Piontek Seeks Roswell City Council Post 3 Seat

ROSWELL, GA -- A longtime Roswell resident has signed up to run for a vacant City Council seat. Joe Piontek is running for the special election to fill the Post 3 seat, which became vacant when Donald Horton resigned to run for the office of mayor.

The winning candidate will serve out Horton's term, which expires Dec. 31, 2019. The special election will be held in conjunction with the Nov. 7 general election for the mayor as well as Posts 4, 5 and 6 seats.

Piontek worked as a financial advisor for Morgan Stanley for 30 years, managing client retirement assets that exceeded $300 million. Piontek has bachelor's degree in economics from the Georgia Institute of Technology and participated in Certified Investment Management Analyst post-graduate studies at the Wharton School.

Piontek said he was frequently invited to national meetings to speak on asset allocation and modern portfolio theory, and "applied those principals to safeguarding his clients’ money through many turbulent years in the markets." This experience, he believes, will allow him to be a "great asset" to the City Council (SIGN UP: Get Patch's Daily Newsletter and Real Time News Alerts. Or, if you have an iPhone, download the free Patch app).

"I saw the huge sea change coming to the council and realized I was the best person to fill the vacancy Don left," he said. "I have worked on hundreds of campaigns, but I had never considered elected office myself, having seen first-hand the brutal treatment to which many candidates are subjected. I truly understand what it takes to run for office and, if elected, to serve in office."

After he retired in 2010, Piontek went into business with a partner to launch ComWeb Internet Solutions, which makes communication tools for the community management industry. Piontek served as president of the Willow Springs Homeowners Association from 2010 to 2013 and as a member of the Northwood Elementary School Foundation Board and the local governing advisory council for schools in the Centennial cluster.

He also served on the Roswell Planning Commission between 2011 and 2014, giving him a deep understanding of the city's old zoning codes and its new Unified Development Code. While on the Commission, Piontek said he was a "champion of green space requirements, connectivity possibilities and sidewalks."

He is a member of the Atlanta Fulton Public Library System Board of Trustees and the Rotary Club of Roswell.

Piontek attended Riverwood High School in Sandy Springs where he dual enrolled at Georgia Tech during his junior year. He has three children, Nicholas, Meghan, and Joe Jr., and lives in the Azalea park neighborhood off the city square.

"I believe we can disagree without being disagreeable and I feel called to serve Roswell in this time of great change and opportunity," he said. "In Rotary, we speak of Service above Self and the 4-way test: Is it
the Truth? Is it Fair? Is it Beneficial? Will it bring Goodwill and better friendships? I will strive to get our Roswell city government back to those principles. These next two years are going to set the course for this city for the next 20 (to) 30 years. I want to see a healthy thriving city while keeping our taxes low and our level of service high."

Piontek can be reached at vote@joe4roswell.com or (470) 445-0612. You can also learn more about him on his website at www.joe4roswell.com.

Photo: Joe Piontek. Credit: Ian Mari