A week after trial, candidate endorsed by Ahmaud Arbery's family wins Brunswick mayor's race
Raisa Habersham
A candidate endorsed by members of Ahmaud Arbery's family will become the next mayor of Brunswick, following a runoff race held a week after three men were convicted in the murder of Arbery.
Brunswick native Cosby Johnson won Tuesday's mayoral runoff with nearly 75% of the vote, according to the Glynn County Board of Elections. He defeated Ivan Figueroa, who served an eight-year stretch as councilmember in Johns Creek, Georgia, and previously served two years as Glynn County Republican Party chairman.
Johnson becomes the 60th mayor of the city of Brunswick, which has been in the national spotlight for more than a year, after three men — father and son Gregory and Travis McMichael and their neighbor William "Roddie" Bryan — were charged with and ultimately convicted of killing Arbery, a 25-year-old man who, while on a jog was chased and gunned down in the Satilla Shores neighborhood.
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The men each face life in prison and are awaiting trial in a federal hate crimes case.
Johnson had the backing of Arbery's aunt Theawanza Brooks and cousin Demetrius Frazier.
Before running for office, Johnson has worked at the state and national level as vice president of the Georgia Chamber of Commerce. As the organization's director of government affairs, he worked with the Georgia legislature to pass HB 426, Georgia's hate crime bill, and HB 479, which repealed the state's citizen's arrest law that allowed private citizens to detain people suspected of committing a felony crime.
The Civil War-era law was revised this year to apply only to businesses. The former law was at the center of the McMichaels and Bryan's defense in the Feb. 23, 2020 killing.
Raisa is a Watchdog and Investigative Reporter for the Savannah Morning News. Contact her at rhabersham@gannett.com.