The City of Suwanee functions under a Council-Manager form of government. Suwanee's City Council is comprised of six members, including the mayor.

Suwanee’s six Councilmembers are responsible for creating the broad vision for the City and fashioning and adopting policies and ordinances that forward that vision. Councilmembers approve the City’s annual budget, make appointments to various citizen-run boards, and vote on rezonings and variance requests. They also work cooperatively with various regional and state organizations to address issues of regional impact. The mayor votes along with other Councilmembers on issues, but also functions as Suwanee’s “head of state,” leading Council discussions and initiatives; the mayor signs the City’s official contracts and agreements.

With guidance from City Council, a professionally trained city manager is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the City. Suwanee’s city manager functions as the chief operations officer.

City Council meetings usually are held at 7 p.m. the fourth Tuesday of each month at City Hall, 330 Town Center Avenue. A public hearing on zoning-related issues precedes each City Council meeting at 6:30 pm.

City Council qualifications

The mayor is elected by popular vote. Councilmembers run for specific posts, but are elected to four-year terms by a Citywide vote. Terms of office begin January 1 following the election. Elections are held every two years.

In order to run for mayor or City Council, candidates must:

• be a Suwanee resident
• continue to reside in the City throughout their period of service
• be qualified to vote in municipal elections.

Mayoral candidates cannot be current members of City Council.

Other government representatives

Shirley Lasseter represents District 1, which includes Suwanee, on the Gwinnett County Board of Commissioners. She may be reached at 770/822-7001 or shirley.lasseter@gwinnettcounty.com.

Within the Georgia General Assembly, Suwanee is represented by Sen. Renee Unterman (45th District) and Reps. Bobby Reese (98th District) and Brooks Coleman (97th District).

Nationally, Suwanee is within the 7th Congressional district and is represented by John Linder. The U.S. senators representing Georgia are Saxby Chambliss and Johnny Isakson.