Early voting has begun to choose Brunswick’s next mayor in a race that pits incumbent Cosby Johnson and challenger Vincent Williams, both born and raised in Coastal Georgia’s second-largest city.
The pair have faced off in elections before. In the 2022 mayoral race, Johnson, who touts himself as “son of the city,” prevailed in a runoff with 74% of the vote. Williams never made it to the runoff, winning only 13% of the first-round ballot tally.
Though mayoral contests in Brunswick are officially nonpartisan, Johnson is active in the Democratic Party. Williams has not declared a party affiliation, though he has embraced fiscal conservatism, a traditional GOP plank.
In separate interviews with The Current GA, Johnson and Williams discussed their resumes and addressed what voters say are the biggest issues in the campaign for the $15,621 a-year job: economic development, transportation, homelessness, food deserts, environment, and youth crime.
Who are they?
Brunswick Mayor Cosby Johnson is running for a second term.
COSBY JOHNSON
When he won the election for the first time in 2022, Johnson, 39, became only the second Black mayor in Brunswick’s 169-year history, after Cornell Harvey, who served from 2014 to 2021.
Johnson graduated from Valdosta State University in 2009 and then worked on the staff of Republican Sen. Saxby Chambliss for two years. He then moved to the Georgia secretary of state’s office as a public affairs director and, soon after, accepted a position with the Georgia Chamber of Commerce. He is still employed there as senior director for government affairs. That job, Johnson said, has helped bring more state and private investment to Brunswick.
“We hadn’t seen a major investment in infrastructure or flood management. We hadn’t seen a major investment in a parks and rec program that had been left derelict for more than 10 years. We hadn’t seen investment in economic development and growth, outside of what some would call the downtown business sector,” he said.
“So those are the things that I wanted to go out and say, ‘Listen, not only are you going to find me knocking on your door and at your community event, at your church anniversary, you’re also going to see me in Atlanta advocating for dollars in the budget.’”
Vincent Williams, candidate for mayor of Brunswick.
VINCENT WILLIAMS
The 60-year-old Williams, a graduate of Bethune-Cookman University, a private historically Black college in Daytona Beach, Florida, is a minister. He currently serves as a pastor at Emmanuel Baptist Church on St. Simons Island. He represented the North Ward as its commissioner from 2014 to 2021.
But his first foray into politics was in 2002 when he ran as a Republican for a seat in the state House of Representatives. He lost to Al Williams, who currently represents District 168 in that chamber. That experience taught him the value of public service — and the cost.
“It taught me a lot, it helped me to develop as a person. Because I think that anything that you go into, you need to have some idea about what it is, what the job is, what you’re supposed to be doing, what it’s going to cost you, because anytime you step into a political arena, it’s going to cost you something,” he said of his 2002 state House run. “It’s going to cost not only you and your family, but also everybody else around you.”
Economic growth
Johnson, the incumbent, said he deserves another four-year term because of the relationships he has built, which will foster Brunswick’s economic growth.
“Making sure we have investments that allow us to grow in our city, making sure we’re passing policy and legislation that allows people to see their dreams and actualize those dreams,” Johnson said.
Williams says he will be a good financial steward of taxpayer money, but concedes that he has not closely monitored municipal operations in the past four years.
“I don’t care what city you talk about, where they come from, the bottom line is, they got to have enough finance to sustain that city, to sustain the things that has to take place, your police, your fire, your recreation, all those things public works, all that has to be taken care of, and it has to come out of our taxpayers dollars,” he said. “So, you know, we just got to make sure that we control our revenue, make sure that the budget is well understood.”
Transportation
The Brunswick Breeze, the city’s on-demand public transportation service, launched service in September to the praise of many city and county residents. It features several hubs around the city limits and extends deep into the county. All rides are free through Nov. 16, 2025, and will cost $3, with some discounted prices available.
Johnson supported the initiative and says if re-elected, he will work to keep public transport for the city.
Over the years, Brunswick has attempted other public transport solutions, with larger buses. Those failed. During Johnson’s tenure, city officials consulted with cities of similar size, such as Valdosta, which also has public transit, to see how to adapt their successful strategies to Brunswick. That’s how they adopted a microtransit service, he explained.
“I think a lot of times, the transportation discussion whittles down to the haves and have-nots. The haves, it’s not really important to them. The have-nots oftentimes don’t have a voice willing to advocate and push forward to get it done,” said Johnson. “But what we saw is when we started talking to everybody, when we got everybody at the table, what we saw is not only was grandpa and grandma needing rides to hospitals, Sea Island, and others also said, ‘Hey, man, we need a transportation solution as well.’”
Johnson said that if re-elected, he plans to address scalability and ensure they’re providing rides as quickly as possible.
Williams, who owns a taxi company, is not keen on the public transportation system, describing it as a “copycat of cab service.”
“Transit means that you have a fleet of vehicles that have a route that they run every hour, every 30 minutes, whatever the timing may be,” he asserted. “You get on bus A, go to point A, get off, and if you have to get on another bus, you get on another bus to continue to go where you’re going in that city.”
Williams believes Brunswick’s current transportation model is not sustainable. If elected, he said he would opt for a convoy of buses carrying around 15 passengers. He didn’t explain how this would be financially feasible. He said that the solution would help cushion independent drivers who work for Uber and Lyft from competition.
Homelessness
One of the most polarizing issues during Johnson’s tenure has been the city’s policy towards the homeless, or unhoused, and nonprofits that are serving them.
In 2022, the city attempted to restrict services at The Well, the city’s only day shelter, after downtown businesses expressed unfounded concerns about public safety threats posed by those seeking help at the shelter. In 2023, the city filed suit against FaithWorks, which operates The Well, and the organization countersued. The dispute ended with The Well staying open, and city officials agreeing to take educational training.
The Well is a Christian day shelter for Brunswick’s homeless. It recently reopened with increased safety measures but is being sued by the city, which alleges it is a public nuisance.
Johnson declined to answer questions about The Well and the lawsuit. He disputed the perception that he is against the homeless or that he is an opponent of social services for this population. He touted his efforts to help solve issues between the Housing Authority and Hand in Hand, an organization that has 60 small homes for the chronically homeless. “We’ve been at that table, banging that drum.”
Williams said the city overstepped by suing The Well. If elected, he would push city officials to support the organizations serving people experiencing homelessness..
“Every human being, regardless of who they are, what their status is, deserves respect. Now some homeless people choose to be homeless,” Williams said.”Many of those who are homeless are veterans. They’ve chosen not to live in public housing, to go get an apartment, because all their life they’ve been confined to rules and regulations.”
Food desert
Winn-Dixie closed its doors at the Glynn Avenue location this summer, raising fears that Brunswick’s food deserts are on the rise. An Aldi is opening in the same location, but is not done with construction.
Johnson supports the new grocery store but said if re-elected, he would work to bring more supermarkets to the area. He cited Atlanta’s mayor as someone who is committed to the same issue.
“Look at what has been done around the nation when it comes to micro-grocery stores and public-private partnerships to bring grocery stores to areas,” Johnson pointed out. “You see, Mayor [Andre] Dickens in Atlanta is working with a small chain to move into what was going to be kind of an abandoned CVS in a food desert in Atlanta, and he expanded a smaller grocer. That’s the work that we’re going to have to do. But to do that work, we’re going to have to attract a business and have a scalable solution.”
Williams said he has watched with alarm as Brunswick has faced the closure of local corner stores owned by small businesspeople. The lack of neighborhood stores, he said, contributes to the accessibility of fresh food for residents. He said that the city could revive small business culture in Brunswick by promoting more convenience stores and awarding more liquor licenses. He also supports more public input in city meetings to decide these issues.
“So when an individual comes to the city commission, they should come before they spend their hard-earned money and say, ‘Hey, I would like to put a store at such and such, and I’d also like to have a beer and wine license, and the commission can say, okay, public, you heard the proposal. What do you say?” he said.
Environment
Glynn County has four Superfund sites, the most in Georgia, with three located within Brunswick city limits. For years, environmental groups like the Glynn Environmental Coalition have worked to hold companies responsible for cleaning up their chemical footprints.
Both candidates said environmental accountability is a priority.
Johnson cited the completion of the College Park drainage project as an example of his commitment to environmental sustainability. The impact of that project, he said, is that residents have seen lower flood insurance rates.
Regarding the Superfund cleanup, Johnson said he has already spoken with state Rep. Rick Townsend, Sen. Mike Hodges, and U.S. Rep. Earl “Buddy” Carter, all of whom, he said, were receptive to his pleas for cleanup of the sites, especially the Pinova site.
“We realized that we have to start thinking about the next generation of this thing right now, and we are happy to be working on that,” Johnson said. “But what that showed me is that the leader of the EPA under this administration is from Georgia, and so there isn’t a time that we’re not picking up the phone and using that Georgia connection to say, Let’s talk about what’s going on in Brunswick.”
The Hercules Outfall ditch is actually a natural creek that flows from the Brunswick Plant, beneath a box culvert under Ga. 17, and out to the Terry Creek Superfund site. It is at the center of remediation efforts.
Williams said projects he supported while serving as commissioner have yielded results, like the College Park project, after the current commission continued to back it. If elected mayor, he said he will focus on other areas needing improvement, such as L Street, which he says does not drain properly.
“One of the things that I think that I would do first, I would go to my leadership at the state and federal level and say to them, ‘Look, we need your help. We need your guidance. We need you to take the lead on this,” Williams said. “Because I don’t know Donald. I don’t think he would come because I asked them to come and look at this situation where my folk are dying, and because of the diseases that they’ve incurred because of the poisons that we have in our community.”
Youth crime
A growing number of teenage homicides and teenagers being arrested for violent crimes has sparked conversations about how to better care for Brunswick’s youth.
Johnson said investing in public parks and playgrounds hasn’t solved this problem in Brunswick. If re-elected, he wants to plan more innovative interventions and activities, such as digital makerspaces, to support 3-D printing.
“I get with my other old heads, and we say the old head stuff, which is, man, like, we need some football fields or some basketball courts or, you know, whatever those things are. We do need those. We’ve invested millions of dollars to rebuild those. I think the question now is what does the new kid look like and sound like and feel like?”
Williams said the city should be investing in more activities for young people, and suggested a late-night basketball league to help occupy teenagers. He does not believe that more police will solve the rates of youth crime:
“It’s 2025, name me one activity that young people have to do on a weekend. I’m just talking about a weekend. I ain’t gonna talk about the whole week, just the weekend. Name an activity they have to do that’s a public activity. Why are there none?”
“I mean, we can say we got all these programs, we got a swim program, who’s participating, and if they’re not participating, why not? So those are the questions that you have to ask, and the questions that have to be answered.”
This <a target=”_blank” href=”https://thecurrentga.org/2025/10/27/johnson-williams-address-key-issues-in-brunswick-mayoral-race/”>article</a> first appeared on <a target=”_blank” href=”https://thecurrentga.org”>The Current</a> and is republished here under a <a target=”_blank” href=”https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/”>Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License</a>.<img src=”https://i0.wp.com/thecurrentga.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/07/cropped-TheCurrent_site-icon.png?resize=150%2C150&ssl=1″ style=”width:1em;height:1em;margin-left:10px;”>
<img id=”republication-tracker-tool-source” src=”https://thecurrentga.org/?republication-pixel=true&post=92901&ga4=G-L05EDNCRHK” style=”width:1px;height:1px;”><script> PARSELY = { autotrack: false, onload: function() { PARSELY.beacon.trackPageView({ url: “https://thecurrentga.org/2025/10/27/johnson-williams-address-key-issues-in-brunswick-mayoral-race/”, urlref: window.location.href }); } } </script> <script id=”parsely-cfg” src=”//cdn.parsely.com/keys/thecurrentga.org/p.js”></script>
