VALDOSTA – Sigma Gamma Rho soror and Valdosta City Council member Sandra Tooley enters a fourth term with new goals for District 2.
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From the beginning, serving on the Valdosta City Council wasn’t part of Sandra Tooley’s plan. Born and raised in Valdosta, she said she saw firsthand how the South side was often overlooked. That changed when residents raised concerns about public safety on Troupe Street — and Tooley found her motivation to run.
“The main thing we wanted was to get Troupe Street fixed so that we could have sidewalks and not have to walk in the road,” she said. “We had kids going to school and people out there playing.”
Tooley was first elected in 2013, winning the District 2 seat on a platform centered around transportation and improvements to Troupe Street.
“We were going to get something done, and that’s how I started,” she said. With the help of the community, she said she was able to bring sidewalks to Troupe Street in 2016. She also helped connect residents to a reliable source of transportation through the Valdosta on Demand Initiative.
“We wanted to close the disparities a little bit of what all was going on with not getting anything hardly on the South side,” she said. “It has been somewhat challenging. I come from the Southside, the poor side, where we weren’t getting anything. But we are people just like everybody else, and we can have anything anybody else can have. That’s one of the things I wanted people to understand.”
Her commitment to service extends beyond local government. In 2017, Tooley joined Sigma Gamma Rho Sorority, Inc., where she has worked with the National Pan-Hellenic Council and Social Action Committees.
“I’ve taken pride and I’ve enjoyed working with the organization and showing how we can do things
with our organization. That has helped me more. I get a lot of support from my sisters,” she said. “They
boost me up and give me a different outlook on myself as well. Since I’ve gotten into the sorority, I’ve
kind of perked up to have more professionalism and the desire to learn more, help, and give back to the
community.
Tooley also founded her own non-profit organization known as South Street Care Home. Homelessness, hunger, rising rent, and utilities are some of the issues that the community faces daily. Through her
organization, she’s been able to support Valdosta by providing food, hygiene essentials, and other resources for those in need.
Her service has earned her several awards, including New Soror of the Year, the MLK Humanitarian Award, and the 100 Black Men Community Service Award. But she said the greatest honor is being able to continue serving District 2. In November, she won her fourth term uncontested — something she never imagined when she first ran 11 years ago.
“I really did not think I would be on the council as long as I have been, and I do want to thank the citizens for having the confidence in me, to keep voting for me,” she said.
As she begins her next term, Tooley says she’ll focus on improving infrastructure — starting with upgrades to the district’s water system. She also plans to tackle blight and increase access to affordable housing by addressing vacant lots and revising city ordinances.
“We’re also looking into seeing about getting some of the houses that are torn down and boarded. We want to see if we can get them back functional, so that we can have somewhere for people to stay. We do need housing on the South side as well,” she said. “I do want to make a difference. I do want to see things get done, and I do want to get our citizens involved more.”
