A mayoral showdown is unfolding in Roswell this week, as residents decide whether to keep Mayor Kurt Wilson in office for another four years or elect challenger Mary Robichaux.
The two are facing off in a runoff on Tuesday, Dec. 2.
Robichaux said that if elected she would ensure residents have greater input in city decisions.
Wilson declined to be interviewed for this story.
Since his election in 2021, residents have repeatedly accused Wilson of withholding key information related to major city initiatives and decision-making processes. Wilson has pushed back on that criticism during city meetings, maintaining that his administration has been transparent.
Robichaux served as Georgia State Representative for District 48 from 2019 to 2023. She said she has stayed deeply involved in community affairs, as a longtime resident, and decided to run for mayor after observing “things going on that I felt needed to be corrected and fixed.”
“I think when we talk to each other and listen to each other, we can work things out,” she said. “What’s happened in Roswell is that adult conversations have not been going well … We don’t have to shut each other out. We can have common ground.”
Robichaux said she disagrees with Wilson’s policy prohibiting non-resident business owners from speaking at council meetings and open forums.
“In our democracy, people who are able to pay taxes in the city should be able to stand up and speak their minds in public,” she said.
Economic development remains a central focus for Roswell officials. In October, the city entered a memorandum of understanding with the owner of an aging shopping center on Holcomb Bridge Road, Malon D. Mimms Company, and developer Morris & Fellows. The entities plan to explore possibilities for a town center.
Robichaux said that while Wilson has done some things right, she believes several decisions warrant closer examination. She pointed to the $20 million bond referendum approved by voters in 2022 as a positive step, but raised questions about other budget projections, including a January 2025 projection of $2.2 million in parking revenue.
“… The city had never done more than $50,000 [in parking revenue],” she said. “And we don’t even have the new deck yet, so how do you project that much?”
As a state representative, Robichaux served on economic development and tourism committees, which informs her vision for local growth, she said.
She envisions converting empty big-box stores into an indoor farmers market.
“I’m not going to say that is a total solution, but it’s a quick start without the city having to spend millions on land,” she said. “Forty-two percent of all produce in Georgia is sold through farmers markets.”
An indoor swimming complex could also benefit the city, she said, especially for high school swim and dive teams that currently rent training space. If it were attached to a modest-sized hotel, Roswell could attract winter tourism, he said.
Robichaux questions the city’s March press release announcing a letter of intent with the United Soccer League regarding a proposed 10,000–15,000-seat stadium for professional women’s and men’s soccer.
“My problem is it is very difficult to find where a stadium is built of that size without some sort of municipal bond support,” she said. “I don’t think it’s going forward, but we citizens are not 100% sure. There’s been no additional information.”
She does, however, see potential in the city’s plans for a Hill Street mixed-use development adjacent to City Hall. The project would include office, retail, restaurant, and residential components.
“The Hill Street Project looks like a good project from what I know… I don’t see stopping it,” she said.
The former state representative worked in the healthcare industry for more than 35 years, including 10 years with the American Heart Association as a vice president for the Southeast region. In that role, she said she focused on improving healthcare outcomes across 700 hospitals and 15,000 doctors and healthcare professionals. She is a native of New Iberia, Louisiana.
“I know that Roswell needs to grow,” Robichaux said. “But we have unique assets here, and I want to make sure we honor that and let citizens have some insight and say as to what happens.”
The hard part for Roswell is that it has to compete with Dawsonville.
Gwinnett has had to deal with this and on and on in this town. Ultimately Duluth, Marietta and Norcross are likely similar outcomes for Roswell’s future. There is only so much these areas can do when you compete directly against expansion in an area that isn’t a “metro” but really a corridor where the winners are always at the end of the corridor as Roswell once was.