A District 2 seat on the Fulton County Commission is among the down-ballot races on Election Day, Nov. 5.
Republican incumbent Bob Ellis faces Democrat Megan Harris.
Ellis was elected to the District 2 seat in 2014.
Harris defeated Jennifer Phillippi in the May primary election.
District 2 includes much of north Fulton including Milton, Mountain Park, and parts of Alpharetta, Roswell and Sandy Springs.
Addressing violent deaths of inmates at Fulton County Jail, and mental health overall are issues the candidates have given their attention.
The commission has approved a total of $16.5 million for renovations and repairs of housing units, as well as other upgrades at the jail.
In August, after nearly a year of review and research, a Georgia Senate subcommittee produced 17 recommendations for the jail including a full report and investigation of all deaths.
Harris, who lives in Sandy Springs and works as a financial services provider, voiced similar opinions as those laid-out in the recommendations.
“We have to work collaboratively with these other departments — our D.A. our judges, court of clerks and the Sheriff’s Office. — so that we can produce a solution that doesn’t yield people dying in our jail,” Harris said.
The candidate added that the jail located at 901 Rice Street opened in the early 2000s and has operated over capacity from the start.
Separately, Ellis, a national product leader for CNA Financial Corporation, says in a Fulton County newsletter that as a commissioner he has been committed to expanding mental health services since his first day of office in 2015.
“At that time, Fulton County had woefully inadequate services to help those facing mental health challenges,” Ellis states. “Recognizing this, I launched efforts to overhaul the way we approached mental health and establish a true network of behavioral health partners that can provide vital services.”
In August, Fulton County opened the Behavioral Health Crisis Center on Metropolitan Parkway.
“The center will fill a huge void, as a growing number of people are today facing mental health challenges.” Ellis said in the Fulton newsletter. “In fact, studies have found one in five people experience some type of mental illness.”
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