The race for mayor of Atlanta is on

This week we are featuring information on two of the Atlanta mayoral candidates, Kendell Wolfe and Marshall Brooks. The election date for Mayor will be on May 7. The current mayor Travis Ransom has held office since 2017 after taking over for Keith Crow. Ransom’s term will end in May.

Atlanta Mayoral Candidate Kendell Wolfe

By Kate Stow There is a saying that goes “I wasn’t born in Texas, but I got here as fast as I could.” That saying could very well apply to Kendell Wolfe, who arrived here with his family in 1998 – but you would never know that he hadn’t been here his whole life.

Born two months early in McCurtain County, Oklahoma, in 1990 to Darren and Brenda Wolfe (now Womack), Kendell is 1/512 th Cherokee, as is older brother Kyle.

“I like to say that I was a blue-eyed, blonde Cherokee delivered by an African immigrant doctor in a Chickasaw hospital,” he joked.

Father Darren was a college professor and Mom Brenda was an early childhood teacher in 1994 when Darren decided to attend Veterinarian school in Bassettere, St. Kitt’s in the West Indies. Kendall was only four years old at the time and was six when they returned to the United States.

“I was the only blonde kid in this third-world country, so I got a lot of attention,” he said. “Mom homeschooled us and we did volunteer work at the orphanage. We lived close to the beach and you could see the ocean from our house.”

When the family returned to Oklahoma, they decided to make a move to Texas when Brenda got a job at Wadley Hospital working in the daycare for Kim Cullens. When they couldn’t find a house they liked in Texarkana, Kim suggested looking in Atlanta, and that is where they settled in 1998.

Kendell attended Atlanta schools until his junior year of high school when Brenda took a job teaching Head Start at Queen City ISD. Kendell graduated from QCHS in 2008 and enjoys celebrating reunions with both sets of friends from Atlanta and Queen City.

Coming from a family of educators gave Kendell a leg up on his English lessons. “We took care of my grandmother, Norma Goodin, who was a retired English teacher,” he recalled. “My writing skills and vocabulary cleaned up a lot when we started taking care of her.”

The decision to run for mayor of Atlanta wasn’t an impulse – Kendell had been thinking about it for some time.

“When Keith Crow passed away, I started thinking about it,” he said. “He left a vacancy on the Atlanta City Development Corporation board, and I was chosen to fill it. That’s where my loved of community service started.”

Now Chairman of the ACDC Board, Kendell is also on the Chamber of Commerce Board of Directors and is Co-Chairman of the Christus St. Michael’s Atlanta Foundation with Becky Garrett. He is also on the Atlanta Housing Authority and NETX Property Management Boards.

After high school Kendell worked at the local Ivan Smith Furniture Store, first in the warehouse, then as a salesman on the floor. “I went from wearing overalls in a warehouse to wearing a suit and tie and speaking to customers,” he recalls. “That was good experience for talking to people.”

In 2016 Kendell received his Insurance License. At that time, he and Kyle bought several historic buildings in downtown Atlanta. “We bought, and later sold, the Miles Drug Building and the one by the plaza on Main.”

He still owns several buildings, including the old cash store location on Main Street, beside Veteran’s Plaza. This is where he is making his new Wolfe Insurance office, with renovations in the works.

“Owning the buildings made me fall in love with the history of this town,” Kendell remarked. “I love doing the real estate research.”

Besides his love of history, he is also interested in Atlanta’s future and attends every City Council meeting. Kendell is in his second year at the Community Development Institute and in June will be receiving his Community Development Volunteer Certification. There he is learning ways to develop downtown areas, attract businesses and network with other small-town developers.

“I’m asking people what they want to see here,” Kendell said. “I plan to continue the work Travis (Ransom) has done in Atlanta, look for ways to incentivize entrepreneurs and help develop creative marketing strategies for our town. I want to bring young professionals downtown and keep them here.

“I’m not a politician, I’m a man of the people, and I want to encourage others to take a civic role. I believe that if I can do it, you can do it,” he said. “I don’t know politics, but I know people.”

Atlanta Mayoral Candidate Marshall James Brooks By Shawn Larson

The Journal-Sun reached out to Marshall James Brooks with seven questions about his background, qualifications, and goals. Commenting on his background, Brooks replied, “My Atlanta roots run several generations deep, just like my desire to serve my community does. I am a 2001 graduate of Atlanta High School with a bachelor’s degree from Ole Miss. Since graduation, I have married my amazing wife, Cheryl, who is employed locally, and have become a father to two beautiful daughters. I have worked in the oil and gas industry for most of my adult life.”

“When it comes to serving my community,” when asked, Brooks said, “I hope to follow the example those in my family set with their combined 100 + years of service. As a local land and business property owner, I have offered lower rent prices to allow business owners a better chance at being successful and profitable and to provide quality businesses in quality buildings. I strive to build meaningful and lasting relationships, both in business and personally, with members of the community.”

“The Mayor very quickly becomes the face and the voice for the city of Atlanta here in our home community but also in our surrounding communities. I view being Mayor in a JFK kind of way; What can I do for my city? Not, what can my city do for me? Or what can I get out of being Mayor? I am running for this position because I believe this position should be held by someone with a history of good citizenship and a reputation for professionalism.

“Our current Mayor, Travis Ransom, has done a great job of creating an environment where people can collaborate and share ideas to better our community. I want to carry this on and work toward the same goals,” responded when asked about the role of the mayor, and why he decided to run.

When asked about his thoughts on Atlanta, Brooks responded by saying, “The people of this community are by far our greatest and best quality as a city. Our emergency services departments are top-notch. The small-town America, down-home spirit. We have people that want to be involved and make the town they call home the best it can be.”

Though there is a lot to be proud of with Atlanta, Brooks, when asked about areas of improvement, Brooks said, “Being close to Texarkana, our community has to go above and beyond to drive customers into our town. With so many options just down the road, many choose to go where they can find what they need in one place. We must be diligent in using our strengths to keep people local and bring others in from surrounding communities.

“I would love to see our downtown area as one that drives tourism, sales, and more activities. We are blessed with wonderful opportunities in our downtown blocks, and I want to help organizations to further their endeavors as well.

“Safety and security of our community have been brought to my attention. We want our citizens to feel safe in their homes, businesses, and community in general. Local businesses should be certain their assets are safe at night when they leave. I want to ensure our business owners know I am determined to help them get the feeling of safety back.”

Along the same line, Brooks said that if elected Mayor, he “would like to see more cohesiveness in our community. I think it is important for our boards to have good communication between them so that everyone can be involved and informed. Every leader in our community has similar goals and wants similar things for our community. We must find a way to fully utilize these organizations by working together. It is vital that our city work closely with our local school, I would like to see more involvement between the two entities. Atlanta ISD employs more individuals than any other business in this community. This just shows how important it is to work with them.”

When asked about which of three he believes is most important for Atlanta, business development, infrastructure, or tourism, Brooks replied, “All three of these feed off of each other. I know our city has infrastructure issues and to be honest, what city doesn’t? All three things listed are relevant and equally important in giving our town a strong foundation to drive up sales, which creates more jobs and investment opportunities.”

Lastly, Brooks would like people to know that he is “an open book and ready to hear the people of this community. If you have any questions, ideas, concerns, or just want to get to know me better, feel free to contact me. I want to always have an open-door policy for our citizens.”