership, and Bell is a proponent of using those partnerships to impact public policy. Bell would take that same approach to address the affordable housing crisis.

One piece of this would be reducing the burden of zoning, licensing and permitting, Bell said. Then once the city partners with developers, they can agree that a certain amount of new infill be designated for workforce and affordable housing, especially for the city's hospitality workers who may not be able to afford living near their jobs.

"I believe that this kind of partnership could work for housing and could help us decrease the lack of adequate housing for our citizens," Bell said.

Jason Combs

Voters who have attended any Post 1 forums this campaign season certainly heard one thing about Combs: he has two master's degrees from Georgia Tech. Combs has one in city planning and another in urban design. Many know him through his stint as Thomas Square Neighborhood Association president, which he still has served as throughout the campaign.

Combs frequently references those credentials, but they inform his policy aims for managing Savannah's growth by adding high-density housing.

"I made the joke in the first forum that for $25,000, you're not just getting a councilmember, but basically an urban designer and a city planner working for the city," Combs said in an interview.

Combs is also one of the architects of the hotel-motel expansion overlay, which aims to halt hotel expansion into the Thomas Square, Victorian, and Cuyler-Brownville neighborhoods. It is one avenue to combat overtourism, Combs said.

One other factor about Combs is he has taken 0$ in campaign donations. At one forum, Combs mentioned he had people from each faction of Savannah's city council ask him to run in the race.

"I am independent, and I am competent," Combs said in an interview, "and I will be pragmatic about solving our problems."

Roshida Edwards

Edwards is a 39-year-old Savannahian and graduate of Groves High School. She is also a business owner in town and her first brick and mortar, Vintage Special Event Center, 980 Industry Drive, opened in 2022.

Edwards jumped into the race after her experience attempting to receive an alcohol license for her entertainment venue. She began the process in June 2022 and has still not received the license, she said. Edwards supports changing the licensing process to an independent review board.

"I experienced just how unfair and completely biased the city was as it pertains to small businesses," Edwards said in an interview.

Also at the top of Edwards' policy list is making agenda access easier. The issue has become a prominent campaign topic after city council passed rules early in its term that requires five members of council to support an item for it to be added to the agenda.

Edwards also has plans for addressing Savannah's housing issue, and the avenue she advocates for is devoting 20-40% of the next Special Purpose Local Option Sales Tax to affordable and workforce housing.

"That would help us get at least a large amount of units done at one time and help tackle the shortage we have," Edwards said.

Curtis Singleton

Singleton is president of The Mediation Center of the Coastal Empire, and he has said his mediation skillset makes him equipped to work with others on council. In mediation they teach listening and dialogue skills that help with interpersonal problem solving, Singleton said.

Beyond his role at The Mediation Center, Singleton has worked in politics for decades. His policy work has included an internship with Jimmy Carter's administration and a stint as a policy analyst in the Georgia General Assembly. He could be in cities such as D.C. or Atlanta, he said, but he always returned to Savannah because he loves it.

Ultimately, he jumped in the race because the city is at a crossroads for balancing growth and residential life, Singleton said in an interview. "I don't want to see us lose our identity. Because we have not taken a visionary approach to balancing the business and residential community."

Growth management is one of Singleton's top priorities, particularly with the incoming Hyundai Metaplant and looming completion of the Savannah Convention Center's expansion. Singleton has also mentioned at forums the need for more robust transit to move workers from the city out to bourgeoning industry.

Marc Anthony Smith

Smith, a 50-year Savannahian, jumped in the race after late night conversations with friends encouraging him to run, he said. The people were seeing a breakdown of decorum on council, Smith said, and they thought he would be the right person for the post.

Smith has experience working in law enforcement, church ministry, and is a U.S. Navy veteran. He also graduated from Savannah State with a degree in political science and a minor in history, he said. His mix of professional experience and education makes him best suited for the post, he said.

"I think that's what stands me out from the rest."

Smith has a few top legislative priorities, ranging from instituting a neighborhood bill of rights to expanding Savannah's public transit. A neighborhood bill of rights would focus on setting a baseline of resources for each neighborhood, including improving the quality of roads and expanding access to grocery stores, Smith said.

When it comes to transit, Smith would like to see light rail to neighboring coastal areas such as Hilton Head, as well as have Chatham Area Transit use updated technology for riders to track bus times. Smith said transit is key to growth management, as well as ensuring city services are delivered to annexed portions of Savannah.

"We've got to come up with a uniform way of annexing and working with the county," Smith said.

Tony Thomas

The only candidate with a more seasoned tenure on Savannah City Council than Carol Bell is Thomas. Thomas served District 6 for 20 years before being unseated by current Alderman Kurtis Purtee in 2019.

Thomas has previously been marred by scandals ranging from public drunkenness in 2017 and a theft charge in 2022. At one forum in September, Thomas said he is four years alcohol free. He also said his experience serving on council makes him equipped to lead Savannah at a critical moment.

"I believe that we have a wonderful opportunity, but we're at a crossroads," Thomas said.

At the League of Women Voters of Coastal Georgia forum, Thomas said he supports additional short-term vacation rental regulations, which could limit the total number of people that can stay in one rental. He also said those renting out their houses to short-term clients should be required to provide parking.

Thomas also has ideas on how to employ SPLOST, saying that the SPLOST 4 should have included stormwater improvements. The most recent city council voted to maintain the current millage rate, designating added revenues from it for stormwater projects.

Thomas said he would have sought a compromise between rolling the rate back, maintaining it, or providing an alternative tax break to residents.

"The council did not have an easy decision, but folks need to understand what the purpose of the SPLOST is," Thomas said at the LWV forum.

Clinton Young

Young is another candidate in the race who has run for other offices in the past. Most recently Young ran for Georgia House District 156, which is now held by former Savannah Mayor Edna Jackson. He also grew up in Savannah and graduated from Savannah Tech.

Now running for the Post 1 seat, Young frequently emphasizes the need to tackle violent crime. One policy position he has consistently advocated for is a 10 p.m. curfew for Savannah's youth.

"I've seen so much how the crime has escalated," Young said.

He also has plans for the Civic Center and Johnny Mercer Theater. Young has proposed at multiple forums to tear down the mid-century building and turn it into parking.

Young's other top priorities are addressing homelessness and poverty. Young advocates using the SPLOST for resources fighting homelessness.

"We only have $11 million designated for homelessness," Young said at a forum. "We can do better than that."

Evan Lasseter is the city and county government reporter for Savannah Morning News. You can reach him at elasseter@gannett.com. Education and workforce development reporter Joseph Schwartzburt contributed to the research and writing of this article.

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Carol Bell, Tony Thomas and others run for Savannah's Post 1