By Jay Phillips
Beverly H. Burks was sworn in as the city of Clarkston’s first Black female mayor Nov. 30 at Clarkston Community Center.
Commissioners Steve Bradshaw, Lorraine Cochran-Johnson and other DeKalb County officials spoke in favor of Burks before her ceremony.
Burks said her swearing in served as an extra celebration because it was held on her birthday.
“I’m excited to be the first African-American woman to be mayor in [Clarkston’s] 138 years as a city,” said Burks. “I want to [help] bring our community together. I want to make sure we continue to implement programs and policies that improve the quality of life for our residents and our staff.”
A graduate of Alabama State University, Burks last served as the community engagement director for Fulton-DeKalb Hospital Authority.
After being elected to Clarkston’s council in 2015, Burks vacated her council seat in 2017 to run for mayor against Edward “Ted” Terry. Terry later vacated the Clarkston mayoral seat to run for DeKalb Super 6 Commissioner, and the mayoral term—which Burks is taking over—concludes Dec. 31, 2021.
Burks said she is focused on continuing her community service and engagement as mayor.
“Everything about me is related to our community and uplifting our community. We have to make sure we look for ways to improve the quality of life in our community, but we also have to look for ways to build up our community,” said Burks. “Our greatest strength is our diversity, and we have to look for ways we can all work together.”
Burks won the Nov. 4 election over former councilmember Yterenickia “YT” Bell, but Burks said the election was a victory for Black women across the country.
“Kamala Harris is my sorority sister too. For Kamala to be the first African-American vice president elect and for me to be the first [Black female mayor of Clarkston], this is a great year. It’s the year of the woman, and especially the African-American woman. I’m very proud of all the gains we’ve had on a local and national level,” said Burks.
Burks said she will use her experience working in DeKalb County and Clarkston and working on COVID-19 task forces to help residents in the short term and implement goals to help citizens and the city in the long term.
Burks said her main long-term goals revolve around boosting Clarkston’s small businesses and economy, rebranding Clarkston, creating affordable housing and improving the quality of life for residents and city employees.
Burks said one of the immediate goals is ensuring the community is prepared for winter and COVID spikes that could accompany the cold season.
“That’s very important to me,” said Burks. “I want to look for ways to help our children in the virtual world. Looking across the board for how we can help our community [during the pandemic] is very important to me.”
After working with DeKalb County’s COVID-19 task forces, Burks said she wants to continue COVID-19 testing and making sure residents have masks to help stop the spread of COVID-19.
Clarkston’s new mayor said she also wants to further some of the initiatives she started as councilmember, which she said will help meet her long-term goals.
Commissioner Lorraine-Cochran Johnson and other officials from DeKalb County and the community spoke at Burks’ swearing-in ceremony.
“I started our downtown development authority, and so I want to make sure we continue with that and look at other programs such as the main street program to see how we can revitalize our area and help our businesses find opportunities to grow,” said Burks.
Burks also said she sponsored Election Day as a holiday and paid parental leave for city employees and sponsored pet day, during which city employees provided free vaccinations to dogs and cats.
As a councilmember, Burks said she voted for a $15-an-hour minimum wage for city employees, the Friendship Forest sanctuary masterplan and the decriminalization of marijuana.
Burks also said she wants to work with developers to ensure there is affordable housing in Clarkston, fix recycling and zoning issues and wants Clarkston’s police department to engage with the community.
“I was on DeKalb County police department’s mental health community that they had. I’ve been doing that kind of work for a while,” said Burks. “Looking at ways our police department can engage more with the community is important to me, whether that’s training or additional resources.”
Burks said she began working with the city manager before swearing in to identify areas she needs to address on her first day in office, and she said she is looking forward to starting her work as mayor.
“I’m humbled that our community voted for me and trusted me with leadership,” said Burks. “To know [anyone] can grow up to be mayor of their own city, that helps to inspire young people, and I hope to be that inspiration and that hope for our community.”
Read the original story on TheChampionNewspaper.com.
