CITY OF SOUTH FULTON, Ga. — The newly elected mayor says she’s focused on transparency and creating polices to strengthen the City of South Fulton.
Channel 2 investigative reporter Ashli Lincoln spoke with Mayor-Elect Carmalitha Gumbs, about this historic win for the city.
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She’s the city’s first female mayor. Gumbs says her top priority is to win back residents’ trust in city leadership.
“It hasn’t sunk in just yet,” she said. “I’m walking around as Councilwoman Carm, and it hasn’t rubbed off on me yet.”
The mayor-elect says it’s been nonstop since getting elected.
“We are ready and we’re rising,” Gumbs said.
Tuesday, South Fulton residents elected Gumbs as the city’s first female mayor over her opponent, Dr. Mark Baker.
“We’re going to need a moment of healing. This was a very contentious race,” she said.
Gumbs, who has been the councilwoman for District 2 since the city formed in 2017, says now she faces the challenge of repairing the reputation of the mayor’s office and restoring confidence in City Hall.
“I won’t just be sitting back and smiling at cameras,” she said.
Earlier this year, an independent audit found current Mayor Khalid Kamau spent thousands of taxpayer dollars on international travel, furniture and personal items.
Since then, Gumbs says the council has strengthened policies and hired a new compliance officer to review transactions.
“So we have those safeguards in place now,” she said. “We’re working to get OpenGov back online so residents can see transactions and how taxpayer dollars are being spent — in real time.”
The South Fulton mayor is a part-time position. The mayor has authority to create policies and vote on split council votes.
“We have a lot of work to do, and if I see a problem, I’ll make sure we find a way to legislate it,” Gumbs said.
She will be officially sworn in office January 2026.
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