Arline Chapman, who served on the Porterdale City Council for six years before being elected mayor in 2012, has announced she will run for mayor of the village on Nov. 8.

One of her priorities as mayor has been to support all improvements to the infrastructure of the city, she said in her announcement Tuesday, as well as overseeing the creation of a community garden and the creation of seven Little Free Libraries around the village. 

She is proud of the development of the Porterdale Memorial Gym, which was turned into an outdoor venue after a fire burned the historic building to the ground in 2005, the installation of playground equipment in village pocket parks and the improvement to the quality and livability of the homes in Porterdale.

“I’m also proud of the development of the recreation area of the river,” she said. “The recreation area and kayak launch have been a benefit to the community and an economic vehicle for the city.”

If re-elected, her goal would be to “continue to improve the housing, and while we’ll always have rentals, I’d like to see them fit for human habitation. I think we’re almost there now.

“We’d like to attract more of the millenials and expand the business district,” she said.

Chapman was a flight attendant for Eastern Air Lines before having her four children. As a stay-at-home mom, she was active in Sunday School, P.T.A., Cub Scouts and youth sports. Prior to retirement, she spent 16 years working for the House of Representatives, on Governor Zell Miller’s staff, and retired as Executive Assistant to former Attorney General Thurbert Baker.

She serves on the Board of Directors of The Southern Heartland Art Gallery on the Square in Covington, is a member of The Georgia Initiative for Community Housing and is on the Board of Directors of Newton Tomorrow.