Metro Atlanta comprises 60-plus cities; each month we introduce one municipality and its mayor.
Elected in a December 2013 runoff, Fleisch, a former CNN producer, became the first female mayor of this Fayette County planned community of 35,000, best known for its network of golf cart paths. There’s a city manager, so this is a part-time gig (pay: $1,500 a month). Fleisch’s day job is as a real estate agent.
On the state of the city: There’s a renewed sense of optimism. We will benefit immensely from the coming of Pinewood Studios to our county.
On the city’s most pressing challenge: Infrastructure and how to maintain it. We have 100 miles of cart paths that require maintenance, and funding for that was defeated in the T-SPLOST vote.
Introducing the citizens: Pilots and airline employees. We’re also popular with professions that require frequent airline travel.
On clients discovering she’s mayor: I don’t really bring it up. Usually, it’s the other agent who tries to bring it up during a closing.
Where she takes visitors: We have a beautiful park on Battery Way that overlooks Lake Peachtree.
This article originally appeared in our December 2014 issue.