Lovejoy Mayor Marci Fluellin bristles when the word “politician” is thrown at her. “From day one I have told people I am not a politician, I am a public servant,” she said recently in her office dominated by fish tanks and green plants. “I am here to serve the citizens of Lovejoy. I am here speak for them, advocate for them, and make sure that their dreams and hopes for this city come to fruition.”
Being a politician or a public servant was not on Fluellin’s mind when she and her family would stop at the Dairy Queen in Lovejoy on their frequent trips to the Atlanta region from their home in Barnwell. The city’s name itself was a lure for her. Yet, beyond the surface there was something else tugging at her heart.
“I just fell in love with the city,” she remembers. “And then I saw the city’s name and I’m like love joy. Oh, my goodness!”
Thirty years ago she packed up and moved her family, three kids, and settled into the Fleming Cove neighborhood. She worked hard for a large company handling strategic planning and purchasing while her three children graduated from Lovejoy High School.
Her entry into city politics happened when many of her neighbors approached her about convincing the council to change an unused building into a community center. “Marci,” they said, “you don’t mind speaking up.” With her due diligence on researching the opportunity, Fluellin stood up at the city council meeting and presented her case, complete with financial information and a timeline. The council not only approved the development but they appointed Fluellin to the project committee tasked with completing the community center.
“Not only did we complete it ahead of schedule but we also completed it under budget,” she said.
Bobby Cartwright, a council member and future mayor, was impressed by her presentation. “I like you, your energy, your charisma, your ability to speak in public, your personality. Everything about you says you should become a council member,” Cartwright told her. When she replied that she was not interested in politics, Cartwright said that it was more about taking care of people than politics. Go forward a year and a half to 2007. A council member moved leaving a vacant seat. Cartwright insisted that Fluellin accept the responsibility of serving her city. She agreed and the council voted her in to the council where she has served for almost two decades.
During that time, Fluellin has served as Mayor Pro Tem three times. What did she learn? “There’s never a dull day in City Hall,” she said with a chuckle. Before the 2003 city elections, Cartwright told Fluellin that her time to run the city had arrived. “You represent your city like no other and you have a love for this city like I do. What do you think about becoming the mayor?” And so she did.
Her career handling $20 million budgets gave her the groundwork for being mayor and taught her the importance of collaboration.
“It definitely prepares you for accountability because all of your decisions matter,” she said. “And it also prepares you for collaboration because when I was in corporate, I was responsible for eight different manufacturing locations and all of them were not in the United states. So collaboration was something that I spent many years honing my skills on being able to come to a table, hear everyone’s opinion, then work together to make sure everyone has a voice. And when the project is completed, that everyone can see something of themselves in the completed project.”
Lovejoy is one of the increasing number of municipalities being run exclusively by women, with the mayor and the entire council filled by females. She says all the duties of running a household as a wife, mother, or single mom requires the wearing of many hats. With all the duties required, most women become nurturers, and that gets transferred to their dealings in public.
“We’re expected to get it done and so we have to find a way to bring whatever it is across the finish line,” said Fluellin. “We all come together very well. We hear each other, we make room for each other, we support each other, we celebrate each other’s wins and we work very well together to make sure that we represent the city to its best. “So we pride ourselves in bringing excellence to the game.”
Fluellin is proud to say that she comes from a family of prayer warriors, a group of women who are serious about their relationships with the Lord. They encouraged young Marci to find her own footing and lean on God’s understanding rather than her own understanding because most people are just as ignorant and blind as you are, they said.
“They gave me confidence being a young black female in the state of Georgia. Sometimes what’s very difficult to do is to walk into a room with confidence. Walk in there knowing that you belong there, to have a purpose for being there, and will make the impact in the room that you’re in,” said Fluellin.
Lovejoy has been rated one of the fastest-growing cities in Georgia by Business View magazine, where it ranks within the top 10 statewide for residential growth. Homes.com reported that the city has undergone a dramatic rise in population, going from under 3,000 residents in 2010 to more than 15,000 today. During the period of 2022 to 2023, Data USA reported that Lovejoy had a 5.16% population increase in just that amount of time.
When Fluellin became mayor, she realized that she had to work hard to grow the number of homes being built in the city and have the right mix of housing. She didn’t plan for today or tomorrow, she planned for 15 years down the road. “We didn’t have enough households in Lovejoy,” she said. “So we spent years on our residential development. Now it’s time for economic development. It’s time to bring in the retail, the commercial, the entertainment, the restaurants. It’s time for us to keep our coin in the Lovejoy community as much as possible.”
The city already has a roster of public events, events started by Fluellin when she first joined the city council. She had an idea for a fall festival and convinced the council to back the event. For the first three or four years, Fluellin ran the event by herself until it was established. Today, many outside contractors work on the event, which has spawned a number of other things happening in the city.
This year the monthly lineup of events kicked off in January with the Golden Kisses Luncheon and will end with the traditional Christmas in Lovejoy on December 4. In between, residents and visitors have enjoyed the Fishing Rodeo in June, Youth Basketball Camp in July, the Fall Fest, several community cleanup and shred days, a couple of Coffee With a Cop days, a 5k Run/Walk, and more.
“It brings the community together,” she said. “It gives them a reason to celebrate. It gives us networking. It shows them the best that their city has the offer.”Lovejoy’s image is very important, Fluellin said, because for the metro Atlanta area and Clayton County, Lovejoy is the first city encountered for those traveling north, and the last city for those traveling south.
“We hold down the south side, said Fluellin, “We are collaboratively working together with Clayton leadership to buff that diamond so that it shines brightly. Clayton County can no longer be underestimated. We’re the underdog but we’re a big dog and we’re barking loud and letting them know Clayton County is here to stay. Clayton County has a lot to offer not only for the residents that are here but for anyone who’s interested in moving here.”
Fluellin claims to be mayor 24/7, and her staff backs up that claim. Even on her rare vacation days, the mayor can still be found sending out emails at 2 a.m. “I see something and I’m like this will be great in our city. What do you think about this? My staff laughs at me.”
Her office is dominated by a huge 80 gallon fish tank and two smaller tanks filled with African cichlids, white ghost Tetra angelfish, discus guppies and blue mollies. The guppies live in a small tank, barely bigger than a lemon seed. In another tank, a green leafy vine grows from the water where mature African cichlid babies frolic. But this is nothing compared to her home where she estimates there are another 20 tanks, although the largest one is only 75 gallons.
At home, she has fancy tail guppies with big flowing fancy tails decorated with colorful patterns and all the patterns that go in them and all the different colors that show up on their bodies.
Fluellin has so many fish that she can’t name them all. Some, however, get christened by her staff. And she does have one with a bright orange tail that she calls Flash. Other than her love of freshwater fish, her home is almost as green as a forest there are so many plants. She says walking into her bedroom is like walking into a jungle.
Her focus remains the city she fell in love with some 30 years ago. Fluellin says the city is working hard to start making agreements to bring in new restaurants and other venues. You might think that a politician – pardon me – a public servant in Lovejoy City Government for almost two decades would be cruising along and not doing anything new or different. The feedback she receives from Lovejoy residents is overwhelmingly positive at the monthly city council meetings that are almost always packed. So what has she got planned next?
“Just let them know for the next two to three years, hold on to your hats, baby, because it’s go time!”