He's been described at the proverbial Mr. Smith going to Washington.

But R.J. Morris doesn't mind the comparison.

The Old Fourth Ward resident has developed a reputation for successfully going head to head with Fulton County property tax officials over flawed assessments.

He's won each time.

Now, Morris, who on Monday spoke to a group of Inman Park homeowners over their property assessment increases, is running for tax commissioner. He is looking to unseat Arthur E. Ferdinand, a fixture in that post for the last 15 years.

He sat down with East Atlanta Patch to discuss why he's running and the key three issues fueling his campaign:

• Selling of tax liens
• The current tax commissioner's additional income stream from tax collections for other jurisdictions even though he uses Fulton County employees to do so
• A desire for a taxpayer advocate