Public Service – Riverdale (GA) City Council Woman
Mary-Granison-Riverdale BIO
As an elected official, it is my duty to represent citizens to the best of my abilities. To make decisions, sometimes very hard decisions, that will impact and better the lives of members of my community. I take this role seriously. I’m not here to get future votes; I work to make a difference today. And I also represent the people that don’t show up for every vote (honestly speaking, I didn’t); as they need representation too
I was first appointed to a vacated position in May of 2021. Six months later the seat was up for election and I ran, unopposed. I never sought this position; rather, it came to me. I realize it was a calling that I answered and God made a way for me to win that election, by not bringing any opponents. I have since had a confirmation that it was a calling from my God and I am happy to have obliged.
have loved serving the public. In this first term as an elected official, there are two accomplishments that I’m very proud of and both will SAVE LIVES.
- Merger of the City of Riverdale and Clayton County Fire Services
- Creation and Implementation of Riverdale’s Float Like a Boat program
This is the final year of my first term. It may or may not be my last term. I live for today and follow God’s direction for my next move. He may want me to stay in this role longer and if so he will provide a clear confirmation and clear the path for it to happen.
He may also be ready for me to move on and help in other areas; and allow someone else to step into this seat. Either way, I’m giving Riverdale the best that I have to give in 2025.
Opening statement in this video clip
Riverdale Fire Services
What ended up being the most controversial decision since I’ve been in office resulted in a full week of news coverage. We were on every major news network, every hour and ½ hour that the news was on, from morning thru late nights for an entire week. The controversy was over our plan to merge our City’s Fire Department with the County’s Fire department.
The would be an easy decision for me because I had an experience; but I certainly wanted to share these plans with the community to get their thoughts. The controversy amounted because we did not properly community this plan with the community before deciding to move forward with a vote. Lesson learned.
- Our City had 2 fire stations and only one fire truck. One truck was in an accident and there was not enough insurance to pay for another truck; and at that time, it would have taken 1-2 years to replace due to supply chain issues.
- Clayton County, had 14 fire stations and a wealth of apparatus/equipment to fight fires. We have had to call them to help us to fight fires within our City.
- We were short staffed, Clayton County was fully staffed
- We’ve never had ambulatory services and always relied on Clayton County to provide ambulances when there was a call. Many of the community was not aware of this. This merge would place an ambulance within our City at a station.
- By merging, we were not closing stations. Our stations would now be managed by Clayton County and our employees would transfer to the County; which would also provide them with more career opportunities.