Voter’s Guide 2010 - Our pick for Fulton County Commission, District 2 (At-Large): Lori Henry

Enough with the halls of fame and ordinances about elephants — it’s time to actually reform Fulton County

WHY YOU SHOULD CARE: See chairman’s race.

THE LOWDOWN: Having served years on the Atlanta City Council, incumbent Robb Pitts is a political veteran, but let’s face it: The guy is coasting. Last week, he sent out releases touting his authorship of a resolution against the use of “bullhooks” on elephants — a measure applying only to the largely rural, unincorporated portion of South Fulton. This is at a time when the county is facing a rebellion to the north and is preparing to fail, for the third straight year, to submit verifiable tax-assessment data to the state.

Fulton can’t survive the threat of Milton by hewing to the status quo, so we have few qualms in backing Pitts’ opponent, Lori Henry. Sad to say, but Fulton’s best hope is for its most divisive commissioners to be marginalized through the election of newcomers who understand that reform is needed. Henry, a former Roswell councilwoman and public school teacher, may not have Pitts’ breadth of experience, but she grasps that Fulton’s tradition of pork-barrel district politics cannot continue and that the county must address its pension costs before it winds up in the same fix as Atlanta.

THE OUTLOOK: Not good for Henry. Pitts enjoys strong name recognition, is a polished campaigner and has strong support among Buckhead Republicans.