Brunswick business owner pushes for change despite election loss

BRUNSWICK, Ga. —

Voters in Brunswick sent two mayoral candidates into a runoff election.

Cosby Johnson took home 621 votes which is around 41 percent and Ivan Figueroa received 311 votes or 20 percent of the total votes.

Neither was able to get more than 50% of the votes to win the election on Tuesday.

In total there were 8 candidates running for Mayor.

Travis Riddle was one of the 8 who threw his name in the hat to become the next mayor of Brunswick.

Although he didn’t win the election, he’s still fighting to stamp out racial profiling and bring change to his small town.

If you walk into Country Boy Cookin’ one of the first things, you’ll notice is a picture of Ahmaud Arbery hanging on the wall.

“He brought a lot of exposure to a city that needed to be exposed and I salute him for it,” Riddle said.

Riddle opened up Country Boy Cookin” over a year ago.

He had been living in Atlanta for the last two decades but when Arbery was killed on February 23, 2020, Riddle knew it was a calling to head back home.

“It’s unbelievable. In 2021 we’re dealing with this stuff and just to see the context of what happened with no arrest made or nobody being punished for it,”

Arbery’s death shocked the entire Brunswick community and it also shed light on the issues of racial inequality.

Riddle told me he’s held several demonstrations in honor of Ahmaud Arbery.

“We’re not ashamed to support his legacy. I can honestly say that I believe on a very small level that picture may discourage some people from coming in but it’s not coming down. That’s what we stand for,” Riddle said.

The runoff election for mayor of Brunswick will be held on November 30th

That election will decide if Cosby Johnson or Ivan Figueroa will take office in January.

To check election results click here.

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