💥 The votes are in

March 4, 2026 —It's Cathy from Rough Draft with my weekly newsletter on Tucker. Is it just me, or did this election season seem so very long? Candidates, you don't have to answer. 

🗳 This week's issue discusses the outcome of the mayoral and city council elections, reports on a snafu involving an encounter with a trans woman and a DeKalb Police officer, highlights one of my favorite subjects (cute babies), provides an update on the latest GDOT project (ugh), and warns about phishing scam letters sent to Tucker residents.

👶🏻 Have a great weekend,
Cathy 

The names are the same

👚 As predicted, mayoral candidate Anne Lerner and the District 1, 2, and 3 incumbents coasted to victory on Nov. 4.

While the days leading up to the elections featured a bit of drama, especially in the District 3 race, Alexis Weaver, Roger Orlando, and Cara Schroeder were reelected.

Lerner, a communications professional and two-term Tucker city council member, dominated with 57.52 percent of the votes, with 4,299 ballots cast for her.

Her closest contender, Noelle Monferdini, who also served on Tucker City Council, drew 24.91 percent of the vote, with more than 1,803 voters casting their ballots for her in the highly anticipated mayoral race. Beverly Williams, an Army veteran, snagged more than 1,500 votes (17.57 percent).

🇺🇸 Read Stephanie Toone's election wrap-up here.

Hit me baby one more time

🎀 Halston Lopez, a seven-month-old with a penchant for puppies and bedtime stories, is competing against some of the country’s most precious, fresh faces for 2025 Baby of the Year, a nationwide competition for children under two years old that raises money for the nonprofit Baby2Baby.

Halston, who lives in Tucker with her parents Elliott and Amber Lopez, is one of more than 9,000 infants and toddlers that made it to the quarterfinal round of the competition, which comes with a grand prize of $25,000 and an advertorial feature in Variety magazine.

🤰🏽 The Mother Tucker Facebook group (great name) is helping to boost the votes. Here's the story.

Library incident under investigation

📕 A typical Monday afternoon at the Tucker-Reid H. Cofer Library became both frustrating and scary for Sasha Swinson, when a DeKalb County police officer allegedly approached her with a misgendered greeting: "Excuse me, sir."

The DeKalb County Police Department’s Internal Affairs Unit is actively investigating the incident involving an officer and Swinson, a trans woman and lifelong DeKalb County resident.

👮🏼‍♀️ Read Stephanie's story here.

GDOT, you're killing us

😡 The Georgia Department of Transportation hosted its final public information open house (PIOH) on Nov. 6 regarding the proposed Interstate 285 Eastside Express Lanes project.

The format for this meeting was a drop-in, without a formal presentation.

The department has conducted studies on the project, which will affect motorists who drive through Tucker, Decatur, and Clarkston, to assess the environmental impact of improving mobility on the eastern portion of I-285. More than 200,000 vehicles travel the thoroughfare daily, according to a GDOT statement.

The studies examined the project’s possible impact on the environment, noise, community resources, and socioeconomics for the surrounding communities. Sure you did.

🚧 Read about the upcoming nightmare here.

Stop, drop and trash

🎣 Tucker officials are warning residents about a phishing scam that appears to be a City of Tucker Planning & Zoning Department invoice requesting an approval fee for a wire transfer.

One example that the city posted on Facebook shows a $4,999 invoice requesting a fee for “processing, legal, evaluation, zoning compliance verification and public notice.”

“When asked to send money via email, please use caution and look for clues,” read a City of Tucker statement. “In this case, the sending email address was not from tuckerga.gov, and claimed to be from our Planning Commission. Our Planning Commission will never issue you an invoice.”

🃏 Here is more information about the scam.