An Athens mayoral debate will take place next Saturday. The debate is being organized by the podcast ATHChat, hosted by Drew Abney and Russell Edwards.
Abney and Edwards felt there was a community need for this event, “We really like these community events where we can hear from local candidates and get their ideas out there and we just noticed that there was nobody organizing an event like this.”
Abney says they reached out to anyone who had publicly declared their candidacy for Mayor or filed to raise money for a mayoral campaign.
Three candidates in the May 2026 Athens-Clarke County mayoral race are slated to participate: Board of Education member Dr. LaKeisha Gantt, former county commissioner and current Board of Education member Tim Denson, and former Clarke County Republican Party treasurer Mara Zúñiga.
Dexter Fisher, current District 5 Commissioner, says he will be unable to attend the debate due to scheduling conflicts. He recently reported raising six figures for his mayoral campaign and formally entered the race in July 2025.
The debate comes as the current mayor, Kelly Girtz, reaches his term limit, opening the field in a nonpartisan election that draws attention to persistent issues such as affordable housing, homelessness, and public-safety concerns. Candidates will officially qualify for the mayor’s race in March 2026, with the election to take place in May.
The Mayoral Debate will take place next Saturday, November 8, from 5–7 p.m. at Ciné on West Hancock Avenue.
