Karen Peters Rivers running for Tucker City Council
Karen Peters-Rivers
Tucker, GA — Karen Peters-Rivers is running for Tucker City Council District 1, Post 1. She is a community advocate serving the neighborhood since the early 2000s. As secretary of the Peters Park Community, Peters-Rivers helped get funding for the recent playground renovation with Tucker Parks and Recreation department.
Peters Park is a historically Black neighborhood southwest of the industrial corridor of Mountain Industrial Boulevard and Hugh Howell Road. Peters-Rivers lives in the same house in which she grew up. Her father, aunt and cousins live in Peters Park, too.
“This park is important to me because it was named after my great-great uncle who donated the land, Mr. William McKinley Peters. He donated the land so that families could have a place to come and enjoy for generations to come,” said Peters-Rivers, who is 56.
Peters-Rivers said her great-great uncle Peters worked for Cofer Brothers, and there’s a plaque hanging in the building to commemorate him. Her grandfather, who built homes in Peters Park, got his lumber from Cofer Brothers.
Peters-Rivers volunteers in park clean-up days and helped get adult playground equipment for Peters Park greenspace. She is looking forward to adding Peters Park toppers to street signs and gateway signs, thanks to a grant from former DeKalb Commissioner Nancy Jester.
As a poll worker for six years, Peters-Rivers loved seeing her community show up to vote. She is active with Friends of Tucker Parks and Tucker Optimist Club.
Peters-Rivers decided to run for City Council to fulfill her dream of representing Tucker. She wants to make sure all voices are heard, she said.
“In the words of my brother, you can’t get anything done by sitting on the sidelines. Things start local. I looked at my council and I felt like, well, council doesn’t look like me. We need representation of me and my neighborhood and people that look like me,” she said. “There’s a time for change. Change is inevitable.”
Issues for her campaign are better engagement between the city and residents and public safety. Peters-Rivers wants to see the return of town hall meetings with residents who feel they’ve been forgotten, she said, and the city be more welcoming by providing city documents and signage in multiple languages.
“The city needs more engagement to non-English speaking residents,” she said.
She said more interaction between residents and public safety officers, like Coffee with a Cop, block captains and neighborhood watch, would make people feel safer.
“I want the presence of the police over in the communities. I want them to know we see you, they see us,” she said, adding that police are responsive to callers in her neighborhood.
Peters-Rivers supports the renovation at Fitzgerald Field as a staple in Tucker. She thinks the park will bring great revenues for Tucker. She also wants to see the Non-Discrimination Ordinance discussed at City Council. As for Main Street, Peters-Rivers hopes more diverse businesses move into the area.
Campaigning during COVID-19 has been a challenge, she said, but Peters-Rivers maintains that people should still wear a mask at events around the city and get vaccinated. We are still in the thick of it, she said. Her campaign will host a fish fry on Sept. 24 at Little Miller Grove Baptist Church.
Why should people vote for Peters-Rivers?
“I am Tucker,” she said. “I live Tucker, I breathe Tucker, I am Tucker.”
More information about the Nov. 2 municipal elections
All Tucker Observer elections coverage can be found at Tuckerobservervotes.com
The election will be Nov. 2. Early voting will begin on Oct. 12. The voter registration deadline for the upcoming city elections is Oct. 4. To register to vote, click here.
To see a list of important dates in the 2021 election year, click here.
Voters in DeKalb County are eligible to apply for an absentee ballot as of Aug. 16. The county will hold municipal elections on Nov. 2, as well as a county-wide E-SPLOST vote for DeKalb County schools.
To apply for an absentee ballot:
— Visit the Georgia Secretary of State website: www.sos.ga.gov.
— Complete the absentee ballot application using the state’s official paper form or request an absentee ballot in writing. Use blue or black ink only.
Applications can be mailed to the county elections office and voter’s should use this address: DeKalb County Election office, 4380 Memorial Drive, Decatur, GA 30032-1239.
Applications can also be submitted through fax, 404-298-4038 or email, [email protected].
Voters may send an absentee ballot request for multiple people who live in the same household in the same envelope or email.
If an absentee ballot is not mailed to you, contact your county’s elections office. You may still vote in person, either early or on Election Day.
An absentee ballot application must be received 11 days prior to the election, which is Oct. 22.
In accordance with SB202, a new voting bill signed by Governor Brian Kemp in March, a voter ID is required to apply for an absentee ballot. A Georgia driver’s license, Georgia voter card, U.S. military ID, employee ID issued by any branch of the federal or state government, U.S. Passport, tribal ID, or a document verifying a voter’s name and address – including a paycheck, utility bill, or bank statement – are accepted forms of ID.
Voters can obtain a free ID at the DeKalb County Elections office at 4380 Memorial Drive in Decatur or at the following locations:
– On Aug. 25 from 3-6 p.m. at Doraville Marta Station, 6000 New Peachtree Road, Doraville 30340.
— On Aug. 30 from 3-6 p.m. at Indian Creek Marta Station, 3901 Durham Park Road, Stone Mountain 30083.
— On Sept. 15 from 3-6 p.m. at Chamblee Marta Station, 5200 New Peachtree Road, Chamblee 303041.
— On Sept. 14 from 3-6 p.m. at Kensington Marta Station, 3505 Kensington Road, Decatur 30032.
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