Former Atlanta journalist turned businessman, Dontaye Carter, formally announced his run for the mayoral seat in Sandy Springs. Carter, on Friday, May 14, at Sandy Springs City Hall, during a press conference.
A husband, father and resident of Sandy Springs, Carter is the owner of Carter Media Group LLC, a public relations firm focused on driving change in marginalized communities.
“I want to make Sandy Springs a better place to live, not only for my family but for you and yours. We all deserve better and I’m ready to put plans into action,” Carter said.
During the press event, Carter was joined by Atlanta Civil Rights Attorney and Community Organizer, Gerald Griggs, Attorney, James Haug and his wife, Emily, and Former Dean of Florida A&M University’s School of Journalism and Graphic Communication, Ann Wead Kimbrough.
He also announced details of the fundraising momentum since his decision to enter the race less than 30 days ago. Carter has raised $30,000 in his first month.
His campaign also launched an official website, social media handles and video on his intention to run.
“From the outside our city [Sandy Springs] appears to have it all together. What it has promised us and what was produced don’t match,” said Carter in a campaign video on his website. “We were promised diversity and inclusion but we received task forces and subcommittees groups aimed to address affordable housing and transportation but lacking the power to influence the city’s own master transportation plan with their own findings.”
“Our community is home to some of the nation’s largest corporations but many of their employees can’t even afford to live here. We lack the infrastructure to ease the commute for working families. And few, if any, minority companies are getting a fair shake at obtaining bids with Sandy Springs. Even though minorities now make up 40 percent of the city.”
A graduate of Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, Carter is the youngest person to ever lead the District Attorney’s Public Affairs Office in Fulton County.
He worked as a television reporter and producer at WCTV in Valdosta, GA, and a reporter at KOKI FOX23 in Tulsa, OK, before working as a reporter at Atlanta’s WGCL-TV CBS46 and subsequently WXIA-TV 11 Alive.
Carte served as the Senior Public Affairs Officer for the Superior Court of Fulton County for a year before starting his company Carter Media Group in 2017.
“Dontaye is a strong and compassionate leader who has made it his life’s mission to give a voice to the voiceless,” said Maria O. Banjo, civil rights attorney and Carter’s campaign strategist.
“From his days as a journalist to his more recent work alongside Ahmaud Arbery’s mother and the survivors of R. Kelly, he has always stood up for what’s right and I have no doubt that he will do the same for the people of Sandy Springs.”
To donate and learn more about the Dontaye Carter Campaign for Mayor of Sandy Springs, GA please visit www.dontayeformayor.com or visit www.actblue.com/donate/dontayeformayor.
