Business owner Brian Marcus joins Augusta GA mayoral race
ELECTIONS

Brian Marcus brings official Augusta mayor candidate pool to four, Williams 'in it to win it'

Susan McCord
Augusta Chronicle

The pool of Augusta mayoral candidates is getting wider.

Brian Marcus, a west Augusta resident who has owned several small businesses, filed a declaration of intent to accept campaign contributions Wednesday with the Richmond County Board of Elections.

Marcus joins three candidates who have formally announced for the May 2022 election: Augusta Commissioner Dennis Williams, Tax Commissioner Steven Kendrick and school board president Charlie Hannah.

Brian Marcus, who declared his candidacy for mayor last year, had not yet qualified to run as of March 8.

Marcus, the former owner of Mr. B’s Laundry and Housekeeping Services, ran for the District 7 Augusta Commission seat in 2012. He told The Chronicle that year he’d “always been interested in politics” and aspired to be a state senator and Georgia governor.

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Raised in Jesup, Georgia, Marcus majored in business administration at Savannah State University and moved to Augusta about 20 years ago.

Four-term former commissioner Marion Williams has talked about running for mayor for months but not yet filed a declaration.

Williams said he did not “want to get ahead of myself” because he hadn’t started raising funds, but is committed to running.

“If 25 people get in this race, I’m going to make it 26,” he said. “I’m in it to win it.”

Elections for mayor of the consolidated government have attracted as many as six candidates, as in the 1998 contest won by Bob Young. Five vied for the seat in the 2005 special election won by Deke Copenhaver and four, including Kendrick, ran in 2006.

Mayor Hardie Davis won in 2014 in what had been a five-person contest until one candidate withdrew after voting had started. Davis had one opponent – Gould Hagler – for reelection in 2018, and at the end of his second term will be term-limited.

The full-time position comes with a budget of nearly $500,000, a city vehicle and a current salary of around $80,000, but lacks many clearly defined powers. Most decisions such as hiring and budgeting are overseen by the commission.