Commissioner, Mayor Pro Tem to be Chosen Next Month

The Decatur City Commission will likely appoint an interim commissioner and mayor pro tempore next month after the holder of both offices resigned on Monday.

Kecia Cunningham, who had served the city since 1999, stepped down from her positions on Monday in order to accept an accounting position with a Pennsylvania-based municipal finance advisor. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that the commission will likely fill Cunningham’s seat on Sept. 8; a special election is not required because there are fewer than six months left in Cunningham’s term.

The former mayor pro tem made headlines in June, when she was arrested for drunk driving; a police report of the June 11 arrest claims Cunningham blew a .147 when she was processed at the DeKalb County jail. Cunningham said the arrest was not a factor in her decision, saying it had been in the works for two years.