SOUTH FULTON, Ga. — The race for South Fulton’s mayoral seat is growing increasingly contentious after one candidate was hit with a temporary protection order and another faced an ethics complaint tied to a campaign donor.
A Fulton County judge on Thursday signed a temporary protection order filed by South Fulton resident Christopher McCreary against mayoral candidate Dr. Mark Baker.
McCreary said Baker approached and threatened him during an encounter at an event outside the city on Nov. 14.
McCreary told Channel 2 investigative reporter Ashli Lincoln he had posted several social media posts criticizing Baker’s leadership before the confrontation.
“He tapped me on my left elbow,” McCreary said. “He told me, ‘I’m going to bust you in your face… I’ll bust you in the face as the mayor.’”
Video of the encounter, recorded, appears to show Baker questioning him.
McCreary said he initially hesitated to share the video, fearing it would “show another Black man in a bad light.”
Baker denied threatening McCreary and declined an on-camera interview, but told Channel 2 Action News he believed the two had moved past the misunderstanding.
In a statement, he told Lincoln: “This occurrence was a staged provoking attack towards me.” He went on to say McCreary’s actions are politically motivated. Adding “South Fulton voters are too intelligent to fall for these last-minute stunts.”
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Baker sent a separate video to Lincoln showing the two shaking hands after the interaction, along with screenshots of social media posts in which McCreary appeared to extend an olive branch.
Lincoln asked McCreary why he would publicly reconcile if he feared for his safety. McCreary said he wanted to emphasize unity.
“I was making a statement saying that whoever is mayor, we all need to get behind that person,” he said.
In a separate issue, mayoral candidate and Councilwoman Carmalitha Gumbs is facing an ethics complaint filed by resident Reshard Snellings.
Snellings alleges Gumbs voted on a warehouse development tied to a developer who had donated to her campaign.
“The charter says she was supposed to disqualify herself, and she failed to do that,” Snellings said. “That is a violation of the public trust.”
Gumbs rejected those claims and said she did nothing improper.
“There’s nothing in the charter that says you’re supposed to recuse yourself, even though I voted against it,” Gumbs said. “Nothing was done improperly.”
The South Fulton city attorney said Gumbs did not violate the city charter. The city’s ethics board is reviewing Snellings’ complaint.
A hearing regarding the temporary protection order involving Baker and McCreary is scheduled for Dec. 15.
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