Over the years, the Northern portion of Fulton County created several cities and, ultimately, only left portions of South Fulton Unincorporated. It became clear to Rep Bruce and others that a City of South Fulton had to be formed. Several years after a failed attempt to incorporate South Fulton, business leaders led by Benny Crane conferred with Rep Bruce about a second attempt at obtaining cityhood. This group was later ruled by Debra Bazemore, who became a State Representative herself.

Representative Roger Bruce took up the mantel of Cityhood. He garnered the support of other Democratic legislators who represented South Fulton (State Representatives LaDawn Blacket-Jones, Virgil Fludd, Ronnie Mabra, and others) to allow for the creation of the city, earning him the mantra as the “Father of the City of South Fulton.”

Once the Bill passed out of the House, Senator Donzella James carried it in the Senate. It was a strenuous effort to get the Bill out of the General Assembly, and at one point, it was dying in committee and thought to be lost for the session. The Bill found new life when Rodney Littles, a member of Rep Bruce’s Legislative team at that time, Camilla Moore, a republican operative, and Rep Bruce collaborated and convinced the senate republican leadership to reconsider the vote. That bipartisan effort resulted in the bill getting new life {thus the title “Lazarus Bill}.

With the Governor’s signature, the challenge to educate the voters about the need to vote YES for the referendum began. Several community groups were formed to raise money and to campaign for a positive vote. The primary community group, “The People’s Campaign”, with over 400 volunteers, formed several committees designed to educate the citizens on the benefits of cityhood. Ultimately, after it became clear that the Fulton County Schools that serve the area would be at risk of closure if cityhood failed, the effort gained additional support. South Fulton residents Tony Phillips, Catherine Rowell, Kimberly Hartwell, and Monica Manning led a group of concerned parents and teachers to fight the Sandtown annexation effort by the City of Atlanta and the Sandtown Association. Linda Bryant of the Fulton County School Board used her influence to save Fulton County students from being annexed into Atlanta Public Schools and millions of dollars of tax money paid by South Fulton to build new schools from being annexed too. Thus, Protecting Our Schools & Community was born. The list of grassroots activists grew more prominent each day (i.e., business owners, church leaders, community leaders, parents, homeowner associations, etc.).

The city's boundaries were established by incorporating all areas in South Fulton that were not already incorporated. The exception was a five-mile stretch along Fulton Industrial Boulevard that could not be included due to a local constitutional amendment restricting that area from being annexed into any city. A successful case was filed with the courts to remove this restriction. Since then, Rep Bruce successfully placed most of that in the City of South Fulton, adding 12 million to the city’s tax base. Rep Bruce passed legislation in the 2022 session to add what is left to Atlanta.