Clayton Swears in New County Commissioner

“I started school in Clayton County at Lee Street Elementary School — you could throw a rock from this building to Lee Street Elementary — so this is just years of hard work, dedication and perseverance and decades of passion for community involvement and engagement and wanted to see the best for Clayton County,” she said after being sworn in.

Before winning a special election runoff in June, Reaves ran for District 1 commissioner twice — once in a special election in 2021 and again in a primary in 2022.

Reaves came up short both times to Alieka Anderson, who resigned her District 1 post to run for county commission chair.

But the third time was a charm for Reaves this year as she was the top vote-getter in a seven-candidate field in the District 1 special election and advanced to a runoff. She then beat Eddie Gordon in the runoff.

“This day is a culmination of years and years of hard work — not only campaigning because for me to gain this position I was on the ballot five times — in a special election, the runoff, primary, another special election and another runoff,” she said. “It just reminds me how much promise Clayton County has.”

District 1 is in the northeastern section of the county — including the cities of Morrow and Forest Park and the communities of Ellenwood, Rex and Conley.

“District 1 is incredible,” Reaves said. “It has so much history of Clayton County from Fort Gillem to Clayton State University to being the place where I bought my first home. To be able to bring to fruition all the hopes and goals of all the residents in District 1, it just feels like such an honor.”

Clayton County Chief Magistrate Judge Keisha Wright Hill swore in Reaves, who was joined by her sister Davonne Reaves during the ceremony.

“It was really an honor, and I’m just incredibly grateful to to be able to work alongside (Hill),” Reaves said. “To have Judge Hill do my swearing in means a lot.”

Reaves’ first meeting as a county commissioner was a Tuesday, July 9 work session.

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District 1 is just one of the shake-ups on the county commission this year.

Former District 3 Commissioner Felicia Franklin resigned from her seat effective June 30 and a special election will be held on Nov. 5 to fill her unexpired term.

Franklin made an unsuccessful run for Clayton County Commission Chair in the May primary election.

Also on Nov. 5, Democratic candidate Tashé Allen (wife of Sheriff Levon Allen) will face Republican David Hamrick in the general election for the District 3 seat. The winner of that race will take office in January.

Current County Commission Chair Jeff Turner ran against Allen for sheriff in the primary but lost in a runoff.

Turner will be replaced by Anderson, a Democrat who will run unopposed for the county chair seat in November.

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For more information about Reaves, visit her page on the Clayton County Government website at https://www.claytoncountyga.gov/government/board-of-commissioners/district-1/.

The swearing-in ceremony is on video at claytoncountyga.iqm2.com/Citizens/SplitView.aspx?Mode=Video&MeetingID=1520&Format=None.