Meet the Savannah Council candidate: Mediation specialist mounts bid for at-large post

Curtis Singleton, a Savannah native and longtime public policy expert and political operative, has joined the crowded candidate field in the race to succeed Kesha Gibson-Carter as an at-large alderman. Gibson-Carter is challenging for mayor and cannot run for re-election to her current seat.

The post is one of three, along with mayor and a second at-large seat, elected citywide.

Savannah City Council election 2023: Who is running for mayor, council this year?

Background

Singleton is seeking elected office for the first time but has worked in politics for decades, dating to an internship with the President Jimmy Carter administration following his graduation from college. He also worked for Georgia Gov. Zell Miller and as a policy analyst in the Georgia General Assembly and for Savannah Mayor Floyd Adams. He has consulted on numerous political campaigns over the years, including Judge Tammy Stokes’ run for Superior Court in 2022.

Singleton makes his living as a certified mediation specialist and is the president of the board of the Mediation Center of Coastal Georgia.

Singleton is a resident of West Savannah and is a graduate of Middlebury College in Vermont. He studied law at the University of Georgia.

City Talk column: As Savannah mayor and council election nears, candidates gear up campaigns

Platform

Singleton said he wants to apply his experience in public policy and as a mediator to “transform pain into peace” on Savannah’s often-contentious city council. On the issues, his focus is on promoting policy to improve post-secondary education to “create an educated next generation that can access the jobs coming to Savannah” and to encourage entrepreneurship.

He also cites environmental safety and security, which can range from policing and community engagement to stormwater issues and affordability for residents.

“We really need another level of civic engagement to be an example to the public of what we can get done,” Singleton said. “I can bring some skills to the council to get to compromised solutions. Whether I like you or not is not important. If we can figure out how to work together that’s what is important.”

This article originally appeared on Savannah Morning News: Savannah City Council at large alderman candidate Curtis Singleton