Asa Daniels, senior staff writer
On Jan. 10, the Rome City Commission elected Sundai Stevenson as the first Black female mayor of Rome, according to the Rome News-Tribune. The Commission elected her in their Monday meeting, by a vote of 5-4, with commissioners Bill Collins, Bonny Askew, Mark Cochran, Eliana Beeman and Stevenson all voting for Stevenson to take the position.
This is the way that Rome elects its mayor, based on the commission-manager form of government that Rome has operated under since 1918, according to the Rome city website.
In the same meeting, Commissioner Cochran was elected as mayor pro tem, which is a temporary position that fills in when the official mayor cannot perform their duties, according to the Rome-News Tribune. Cochran is replacing Stevenson for the pro tem position.
Before Stevenson was elected mayor, she served on the commission for seven years. She will serve this position for at least a year, until she is eligible for re-election in January 2023.
Stevenson added that she is looking forward to working as mayor and is thankful for the support of both the citizens of Rome and her colleagues in the commission.
“The people of the city of Rome, they elected me as a commissioner, so I’m thankful for that,” Stevenson said. “I’m thankful to be in this position and I’m thankful for my fellow commissioners voting me into this position this year. It’s an honor for me, to be the first African American female, it’s an honor for me to serve this position as a whole.”
U.N.I.T.Y President, Shanice Amos, senior, said that it is inspiring to local youth when their government is made up of elected individuals who look similar to them, as it helps them want to pursue such careers in the future.
“I think it always helps youth, especially that are aspiring to be in certain professions, to see other people achieve those types of goals because, sometimes, if you ask kids within the Rome community who aspire to be mayor one day, if they never saw someone that looked like them, that actually took that role, they might find that discouraging and feel like they can’t make that kind of accomplishment and seeing it actually happen makes their dreams more realistic,” Amos said.
Amos said that the election of Stevenson was also inspiring for her, personally, as she plans to have a future career in local government.
“As a person who wants to go into work in my community, some way within the government, I always find it really inspiring when I find other people that look like me within those positions of power that I aspire to be in later on down the road,” Amos said.
Amos added that, though it has taken a long time for Rome to elect its first Black female mayor, it is encouraging to know that it has happened.
“Although the change is slow, it’s still good that it’s happening, so I think it’s good that before I leave Berry I can say, ‘oh, wow, Rome had its first African [American] female mayor,’” Amos said.
As for policy, Stevenson said that her guiding principle is going to be policy-making for the betterment of all Rome citizens.
“I want to make sure that our citizens’ needs are met, [and] that hasn’t changed since I was elected mayor, that is where I’ve been, and what I try to do is to help every citizen of Rome, to help everybody have a better quality of life,” Stevenson said.
One of the present challenges that Stevenson is planning to address with the commission is the housing crisis in Rome. The previous mayor, Craig McDaniel, put together a housing committee to help address this issue, which Stevenson is continuing.
“Because of our hard work, we see at least 2,000 units of single-family dwellings, apartments, town housing, et cetera, that are slated to come into the city,” Stevenson said. “We’re bringing in good-quality housing, affordable housing, to meet the needs of our workforce and people here in Rome.”
Another issue that Stevenson is looking to address is current problems with the water system in Rome, like the contaminated water from the Oostanaula River that runs through the city. She is also planning upgrades to the local parks in the city to improve recreational use, as well as looking for opportunities to improve employment in Rome.
Amos hoped that, under Stevenson’s leadership, Rome will see more unity between the different communities that make up the city.
“I would love to see the different parts of Rome to be united, because so many of them are separated,” Amos said. “We have a Hispanic population, the Black community, we have the white community, so it would be nice to see more collaborative efforts of bringing communities together. I don’t know what could happen, but, events and stuff that are tailored towards the youth and the community, I think that would be really nice to see, to see everybody at one place.”
Amos expressed a desire for Stevenson to interact with Berry College students, such as giving advice or helping with professional development.
“She can come back within our community and talk to students here at Berry, [people] closer to being able to be in those roles and positions,” Amos said. “I would love to have her come to speak to U.N.I.T.Y, have her come on campus, to talk about what it took for her to get there, because a lot of us, being one step closer to being in that professional field, we might get help on what to do, internship opportunities and stuff.”
Amos also said its important for more people to have discussions about local elections such as Stevenson’s, so that their importance is clear for the local community.