Since 1930, only one mayor of Atlanta has had a four-year, one term in office – Sam Massell, who was defeated for re-election by Maynard Jackson. In fact, Massell is the only mayor to have only served one term going back 100 years to when Asa Candler (of Coca-Cola founder fame) only served one two-year term from 1917-1919.
Long story short, incumbency is a big deal. Whether it is inertia or a fear of switching horses mid-stream, or something else, Atlanta voters typically pick somebody and stick with them.
But long-time Atlanta city councilwoman and current City Council President Felicia Moore is hoping this time could be different.
“I am running for Mayor because I believe the time is now to get things done. We cannot wait another four years. I’m ready to roll up my sleeves and get to work for the people of Atlanta and deliver transparency, ethics, and accountability,” said Moore.
Incumbent Keisha Lance Bottoms is facing some big challenges, on top of the pandemic, which is certainly a strain on management strategy.
Crime is up significantly over the last year – homicides are up 48% and aggravated assaults are up 14%. Perhaps this is because of the pandemic (the reasons remain elusive but with nearly every form of entertainment and schools closed, criminals may have more free time on their hands) but whatever the reason, citizens of Atlanta and multiple city council members are losing their patience.
That the increase in crime coincided with a large percentage of Atlanta residents growing more skeptical about police enforcement and tactics has only furthered the crisis.
“We can all agree that crime, and specifically violent crime, is out of control in our city. It is unacceptable. It is a crisis and must be treated as such. We must empower our police to do their jobs and protect and serve our citizens. At the same time, our citizens must feel safe in their interactions with police officers. We must address ongoing troubling locations, increase resources to address street racing, improve police retention and morale and ensure police officer accountability. There will be a complete review of the city’s financial resources with the goal of funding our public safety needs and the social needs of our citizens,” said Moore.
Moore has been around for some time but made her bones over the last ten years as a thorn for transparency in the side of the Kasim Reed administration, something the administration did not seem too keen on (such as the time he stood in front of a wall of bank boxes full of printed documents, rather than simply making them searchable pdfs).
After a rash of indictments and convictions, Moore seems vindicated for her efforts and has attracted a range of fans across the city who praise her availability and honesty.
For her part, Bottoms’ profile has been boosted nationally significantly over the past year as she was a Biden campaign surrogate, at one point even being mentioned as a long-shot vice president option as Biden honed in on a minority woman for the slot. She will likely be able to raise a lot of money and, by the time the election comes, may be sitting in the incumbent slot as the pandemic wanes and the economy takes back off.
Moore has no shortage of issues to go on and has long been rumored as a favored candidate but until now has declined. Challenging an incumbent is certainly difficult but if anyone were to have a shot, it could be Moore.
