Mary Norwood reflects on runoff loss

Councilwoman Mary Norwood, who came within 715 votes of being Atlanta's first white mayor in three decades, has found a friendly ear for whom she could unburden her thoughts at having lost the Dec. 1 runoff to now-Mayor-elect Kasim Reed.

"We came so close to winning and we lost. It just breaks my heart," Norwood admits in a lengthy sit-down with Matthew Cardinale, aka Atlanta Progressive News. "I took on the entire political establishment. You know what that's like; you've tried to take 'em on."

Because it's probably the only place you're going to see her talk openly about such matters, here are some other tidbits from her interview:

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• Norwood plans to launch a "citywide coalition of people that care tremendously about the city." It's not clear whether she's talking about a political interest group or an insurgency.

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• The second front in the battle for the mayor's office was waged in the comments sections of local blogs (like the one you're reading now!). "They Reed's campaign had an amazing group of people representing their group on the blogs every day," Norwood says.

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• Shockingly, political fundraising is a bitch. "I literally had to make thousands and thousands of phone calls. I was on the phone over a year nonstop asking for money," Norwood explains.

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