Greg Perkins wins DeKalb Ward 4 alderman race by 3 votes, per certified results

DeKALB – The results are in: Greg Perkins has officially been elected as DeKalb Fourth Ward Alderman by three votes, following the April 6 consolidated election.

According to certified results from the DeKalb County Clerk’s office, Perkins received 298 votes, or 50.25% of the vote, while challenger Matt Keys received 295 votes, or 49.75% of the vote.

Perkins, who was appointed to the seat in November 2019, said it was a “crazy election” this time around, referring to the three vote difference between him and Keys.

“I’ll never view results coming in the same again,” Perkins said.

Perkins said the three votes separating him and Keys points to the importance of residents participating in local elections.

“I’m looking forward to continuing to serve the people of the fourth ward,” Perkins said. “Their voices have spoken and I’m pleased to continue advocating for them.”

Perkins said he wanted to credit Keys for being a good opponent and running a classy campaign.

“I tip my cap to him,” Perkins said.

Keys was not immediately available for comment on Friday.

Perkins said he is looking forward to continuing to focus on economic development and current projects in the city, including Ferrara Candy Company distribution center and the Facebook data center. He said the City also needs to continue to focus on exercising fiscal responsibility.

“Because ultimately, fiscal responsibility is one of the things that really drives our taxes,” Perkins said.

Perkins said there have been multiple examples of folks using their voices to affect change by reaching out to him.

“And I want to continue to be there to listen to their voice and advocate for them,” Perkins said.

Perkins said one of the best examples of his constituents speaking up was about the redevelopment of the former City Hall, referring to a John and Foti Pappas project that ultimately prevailed but neighbors weren’t happy with design-wise. So they reached out to Perkins, met on site, reviewed what they were hoping to see aesthetically and then started a dialogue with the city and developer to arrive at a solution that was amicable for everyone, he said.

It was solely the people speaking up and showing up to city planning commission meetings that changed that outcome, Perkins said.

“It wasn’t me, it wasn’t [DeKalb City Manager] Bill Nicklas, it wasn’t the developer,” Perkins said. “It was the people of the fourth ward.”